Claire Lerner joins me to talk about how we can best support “big reactors” — highly sensitive children who experience the world with heightened intensity, passion, and emotion.

 

Together we explore:

 

• Why trying to “change” a child often backfires — and why shifting our own approach can spark real change.

• How to recognize when your child’s explosive behavior is driven by overwhelm, rigidity, or a need for control.

• The difference between masking and thriving, and why kids may act very differently at home than at school.

• What it means to be your child’s “rock” during meltdowns and how to hold limits without fueling the fire,

• How to create structure and predictability that helps sensitive kids feel safe and more flexible.

• Why consistency matters more than quick results — and what to expect before things get better.

• Practical, real-life strategies for navigating transitions, setting boundaries, and reducing daily battles.

 

Whether you’re parenting a highly sensitive child or you just want to strengthen your connection and reduce the chaos at home, this conversation will give you validation, hope, and tangible tools to help your child — and your whole family — thrive.

 

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY GUEST:

🔗 https://www.lernerchilddevelopment.com/

📚 Big Reactors: Practical Strategies for Parenting Highly Sensitive Children

 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

📱 @lernerchilddevelopment

📱 @drsarahbren

 

 

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

 

👉 Click HERE for my workshop, Be the Calm in Your Child's Storm: How to Keep Your Cool When Your Child Loses Theirs, to get the exact therapeutic interventions I use with my patients that can change the way your brain and body interprets your child’s dysregulation to help you stay cool in the heat of the moment.

 

👉 Want to get my research-backed framework for increasing cooperation and emotion regulation skills in your sensitive child? Check out Parenting by Design, my guided program to help you parent your unique child in a way that increases cooperation, defuses power struggles, and rebuilds their trust in your authority–all while supporting your child’s mental health and your own. 

 

 

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

 

🎧 129. Q&A: How can I support my sensitive, "spicy," highly emotional child?

 

🎧 135. Q&A: What can I do when all the "rules" for setting limits don't work for my sensitive kid?

 

🎧 173. Q&A: Preventing burnout when you have a sensitive child