Are you parenting a teen with ADHD and wondering why they seem so emotionally intense? Have you ever felt helpless watching your child spiral from rejection or frustration, unsure how to support them?

In this deeply compassionate and eye-opening episode, Colleen interviews Jheri South—a mom of seven neurodivergent children, ADHD coach, and parent mentor—about the often overlooked emotional side of ADHD, especially Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). Jheri shares her raw and inspiring journey from being a single mom in survival mode to becoming an empowered advocate and guide for parents of neurodivergent teens. Together, they discuss why ADHD isn’t just about distractibility—it’s about difficulty regulating attention and emotion. Jheri explains how understanding the neurological wiring of ADHD can radically shift a child’s self-worth and a parent’s approach. She also unpacks how a simple coaching tool helped her son break through emotional paralysis—and why parents must do their own work to create a stable foundation for healing and growth.

Jheri’s insights are grounded in both lived experience and professional expertise. She explains why many parents misinterpret emotional dysregulation as defiance, how girls often mask their symptoms, and why RSD episodes are not moments for discipline but for space and understanding. If you’ve ever wondered whether medication, coaching, or mindset work is the right path, Jheri provides a balanced, informed perspective—along with hope that your teen can thrive.

💡 Takeaways for Moms

ADHD is not just about focus—it’s deeply emotional. Many kids (and adults) with ADHD struggle with rejection sensitivity and emotional swings that can look like laziness, disrespect, or defiance. Recognizing this rewires your approach from frustration to empathy.

Connection matters more than perfection. Sherri emphasizes that building a relationship based on fun, love, and trust—not just academic success or behavior management—is what truly sustains teens, especially those with ADHD.

Support starts with you. Parents who ask, “How can I do this better?” create a healing path forward. Your mindset, consistency, and willingness to understand your child’s brain can make the difference between chaos and clarity.

Find out more at: https://jherisouth.com/

Follow Jheri at https://www.instagram.com/msjherisouth/

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Are screen time limits really protecting your teen—or just giving you a false sense of security? And why do so many moms say, “My kid finally came back to themselves” after time away from their phone?

In this powerful conversation with Claire Morell, author of The Tech Exit, we explore the real impact of smartphones and social media on our kids and why conventional parenting tools like screen time limits and parental controls often fall short. Claire shares her journey from policymaker to parent advocate and breaks down why the tech industry’s promises to families aren’t adding up. Instead of surrendering to tech as inevitable, Claire offers a radically hopeful and doable alternative: the “tech exit”—a smartphone-free and social media-free childhood. Backed by research and stories from families who’ve successfully made this shift, she reframes tech resistance not as deprivation, but as a profound gift of presence, imagination, and resilience.

Takeaways

Many parents try to moderate tech with time limits and parental controls, but these tools are often ineffective and misleading. Claire explains that screens act on the brain like addictive drugs, meaning moderation isn’t enough. She introduces her FEAST framework—Find families, Educate, Adopt alternatives, Set rules, Trade screens for real life—as a roadmap for reclaiming childhood from digital overwhelm. The most hopeful message? It’s never too late. Even if your teen is already hooked, a 30-day digital detox can reset your child’s brain, mood, and creativity. With courage, community, and practical strategies, your family can exit the tech trap—and flourish.

Find out more at claremorell.substack.com

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Are you worried your teen's anxiety, depression, or mood swings are more than just “normal teen behavior”? Have you ever wondered if psychiatric medication could actually help—but felt scared or unsure where to start?

In this eye-opening episode, I speak with Dr. Paul Corona, a Southern California-based physician and author of The Corona Protocol. Dr. Corona shares why the traditional psychiatric model often falls short—and how his innovative approach combines mind and body medicine for faster, more effective healing. With over 30 years of experience, he explains how treating the root cause of mood disorders can change a teen’s life trajectory and even help prevent addiction, bullying, school shootings, homelessness, and suicide. We also dig into how to recognize when a teen needs psychiatric help, how medication really works, and why a diagnosis like ADHD doesn’t mean your child is “broken.”

Here are three powerful takeaways from our conversation:

Symptoms are signals. A drop in grades, irritability, or self-isolation may not just be stress—it could be an untreated mood disorder or anxiety that’s interfering with your teen’s functioning.

Medication isn’t the enemy. When properly prescribed, medications don’t “mess up” your teen—they restore balance, relieve suffering, and often lead to rapid transformation. And no, it doesn’t always mean a lifetime prescription.

You’re not a bad parent. Seeking help doesn’t mean you’ve failed. In fact, early intervention can change the course of your teen’s life—improving not just their mood, but their relationships, academics, and future well-being.

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https://www.instagram.com/drpaulcoronamd/

Learn more at:

https://drpaulcoronamd.com/

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Are you wondering if your teen is truly ready for college? Are you stressed about the admissions process, student debt, or helping your teen find their path? You're not alone—and this episode is here to help.

In this inspiring and practical episode, Colleen interviews Shellee Howard, founder and CEO of College Ready. Shellee shares how her son’s big dream of going to Harvard launched her on a mission to help families get their teens into best-fit colleges—without going into debt. Drawing from both personal experience and years of expert consulting, Shellee explains what “college ready” really means (hint: it’s more about life skills than test scores). The conversation dives into passion projects, financial strategy, mindset shifts, and how to help your teen feel confident, not crushed, by the college admissions process.

Shellee Howard is the Founder and CEO of College Ready and CR Future Now, a Certified Independent College Strategist, and a best-selling author. A member of HECA and SOFA, she helps students gain admission to their best-fit colleges—often debt-free.

A sought-after speaker and consultant, Shellee has guided hundreds of students worldwide to top universities, ensuring they graduate debt-free and land jobs they love.

One key takeaway? Help your teen articulate their own greatness. They often don’t know how to express what they’ve accomplished.

Second, college readiness begins long before senior year—it’s about nurturing values, interests, and self-awareness.

And third, parents can support without pushing by being strategic advocates who see the bigger picture. Whether your teen is a high-achiever or still figuring things out, this episode will give you tools to guide them forward.

Learn more at: https://collegereadyplan.com/

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/collegereadyplan/

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Are you feeling unsure about how to guide your teen in the world of artificial intelligence? Have you wondered what your child is really doing with AI and how it's shaping their digital and emotional world?

In this timely and eye-opening episode, I talk with Teodora Pavkovic, Director of Wellbeing at Linewize and a global thought leader in digital wellness. We explore the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and how it's showing up in your teen's daily life—from schoolwork to entertainment to emotionally intimate chatbot relationships. Teodora shares how character-based bots are not just tools for creativity but are becoming substitutes for real connection, offering nonjudgmental, always-available companionship that teens may prefer over human relationships. We also dig into how AI can help or hinder development, and why curiosity, open conversations, and family tech agreements are more critical now than ever.

Awareness before fear. Many parents underestimate how much their kids are already engaging with AI, often in emotionally meaningful ways. Curiosity—not control—is your most powerful parenting tool when it comes to understanding and guiding their AI use.

AI is a new kind of “relationship.” Teens are forming connections with AI bots that feel empathic, safe, and nonjudgmental. This raises critical questions about how to maintain real-world emotional and social development.

Confidence is key—for both parent and teen. Parents don't need to be tech experts, but they do need to be engaged. When both you and your teen feel confident and supported, you're more equipped to set healthy digital boundaries and ensure AI serves your family's wellbeing—not the other way around.

Learn more at:

https://www.teopcoaching.com/

https://www.linewize.com/

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https://www.instagram.com/psycoachtp/

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Have you ever felt anxious or even judged when trying to teach your teen about money? Are you wondering how to raise a teen who values true wealth—not just material possessions?

In this powerful episode of Power Your Parenting: Moms with Teens, Colleen welcomes Elizabeth Husserl, financial advisor and author of The Power of Enough, for a refreshing conversation about helping teens develop a healthy relationship with money. Elizabeth shares how our own relationship with money—whether rooted in scarcity, comparison, or abundance—directly shapes how our teens view financial wellbeing. Instead of chasing endless “more,” Elizabeth encourages teaching teens about true wealth: feeling satisfied, connected, purposeful, and free. Together, they explore the importance of the satiation paradigm and embodying wealth in everyday life, not just accumulating money. Practical tools like the "Wealth Mandala" exercise help families assess areas like freedom, leisure, belonging, and purpose, offering a more holistic way to talk to teens about success and happiness.

Elizabeth Husserl is a registered investment advisor

Key Takeaways:

Money and wealth are different. Money is a tool for transactions, but real wealth is a deeper, embodied experience of wellbeing—connection, purpose, freedom, and belonging.

Teens need to be part of financial conversations. Including them in family money decisions helps them understand choices, responsibilities, and builds entrepreneurial thinking.

Teaching satiation builds resilience. Encouraging teens to recognize what truly satisfies them—rather than chasing endless more—builds confidence, fulfillment, and a lifelong healthy relationship with money.

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Learn more about Elizabeth at https://elizabethhusserl.com/

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Are you worried your teen doubts themselves no matter how hard they work? Do they brush off compliments or beat themselves up when things don’t go perfectly?

In this powerful episode, Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin, psychologist and author of Your Child’s Greatness, joins Colleen to explore how imposter syndrome shows up in teens—and how parents can help prevent it. Lisa shares how imposter syndrome stems from not internalizing success, overvaluing others, and defaulting to perfectionism. Drawing from personal stories—including her daughter's fencing journey—Lisa highlights the importance of embracing failure, savoring small wins, and teaching your child to develop a growth mindset. You’ll hear heartfelt insights about helping your child build resilience and why internalizing success matters just as much as achieving it.

Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin is a licensed psychologist and executive coach. She earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University. Her expertise on impostor syndrome is regularly sought by the media, and she has appeared in outlets such as the

Financial Times, the TODAY show, Good Morning America, Forbes, HuffPost, Refinery29, and more. Dr. Orbé-Austin has been an invited speaker at various national conferences. Her first book, Own Your Greatness: Overcome Impostor Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed in Life (Ulysses Press, 2020) coauthored with her partner, Dr. Richard Orbé-Austin, was a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book Award. Her second book, Your Unstoppable Greatness: Break Free of Impostor Syndrome, Cultivate Your Agency, and Achieve Your Ultimate Career Goals H(Ulysses Press, 2022) is focused on dealing with the systemic dynamics that keep impostor syndrome in place and how to directly combat those dynamics.

Here are three inspiring takeaways from this conversation:

Learn more at https://www.dynamictransitionsllp.com/

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Do your mornings start with chaos and a mental to-do list that never ends?

What would shift in your day if you took just three intentional minutes for yourself each morning?

In this deeply affirming and humorous episode, Colleen O’Grady welcomes Erin Morrison, author of Three Minutes for Mom: 365 Days of Empowerment, Encouragement, and Growth for a More Connected Motherhood. Erin shares how a simple daily practice—rooted in short reflections and compassionate reminders—can transform a mother’s emotional landscape. From real talk on “mom bods” and meltdowns to metaphors like “feelings are like laundry,” the conversation covers how small mindset shifts can help moms feel more grounded, connected, and confident. Erin emphasizes that empowerment doesn’t mean being perfect—it means believing in your goodness, even on the messy days. Together, Colleen and Erin remind moms that it's not personal—it's developmental—and that motherhood is an ongoing experiment, not a performance.

As the creator of The Conscious Mom, Erin's approach to motherhood gives mothers exactly what they need: tools to make tiny shifts and create big change. With two master's degrees in Counseling from Columbia University and a specialization in conscious parenting, Erin uses her down-to-earth, non-judgmental style to help mothers f feel more confident, connected & calm. As a mom of two, she understands the dynamics of parenting-and lives them herself so she can help parents everywhere dramatically and positively improve their relationships with their children.

Three Takeaways:

Find out more at https://theconsciousmom.com/

Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/itstheconsciousmom/

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Are you dreaming of a peaceful family vacation but dreading the inevitable teen drama? Have you ever come home from a trip feeling like you need a vacation from your vacation?

In this episode of Power Your Parenting: Moms of Teens, Colleen O’Grady sits down with family travel coach Laura Rahn to explore how family vacations can become meaningful, memory-making experiences rather than stress-filled disasters. Together, they unpack why so many well-intentioned trips go off the rails—hint: it often starts before the bags are even packed. Laura shares her “Dream, Design, Depart” process, helping families clarify the purpose of their trip, communicate expectations ahead of time, and include teens in the planning process so everyone feels heard and invested.

Laura Rahn is a retired educator and a certified Family Travel Coach. She lives in Virginia with her husband and wonderful dog. As a military BRAT, she has been traveling her whole life. Laura has been involving her two adult daughters in the vacation planning process since they were old enough to have a voice and loves sharing her passion for family travel with others.

One key takeaway is that clear communication is everything—bringing your teen to the table early allows for shared expectations and fewer meltdowns. Another is to define the "why" of your vacation before picking the "where"; when everyone understands the purpose, the rest falls into place. Finally, moms are reminded not to lose themselves in the hustle—you matter too, and it’s okay to want something out of the vacation that’s just for you. After all, a truly great family trip leaves everyone feeling restored and connected.

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Does your teen frequently get angry?

In this episode, we talk about what anxiety-driven anger looks like in our teens.

Kelsey Torgerson Dunn, MSW, LCSW, specializes in anxiety and anger management therapy for kids, teens, and college students. She opened her group practice, Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, in early 2017. She practices cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness skills, and often finds that just having someone on your side is the most helpful part of counseling.

Kelsey recently published When Anxiety Makes You Angry written for teens.  “Using a proven-effective approach rooted in evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), When Anxiety Makes You Angry will help you identify the anxiety beneath your anger, accept difficult emotions—rather than fighting or trying to ignore them—and learn healthy coping and self-regulation skills to help you find emotional balance. You’ll also discover how to “train your brain” to stop and think before reacting; and how to choose calm over chaos when faced with the things that trigger your anxiety or anger.

To learn more contact Kelsey at https://www.kelseytorgersondunn.com/

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/counselingwithkelsey/

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