What do you say to your child when the other parent won’t apologise?

In this episode, Rachel explores what it means to stand in the middle. Holding your child’s hurt while trying not to undermine your partner. She unpacks how to validate feelings without validating poor behaviour, how to avoid triangulation, and how to keep boundaries steady.

This is about supporting your child to regulate, reflect, and grow.

Stay rad

Why is “sorry” so hard for some adults?
And what does it mean for kids when repair never comes?

In this episode, I unpack what’s really happening when a parent doesn’t apologise, and why the absence of “sorry” can be so much heavier on children than we realise.

We explore:

• why kids notice when repair doesn’t happen

• how children often internalise blame when apologies are missing

• what actually helps a child feel safe and validated

You will feel empowered to trust your instincts, use the right words in hard moments, and support your child’s emotional safety.

If this resonated, Raising RAD Kids goes deeper into repair, regulation, and raising kids who feel safe in themselves.https://books.by/rachel-russell

Content note: This episode includes a brief mention of suicide. Please listen with care.

What if your child’s behaviour isn’t something to fix — but something to understand?

In this episode, I’m joined by Cameron Allen, neuroscience technologist, founder of Neuro Progeny and co-founder of Sensorium Neuro Wellness. Cameron has spent nearly two decades studying how the brain and nervous system shape behaviour, including 11 years working directly with children and adolescents in therapeutic settings.

One insight changed everything for him: all behaviour is adaptive.

We talk about what that actually means for parents and carers, and why behaviour is best understood as communication from the nervous system rather than defiance, manipulation or poor parenting.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why behaviour makes sense when you understand the nervous system

• What kids’ stress responses are really asking for

• Why willpower and “trying harder” don’t build resilience

• How stress lives in the body, not just the mind

• Practical ways to help the nervous system handle stress differently

Cameron shares how simple, real-world practices — alongside tools like heart rate variability biofeedback and virtual reality — can support regulation and resilience without adding more to already full lives.

If you’ve ever felt confused, triggered or stuck around your child’s behaviour, this episode offers a grounded, science-based lens that brings clarity, compassion and a clear way forward.

To learn more about Cameron’s work, programs and neuroscience-based tools, you can find him at:
https://www.immersive.neuroprogeny.com/

You can also follow Cameron on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/neuro_cameron/

If this episode helped, share it with another parent who needs a calmer, clearer lens on behaviour.

Stay rad

Do you ever feel triggered by your kids and then feel ashamed about how you reacted? You’re not alone.

In this episode, parenting educator and author Rachel Russell explores why parenting can feel so triggering, what’s actually happening in your nervous system, and how exhaustion, old patterns and constant demands play a role.

You’ll learn how to recognise triggers without shame, understand why small moments create big reactions, and walk away with practical tools you can use today to regulate yourself and repair after tough moments.

This episode is for parents who want to stop yelling, feel calmer, and build stronger, safer relationships with their kids.

To purchase Raising R.A.D. Kids or to leave a review, please head over to:

https://books.by/rachel-russell

https://bit.ly/RaisingRADKids

https://inhousebookstore.com.au/collections/new-releases/products/raising-rad-kids

In this episode, we explore what emotional readiness for school really looks like and why it’s built over time, not rushed or forced. We talk about co-regulation, interdependence, waiting and turn-taking, boundaries, and separation, with practical, long-term ways parents can support their children’s nervous systems before and after school begins.

This is a gentle, realistic conversation for anyone supporting a child to feel safe enough to step into school, and to keep growing once they’re there.

To purchase a copy of Raising R.A.D. Kids, head to:

https://books.by/rachel-russell

Stay rad

Starting school is a significant milestone! There is so muchto learn! And it brings big emotions for both kids and parents. 

In this episode, Rachel talks about (from a teacher's perspective) the real challenges of beginning school and what children truly need to feel able and confident during those first few weeks.

This episode is for parents who want to help their child feelprepared and confident without the pressure to get everything right.

You will finish the episode with a calm and realistic perspective on how to support children as they transition into school life.

Stay rad

Oxytocin is the kingpin of brain chemistry and hormones.

It helps dial down stress, reduces feelings of anxiety and overwhelm, and creates the internal conditions for calm, safety, and regulation. When oxytocin is flowing, it becomes the gateway to deeper connection, love, and a sense of belonging.

In this episode, Rachel explores what oxytocin actually is, why it matters so much for emotional regulation and connection, how parents can intentionally cultivate it at home, and how we can empower children to activate their own oxytocin — even when connection with others isn’t immediately available.

If you’d like to go deeper into the neuroscience of regulation, autonomy, and daring, Raising R.A.D. Kids is available here:

https://amzn.asia/d/52r3PxJ

Stay rad.

Today, my book is officially out in the world, and this episode is about how it came to be.

After nearly fifteen years of working with children and families, and many more months of writing, revising, and editing, this book grew out of what I kept seeing in classrooms over time. More big feelings, more anxiety, more children struggling to cope, and a growing focus on behaviour without enough attention on what was happening underneath.

In this episode, I share why regulation became the heart of the book, why behaviour is never the whole story, and how understanding the nervous system changes the way we support children. We explore co-regulation, emotional literacy, parental triggers, and what children really need to feel safe enough to learn and grow.

If you’ve ever felt confused or discouraged by behaviour that doesn’t seem to improve, this conversation offers a calmer, more connected way forward.

For a copy of my book, please head over to:

www.quitefrankly.com.au

Stay rad

If your kids seem to be falling apart after Christmas, with more meltdowns, more tears, and bigger reactions, you are not imagining it, and you are not doing anything wrong.

In this episode, I talk about why kids often struggle once the Christmas build-up is over. Using a nervous system lens, I explain what is really going on underneath post-Christmas meltdowns, why behaviour can worsen when things slow down, and why emotional release is a sign of safety, not failure.

This episode is for parents who expected things to feel easier after Christmas and are instead feeling confused, tired, or questioning themselves. We look at what kids’ nervous systems have been holding, why it all comes out now, and how connection and co-regulation help children settle again.

If the days after Christmas feel harder than you expected, this one is for you.

Stay rad

In this heartfelt episode, I chat with Leila Kubesch, an award-winning educator, researcher, and founder of Parents 2 Partners, about what it truly takes to blend families with care, compassion, and connection.

Leila shares stories from her decades of experience supporting parents across cultures, and offers powerful insights into how we can raise emotionally secure kids—no matter what our family structure looks like.

We talk about:
💛 How to blend families while honoring each child’s emotional reality
🏡 Why a sense of belonging must come before behavior correction
🧠 Replacing shame-based habits with connection-based strategies
🛠️ Practical tools from classrooms and real homes that truly work

Whether you're navigating a new family dynamic or simply seeking to parent with more intention, this episode is filled with wisdom, warmth, and aha moments.

https://www.parents2partners.org/