5 Mistakes Parents Make When Using Consequences

The worst feeling in the world is feeling powerless against our kids’ challenging behaviors. In an effort to regain control, we often threaten, yell, and assign ineffective consequences. Here are the top 5 mistakes parents make when using consequences: We forget to reflect and regulate first which results in reacting instead of responding. We address […]

How To Have Less Stress And More Joy For The Holidays

Less sunlight, disruptions in the routine, increased anticipation. It’s the perfect storm for our kids to lose their ever-loving minds which means we’re not far behind. Thank you, mirror neurons. With some intentionality, we can have less stress and more joy during the holidays. Define Success Get clear with yourself about what success will look […]

7 Really Simple Things You Can Do To Be A Better Mom

When we’re parenting kids with crazy challenging behaviors, it’s easy to become a mom we don’t recognize anymore. We start drowning in negativity. We want to be better moms but don’t know how. I hardly ever raised my voice until I was parenting children with ADHD and complex trauma. Then, I became a screaming lunatic. […]

4 Smart Strategies for IEP Meetings

Whether you’re headed to a parent-teacher conference or a formal IEP meeting for your child with ADHD, it can be intimidating to feel like it’s you against the rest of the team which may consist of teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and specialists. Here are four things I wish someone had told me when I was […]

What You Should Know Before Medicating Your Child

To medicate or not to medicate. That problem feels like the biggest looming question if you have a child with ADHD. It’s even more complicated if your child has multiple diagnoses or came to you through adoption. In full disclaimer, I am not a medical professional and cannot diagnose or prescribe. I am not taking […]

safe and sound protocol, adhd, adoption

13 Practical Ways to Increase Felt Safety

Lack of felt safety is one of the five reasons kids misbehave. So what is felt safety? Our nervous systems have an instinct called “neuroception.” This is how we unconsciously distinguish whether situations or people are safe, dangerous, or life-threatening. When our kids have experienced chronic stress or have differences in their brain function, like […]

sibling conflict

4 Secrets to Improving Sibling Relationships

One of the most mentioned challenges parents write to me about is sibling conflict. “I wind up yelling at everyone at some point in the day after hours of bickering & fighting.” “There is constant sibling conflict.” “I want everyone to feel safe so the sibling fights will just stop!” I get it. Growing up […]