Dysregulated Kids: Science-Backed Parenting Help for Behavior, Anxiety, ADHD and More

School Refusal Strategies: How to Help Your Child Return to School If your child melts down at the mention of school, freezes at the car door, or refuses to go, you’re not alone. School refusal in children is rising and it’s not defiance. 👉 It’s a dysregulated nervous system. In this episode, we break down what’s really driving school refusal and how to help your child feel safe enough to return....

School Refusal in Kids: Why It’s Rising (And What Actually Helps) If your child suddenly refuses to go to school and mornings feel like a battlefield, you’re not alone—and you’re not failing as a parent. School refusal in children is rising fast, and it’s not defiance. 👉 It’s a sign of a dysregulated nervous system. In this episode, we break down what’s really going on and how to help your child...

School Anxiety and Refusal: What Your Child’s Behavior Is Really Saying If your child melts down at night, complains of stomachaches in the morning, or refuses to go to school, you’re not alone. School anxiety in children is rising and for many families, it feels overwhelming and confusing. But here’s the truth: 👉 School refusal isn’t defiance. It’s a signal. In this episode, we break down what’s...

Healing PANS/PANDAS in Kids: A Functional Medicine Approach with Dr. Lauren Stone When your child is suddenly struggling with severe anxiety, OCD behaviors, or dramatic mood changes, it can feel like everything changed overnight. Conditions like PANS/PANDAS in children and autoimmune encephalopathy are complex and overwhelming for families trying to find answers. But there are ways to support heal...

Loving your child but not their behavior can be one of the hardest parts of parenting. When your child has emotional outbursts, ignores directions, argues constantly, or struggles with self-regulation, it's natural to feel frustrated, exhausted, and unsure of how to respond. The challenge is learning how to separate who your child is from the behaviors they're displaying in the moment. Many parent...

Explaining mental health to siblings can feel challenging, especially when you're trying to protect everyone's feelings while helping your children understand what's happening. When one child is struggling with anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, emotional dysregulation, or another mental health challenge, siblings often have questions, worries, and emotions of their own. Knowing how to approach expla...

Gut health and mental health are more connected than most people realize. Research continues to show that the gut microbiome plays a powerful role in brain function, mood regulation, and overall mental well-being. Understanding the relationship between gut health and mental health can provide valuable insight into why physical and emotional health are so deeply intertwined. Many people think of th...

Natural Solutions for ADHD and Autism with Jennifer Giustra-Kozek If your child is struggling with focus, behavior, or emotional dysregulation in children , it can feel like medication is the only path forward. But it’s not. There are natural, brain-based approaches that support nervous system regulation in children —and can create real, lasting change without relying on medication as the first st...

OCD in Kids: How Reassurance Fuels the Cycle (And What to Do Instead) When your child is caught in fear-driven thoughts or rituals, it’s easy to feel helpless. You’re not alone. Parenting a child with OCD in children is overwhelming—and many loving parents unknowingly reinforce the very behaviors they’re trying to stop. The good news? Once you understand how OCD works, you can start changing the p...

Treatments for OCD Symptoms: What Actually Helps Kids Get Better If your child is stuck in obsessive thoughts, rituals, and fear , it can feel like OCD is taking over your home. But here’s the truth: Treatments for OCD symptoms do work. Even though OCD in children is often labeled “treatment resistant,” that usually happens when the wrong approach is used—not because your child can’t get better. I...

ERP for OCD in Kids: The Therapy That Actually Works When your child is drowning in intrusive thoughts, rituals, and fear, it can feel like OCD is running your entire home. You’re not alone. Many parents are told that OCD in children is “hard to treat”—but that’s not the full story. There are solutions. And Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold-standard approach that helps kids take b...

OCD in Kids: Why It Feels “Treatment Resistant” (And What Actually Works) When your child is drowning in intrusive thoughts or endless questions, it can feel like nothing is working—and that fear sits heavy on your heart. You’re not alone. OCD in children is often labeled “treatment resistant,” but the real story is far more hopeful. When you understand what’s actually happening in the brain, ever...

OCD vs Anxiety in Kids: Why Therapy Might Not Be Working If your anxious child has been in therapy for a long time—but nothing seems to be improving—you may be asking: Why isn’t this working? One possibility that often gets missed is this: 👉 It might not be anxiety. It might be OCD in children . While anxiety in children and OCD are closely connected, they are not the same—and treating them the s...

OCD in Kids: It’s Not What You Think (And What’s Really Driving It) Most people think they understand OCD—but they don’t. It’s often reduced to things like handwashing or checking behaviors. But at the core of OCD in children , there’s something much deeper driving it: 👉 fear. If your child is struggling with intrusive thoughts, repetitive behaviors, or intense anxiety, this episode will help you...

Benefits of parent support groups go far beyond simply connecting with other families. When you're raising a child with emotional, behavioral, learning, or mental health challenges, it's easy to feel overwhelmed , isolated, and exhausted. Many parents reach a point where they wonder if anything they're doing is making a difference, especially when progress feels slow and the challenges never seem...

Natural Mental Health Solutions for Kids: What Parents Should Know About PEMF If your child is struggling with anxiety, focus, or emotional dysregulation in children , it’s often presented like medication is the only answer. But it’s not. There are science-backed, natural approaches that support the brain and nervous system regulation in children and one of those tools is Pulsed Electromagnetic Fi...

Celebrating neurodiverse children starts with helping them understand that being different is not something to hide, fix, or feel ashamed of. Celebrating neurodiverse children means recognizing that every child has unique strengths, abilities, and ways of experiencing the world. When children learn to embrace who they are, they can build confidence, resilience, and a stronger sense of self-worth....

From Struggle to Hope: A Mom’s Neurofeedback Story with Kris Rice Watching your child struggle—and not knowing what to do—is one of the hardest things a parent can face. When you’re dealing with emotional dysregulation in children , anxiety, or ongoing child behavior problems , it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure where to turn. Many parents try everything… and still feel stuck. In this episod...

Learning how to explain a diagnosis to family can feel overwhelming after your child receives a diagnosis. Whether it's ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia, anxiety, or another condition, many parents find themselves navigating difficult conversations with relatives who may not fully understand what their child is experiencing. Knowing how to explain a diagnosis to family can help create greater understan...

Learning how to talk to your child about a diagnosis can feel overwhelming for many parents. Whether your child has ADHD, autism, anxiety, OCD, dyslexia, or another diagnosis, knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to explain it in a way they can understand isn't always easy. Understanding how to talk to your child about a diagnosis can help turn what feels like a difficult conversation into...

Neurofeedback for Focus and Executive Functioning : A Game-Changer for Kids If your child struggles with focus, organization, or follow-through, it’s easy to think they’re not trying hard enough. But what if the issue isn’t effort—it’s the brain? Neurofeedback is a powerful, science-backed way to support executive functioning in children and improve attention, focus, and regulation. And for many f...

How to Build Executive Functioning Skills in Kids (Without Overwhelm) You already know how important executive functioning in children is. When kids struggle with these skills, it shows up everywhere—difficulty managing emotions, trouble starting tasks, and challenges following through. But here’s the good news: 👉 These are teachable skills. In this episode, we shift from understanding executive...

Advanced Executive Functioning Skills: How to Help Your Child Work Smarter (Not Just Faster) If you’ve ever thought, “My child is bright… so why does everything take so long?” —you’re not alone. Many parents wonder how to help their child improve work production, stay focused, and get things done more efficiently. It’s easy to think they just need to “try harder,” but the real answer lies in execu...

Executive Functioning Skills: The Foundation Your Child Needs to Succeed You can’t build a house without a strong foundation and the same is true for executive functioning in children . If your child struggles to get started, follow through, or complete tasks, it’s not because they’re lazy or unmotivated. It’s often because the foundational skills of executive functioning aren’t fully developed ye...

Parents searching for how to help an angry child are often dealing with daily meltdowns, explosive reactions, or constant power struggles that leave everyone feeling frustrated and exhausted. Learning how to help an angry child starts with understanding that anger is often a signal of something deeper, not the actual problem. When children struggle to manage big emotions, anger is frequently what...