Constipation in kids is way more common than most parents realize — and it's often tangled up with potty training itself. In this clip, Potty Training Specialist, Tabitha Poole, breaks down why so many kids end up here, and what parents can watch for early.🎧 Full episode: "Master No-Tears Potty Training "

Doing your kid's executive function for them feels like love. Diana Pellicano, GrowNowADHD, explains why it's actually setting them up to flounder the moment they hit college — and what to do instead.🎧 Full episode: "Why Some Toddlers Become Disorganized Teens"

A toddler's tantrum & a teen's missing homework look like different problems. They're not.

Host Annamarie von Firley talks with Executive Function Specialist Diana Pellicano about tracing one line from the high chair to high school — & what parents can do now to change where it ends up.

You'll learn:

• What executive function really means

• What delays look like in toddlers & preschoolers

• Why unstructured play matters

• A visual routine-building strategy

• Whether screen time makes delays worse

• How delays connect to ADHD, anxiety, & autism

Time Stamps:

0:00 Why do toddler tantrums predict your child's future?

2:50 What is executive function?

4:30 Are humans the only species that can stop, pause, & think to change their behavior to achieve a certain outcome in the future?

4:48 What do good executive functioning skills look like in children?

5:34 What do good executive functioning skills look like in adults?

8:16 What is the difference between verbal & non-verbal working memory?

8:32 Is an executive function delay the same as ADHD?

8:52 How does verbal & non-verbal working memory affect executive functioning skills?

9:34 Is talking to yourself out loud help with verbal working memory?

10:59 How parents who model executive functioning skills & strategies impact children's ability to self-regulate themselves

11:50 Why is self-awareness a part of executive functioning skills?

12:30 Why is self-regulation a part of executive functioning skills?

13:14 Why is self-motivation a part of executive functioning skills?

14:00 Why is self-evaluation a part of executive functioning skills?

15:05 Why is self-language a part of executive functioning skills?

15:20 What are the 5 pillars of executive functioning?

16:14 What age do executive functioning skills start developing?

16:45 How many years behind their classmates in development are children with ADHD & executive functioning delays?

17:34 Why isn't executive function talked about like language milestones?

18:56 What do executive function delays look like in toddlers & preschoolers?

19:38 When is the best time to start teaching executive function strategies & how do you do it?

23:39 Why using real-life visuals help kids build executive functioning skills?

25:20 Why you should not give-in to a child who is throwing a tantrum?

27:22 Does pretend play build executive function skills?

30:05 What is the predictions review model & how does it help with executive functioning & emotional regulation?

31:08 How much should parents help vs. let kids struggle?

32.37 What strategies should parents whose families have a history of ADHD use with their children to help with executive functioning?

33:25 What is a "morning map" & how do you build one?

36:59 Does screen time cause executive function delays?

37:22 Are people with ADHD more prone to screen addiction?

39:29 Does household routine affect a child's self-regulation?

40:26 Do early executive function delays cause struggles in college?

41:56 Why is it important to let your child fail?

43:45 What is the #1 indicator of long-term success?

44:49 What do executive function delays look like in elementary, middle, & high school?

45:24 What is it important for kids & teens to practice social skills in the real world?

50:17 Why parents of an only-child or children who have social anxiety should sign them up for activities & clubs?

51:04 Does executive function delays overlap with ADHD, autism, anxiety, or other conditions?

52:40 Why parents should not do things for their kids that they are able to do on their own?

Subscribe & share with a parent who needs this.

Guest: Diana Pellicano, Executive Function Specialist & Director of GrowNOW's College Success Program.

grownowadhd.com

IG @grownowadhd

Fledglings' Flight offers play-based exercises for kids birth to age 3.

FledglingsFlight.com

App.FledglingsFlight.com

IG/TikTok

FB @fledglingsflight

LinkedIn: fledglings-flight

Pinterest @fledglingsflight

The number you've probably heard for postpartum depression — 1 in 5 — might be a serious undercount. Lynn Ingram McFarland, a certified perinatal mental health professional and three-time survivor herself, explains why the real number may be closer to 1 in 2, and why "common" and "normal" are not the same thing. 💛 Full episode on postpartum depression and perinatal mental health — link in below

https://open.spotify.com/episode/157Uj6YKfSvZNlSidF4a8L?si=5WIA5RZ3Rgml5pHnKfgomg

Something most parents don't think about when it comes to the kindergarten cutoff: age isn't the same as readiness. Emily Roper — Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist and founder of Early Roots — explains why kids, especially boys born right at the start of the age cutoff, may be significantly less likely to get an ADHD diagnosis if they start school a year later.🎧 Full episode on Attention & Regulation — link in below.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Qlem5gufu0OI2ufhMz4lG?si=bIjdaQ7CTqyr1KUnhzlFBw

In this episode, Emily Roper returns to unpack the primitive reflexes most closely tied to attention & self-regulation, & why so much of what gets labeled ADHD, defiance, or a "difficult" temperament may actually be a nervous system that never finished developing the way it was supposed to.

Host Annamarie von Firley sits down with Emily Roper, Neurodevelopmental Delay Therapist, certified Midwife's Assistant, & founder of Early Roots, for a deep dive into the reflexes behind fidgeting, meltdowns, & the "lazy kid" label

What We Cover:

• Which primitive reflexes cluster together around attention & regulation

• The difference between a child who's truly inattentive & one whose nervous system is in overdrive

• How much of what gets called "ADHD" may actually be retained reflexes

• The Spinal Galant Reflex — what it is, & its surprising link to fidgeting & bedwetting

• Why C-section babies are more likely to retain the Spinal Galant

• The STNR ("crawling reflex") & its connection to posture, focus, and sitting still

• Why labeling a struggling kid "lazy" can become a self-fulfilling prophecy

• How a retained Moro Reflex keeps the nervous system on constant high alert

• Why sensory overload & attention difficulties feed each other

• Why emotional regulation has to come before real focus

• The surprising link between the kindergarten age cutoff & ADHD diagnosis rates

• What a truly regulated nervous system looks like, & how to help a child get there

02:08 Which primitive reflexes are behind attention & regulation

04:03 Inattentive child vs. a nervous system working overtime

05:55 How much of "ADHD" is actually retained primitive reflexes

07:18 What is the Spinal Galant, & what's its job in infancy?

08:19 Why C-section babies are more likely to retain the Spinal Galant

09:37 What a retained Spinal Galant looks like in a classroom chair or car seat

11:14 The surprising link between the Spinal Galant & bedwetting

12:42 How teachers and parents misread a retained Spinal Galant

14:29 What is the STNR ("crawling reflex"), & what's its job?

16:10 How a retained STNR affects focus & sitting still

17:31 Why kids with a retained STNR slump or wrap their legs around chair legs

19:37 Labeling kids "lazy" & the self-fulfilling prophecy it creates

20:35 How STNR connects to reading, copying from the board, & attention

23:56 How a retained Moro keeps the nervous system on constant alert

26:08 Why a heightened baseline makes focusing on schoolwork so hard

27:35 How sensory overload & attention difficulties feed each other

29:10 Why emotional regulation has to come before real focus

31:51 What happens when multiple reflexes are retained together

32:54 What a truly regulated nervous system looks like

34:37 Typical childhood wiggliness vs. a reflex that hasn't integrated

38:42 For kids already diagnosed with ADHD, is reflex work still worth it?

40:42 Does the classroom itself work against normal development?

About Emily Roper:

Emily Roper is a Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist & certified Midwife's Assistant, and founder of Early Roots, a specialized therapy & education practice for children with developmental delays.

instagram.com/earlyroots

facebook.com/earlyroots

About Annamarie von Firley:

After 20 years running her fashion house, reVamp, Annamarie von Firley returned to her toy design roots. With a BA in Wooden Toy Design & a BFA in Furniture Design, she founded Adventuretown Toy Emporium in 2016.

About Fledglings' Flight:

Fledglings' Flight offers play-based exercises for children birth to age 3, designed to support cognitive, motor, & social-emotional development. Our app gives parents a monthly exercise library, milestone tracking, & — for Premium Members — a personalized developmental profile.

Follow us:

FledglingsFlight.com

app.FledglingsFlight.com

Instagram/TikTok/

Facebook: @fledglingsflight

LinkedIn: fledglings-flight

Pinterest: @fledglingsflight

Music: Purple Planet Music

A pediatric speech-language pathologist breaks down the exact word-count milestones that trigger a referral to speech therapy — and what's actually normal vs. worth a conversation with your pediatrician.

From the full episode with Sarah Schmidt on building your child's vocabulary through reading — listen to the complete conversation on A Parent's Guide.

Ever wonder why your kid comes home from school completely wiped out — even on days they "didn't do anything"? In this clip from our episode on ATNR and learning challenges, Emily Roper, Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist and founder of Early Roots, explains why a nervous system that's constantly fighting an unintegrated reflex is doing invisible work all day long, even while sitting still.

Hear the full conversation on primitive reflexes, reading, handwriting, and school struggles in our episode "Why Your Kid Struggles to Read, Write, or Focus in School."

Struggling to read isn't always about intelligence — and messy handwriting isn't always about carelessness. For a surprising number of kids, the real culprit is a reflex that should have disappeared before their first haircut. In this episode, Emily Roper returns to unpack the Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) — the invisible thread connecting how your baby moved in the womb to how your 8-year-old holds a pencil today.

Host Annamarie von Firley sits down with Emily Roper, Neurodevelopmental Delay Therapist, certified Midwife's Assistant, and founder of Early Roots, to unpack how a reflex that's supposed to fade by 3 months old can quietly sabotage a child's academic life for years — and get mislabeled as laziness, defiance, ADHD, or dyslexia along the way.

What We Cover: 

• What the ATNR is, and its role in birth, vision, and early hand-eye coordination

• Why it needs to integrate so early, and the most common reasons it doesn't

• Crossing midline, and why a retained ATNR makes it so hard

• How ATNR shapes classroom skills, dominant-hand development, and bilateral coordination

• Why handwriting, copying from the board, and written expression are so often affected

• The real overlap between dyslexia, ADHD, and a retained ATNR

• What's really happening underneath homework battles and meltdowns

• Why bike riding, swimming, and ball sports are often affected too

• A simple way to check for a retained ATNR at home

• Why this so often gets missed, even after years of tutoring or therapy

• What the integration process looks like, and how soon parents see changes

• Who to reach out to first if this sounds familiar

Time Stamps: 

00:00 What is the ATNR reflex?

02:53 ATNR's role in birth and delivery

03:35 ATNR and eye development

07:50 Why ATNR must integrate by 3 months

09:53 Common reasons ATNR doesn't integrate

12:05 ATNR's link to reading level

14:24 Crossing midline & retained ATNR

17:40 ATNR and dominant-hand development

21:00 Helping a child who skips words reading

25:53 Handwriting as a sign of retained ATNR

30:02 Why writing is harder than speaking

31:00 Dyslexia vs. retained ATNR

34:58 "ADHD" behavior vs. retained ATNR

37:40 What's behind homework battles

40:14 Biking, swimming & ball sports struggles

43:47 Checking for retained ATNR at home

45:14 Why retained ATNR gets missed

46:37 What integration looks like

48:52 Who to reach out to for help

Resources: 

Book: Reflexes, Learning, & Behavior by Sally Goddard Blythe

Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology: https://www.inpp.org.uk

About Emily Roper: 

Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist, certified Midwife's Assistant, and founder of Early Roots. Emily has backgrounds in psychology, midwifery, and neurodevelopmental delay, and has spent over a decade supporting children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, dyslexia, sensory challenges, and other developmental difficulties.

instagram.com/earlyroots

facebook.com/earlyroots

About Annamarie von Firley: 

After 20 years running her fashion house, reVamp, Annamarie returned to her toy design roots and founded Adventuretown Toy Emporium in 2016.

About Fledglings' Flight: 

Play-based exercises for children birth to age 3, supporting cognitive, motor, and social-emotional development, with a monthly exercise library and milestone tracking in our app.

Follow us:

FledglingsFlight.com

app.FledglingsFlight.com

Instagram/TikTok/Facebook: @fledglingsflight

LinkedIn: fledglings-flight

Music: Purple Planet Music

A retained Moro Reflex isn’t a glitch. It’s your baby’s brain doing exactly what it’s built to do. Emily Roper explains why things like C-sections, four-step delivery, or being separated from mom can convince the brain it still needs that stress response, even years later. Full episode on the Moro and Fear Paralysis reflexes link below.https://youtu.be/dhCaBJ59bBATime Stamps:00:31 How can a traumatic birth experience, such as a head injury or C-section, can be one of the most common risk factors that disrupt the integration of the Moro reflex?01:20 Why is a safe and healthy environment crucial for babies during birth?02:05 How does the Moro reflex lay the foundation for early brain development through movement and experiences?Contact Emily RoperInstagram.com/earlyrootsFacebook.com/earlyrootsFollow us:Fledglings’ Flight: https://www.FledglingsFlight.comApp: https://app.FledglingsFlight.comInstagram://fledglingsflight TikTok://fledglings.flight Facebook://fledglingsflight LinkedIn://fledglings-flight Pinterest://fledglingsflight Music: Purple Planet Music