Afleveringen
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How much of parenting is made harder by all the expectations we carry? In this episode, Bridgette and Molly explore the âshouldsâ theyâve let go of while raising neurodivergent kids. They also discuss the idea of delighting in our children: getting curious about the things they love, appreciating what makes them unique, and intentionally balancing out a world that often focuses on their struggles. It's a feel good conversation about letting go, celebrating the good, and finding more joy alongside the challenges of raising kids like ours.
Resources Mentioned
Parenting a Spicy One by Mary Van Geffen
A compassionate guide to raising deep-feeling, strong-willed kids with practical strategies for staying calm, setting boundaries, and building a connected relationship.
Terms Mentioned
Delighting
Intentionally noticing, enjoying, and expressing genuine pleasure in who your child isânot just what they accomplish or how they behave. Delighting helps strengthen connection, especially during challenging seasons of parenting.Body Doubling
A strategy where someone works alongside another person while they complete a task. The other person doesn't need to helpâthey simply provide a calming, motivating presence that can make it easier to get started and stay focused.The "Shoulds"
The expectations we place on ourselves, our children, or our families about how parenting is supposed to look. Letting go of these expectations can reduce stress and make room for more joy and connection.Yes Day
A planned day when parents say "yes" to as many reasonable requests as possible within agreed-upon limits, giving children an opportunity to lead and connect with their family.We are not experts â just parents sharing what we're learning in real time. If any of these terms are new to you, you're not alone. We're learning too.
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Bridgette and Molly are joined by Clay Gill, founder of Find Your Power, a coaching practice that helps neurodivergent adults better understand how they're wired and build lives that work with their strengths. Together they talk about Clay's journey to being diagnosed with ADHD and autism as an adult, the unexpected ways learning about neurodivergence can become personal for parents, and the pressure many families feel to figure everything out as quickly as possible. Plus, Molly and Bridgette complete Clay's Power Assessment and get coached live on the podcast.
Connect with Clay
Find Your Power
Introduces the POWER Framework and assessment designed to help neurodivergent adults identify where their energy is being drained and build more sustainable ways of working and living.
Clay Gill on LinkedInâ
Follow Clays work and insights on neurodivergence, burnout, executive functioning, and building sustainable ways of working that reduce self-friction and overwhelm.
Clay's parenting season song pick:
Raw Fear - Twenty One Pilots
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Itâs not easy to admit your worst parenting moments. But pretending they donât happen is what can make people feel so isolated. In this episode, Bridgette and Molly open up about the moments theyâre least proud of. The times theyâve become completely dysregulated themselves, reacted in ways theyâd love to take back, and what theyâre learning as they move forward.
Resources Mentioned
Raising Lions by Joe Newman
Offers practical strategies for raising strong-willed, challenging children by focusing on compassionate discipline, clear boundaries, and building parental authority.
Terms Mentioned
Co-regulation
The process of helping a child regulate their emotions through a calm, supportive connection with another person. Rather than expecting children to manage overwhelming emotions alone, co-regulation involves adults modeling and supporting emotional regulation until those skills develop.
Repair
The act of reconnecting after conflict, mistakes, or emotional outbursts. Repair may include acknowledging what happened, apologizing, validating feelings, and rebuilding trust.
Emotion Chart
Visual tool that helps children identify and communicate their emotions. These can support emotional awareness and regulation by giving children language for what they're experiencing.
We are not experts â just parents sharing what we're learning in real time. If any of these terms are new to you, you're not alone. We're learning too.
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Bridgette and Molly welcome their first guest, Michelle Yu, founder of Josie, a company helping organizations better support working parents and caregivers through coaching, community, and resources designed for the realities families face. Together they talk about what parents are carrying behind the scenes, why so many caregivers feel stretched to their limits, and how workplaces can create cultures where people can actually thrive. They also explore the added layers that come with parenting neurodivergent kids, the power of finding people who get it, and why support often matters more than solutions.
Connect with Michelle
Josie
Coaching, content, and community designed to help working parents and caregivers navigate transitions and feel supported both at home and at work.
Michelle Yu on LinkedIn
Follow Michelleâs work and insights on workplace culture, caregiving, and supporting working parents.
Michelleâs parenting season song pick:
â The Strokes - The End Has No Endâ
Additional Resources Mentioned
Spring Health
A workplace mental health platform that connects employees and families with therapy, coaching, care navigation, and personalized mental health support through employer-sponsored benefits.
Family First
Caregiver support that helps families navigate healthcare needs, care coordination, and family logistics.
Cariloop
Employer-sponsored caregiving support offering guidance, planning tools, and care coaches for families managing caregiving responsibilities.
Homethrive
Personalized caregiving support that helps families manage everything from aging parents to complex care needs.
Deborah Porter "The Mom Coach"
Parent coach and speaker who supports moms navigating the challenges of parenting and family life. Michelle referenced Deborahâs perspective that parenting doesnât necessarily get easierâit changes.
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In this episode, Bridgette and Molly open up about their school journeys â from early concerns to IEPs, starting over at new schools, trialing medication, and everything in between. They share the emotional reality of advocating for kids who are often misunderstood and what itâs taken to find the right support.
Resources Mentioned
â The Explosive Childâ by: Dr. Ross W. Greene
Introduces collaborative problem solving and the idea that âkids do well if they can.â
â Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviorsâ by: Robyn Gobbel
Discusses behavior through a nervous-system lens and asks what children need to feel safe, regulated, and supported.
Terms Mentioned
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
A neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention, impulsivity, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. ADHD impacts much more than focus and activity levels.
ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
A pattern of intense irritability, emotional reactivity, and resistance to demands that goes beyond typical childhood behavior.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
A school plan that provides individualized supports and accommodations for students with identified needs.
504 Plan
A school accommodation plan that provides supports to help students access learning but typically offers fewer specialized services than an IEP.
RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria)
An intense emotional reaction to real or perceived rejection, criticism, or disappointment.
Trauma
Emotional responses that can develop after difficult or overwhelming experiences.
Trauma-Informed Approach
A way of supporting children that recognizes behavior may be connected to stress, difficult experiences, or nervous-system overwhelm.
Unsafe Behaviors
A term schools often use for actions that create risk to the child or others, including aggression, property destruction, or behaviors that require additional intervention.
Occupational Therapy (OT)
A therapy approach that helps children build everyday skills related to regulation, sensory needs, and independence.
Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)
A specialist who supports communication skills, including speech, language, social communication, and sometimes emotional or behavioral needs that impact interactions.
Behavior Specialist
A professional who helps identify patterns behind challenging behaviors and develops strategies and supports to help children succeed across settings.
Emotional Regulation
The ability to recognize, process, and manage emotions. Many children struggle with regulation when overwhelmed or stressed.
Dysregulation
A state where a child becomes overwhelmed and loses access to coping or self-regulation skills.
We are not experts â just parents sharing what we're learning in real time. If any of these terms are new to you, you're not alone. We're learning too.
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In their very first episode, Bridgette and Molly share who they are, how they met, and the moments they realized parenting wasnât going to look the way they thought it would. From early observations to formal diagnoses, they open up about what it really means to raise kids like theirs.
Resource Mentioned
â In a February episode of the Full-Tilt Parenting podcast titled: A Conversation with Dr. Ross Greene About the Kids Who Arenât Okayâ , Ross Greene discussed the idea of âthe unlucky kids.â
The idea resonated deeply with us: some children show pain quietly and receive comfort, while others show it through behaviors like yelling, hitting, running, or exploding and are often met with correction first.
Terms Mentioned
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
A neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention, impulsivity, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. ADHD impacts much more than focus and activity levels.
ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
A pattern of intense irritability, emotional reactivity, and resistance to demands that goes beyond typical childhood behavior.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
A school plan that provides individualized supports and accommodations for students with identified needs.
Sensory Processing Disorder
Difficulty processing sensory information, which can lead children to seek or avoid certain sensory experiences.
Neurodivergent / Neurodivergence
A term describing brains that work differently from what is considered neurologically typical.
RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria)
An intense emotional reaction to real or perceived rejection, criticism, or disappointment. (Incorrectly referred to as Rejection Sensitivity Disorder in this episode)
PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance / Persistent Drive for Autonomy)
A profile involving extreme avoidance of demands, often connected to anxiety and a strong need for autonomy.
Anxiety
Persistent fear, worry, or nervous-system activation that can affect behavior and daily life.
Trauma
Emotional responses that can develop after difficult or overwhelming experiences.
Occupational Therapy (OT)
A therapy approach that helps children build everyday skills related to regulation, sensory needs, and independence.
Invisible Disability
Challenges that may not be visible to others, even though they significantly affect daily life.
Dysregulation
A state where a child becomes overwhelmed and loses access to coping or self-regulation skills.
Fight, Flight, Freeze
Automatic stress responses that can show up as aggression, avoidance, shutting down, or explosive behavior.
Proprioception / Proprioceptive Input
The body's sense of where it is in space. Some children seek movement, crashing, pressure, or rough play to help regulate. (Referred to as the "P" word in this episode.)
Strong Sense of Justice
Some neurodivergent children may be highly aware of fairness and rules, even while struggling with their own regulation.
Anger Iceberg
A framework showing that anger often sits on top of deeper emotions like sadness, fear, shame, or overwhelm.
We are not experts â just parents sharing what we're learning in real time. If any of these terms are new to you, you're not alone. We're learning too.
