The Parent Thing

What if some of the behaviors we struggle with most in childhood actually begin long before a child can speak?

In this powerful conversation, Tarryn sits down with Emily Roper to explore how pregnancy, birth, infancy, and early attachment shape a child’s nervous system, emotional regulation, and long-term development.

Emily shares insights from over a decade of working with children experiencing ADHD, autism, anxiety, dyslexia, sensory challenges, and developmental delays, along with her experience supporting more than 600 births and hundreds of postpartum families.

Together, they unpack:

This episode is filled with compassionate, practical, and hopeful insights that will help parents better understand the “why” behind behavior and feel more empowered in supporting their children.

Emily Roper is a Neuro-Developmental Delay Therapist and certified Midwives Assistant. She is the founder of Early Roots Therapy, a specialized therapy practice supporting children with developmental delays.

With an educational background in psychology, midwifery, and neuro-developmental delay, Emily has spent more than a decade helping children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, dyslexia, sensory challenges, and other developmental challenges. She has attended over 600 births and supported hundreds of families during the postpartum period.

Emily is passionate about bridging the gap between the birth world and psychology, helping parents and professionals understand how early experiences shape long-term neurological and emotional development. She teaches midwives and post-graduate students, speaks at conferences, and hosts The Early Roots Podcast.

📘 Book referenced in the episode:

🌐 Website:
Early Roots Therapy

📸 Instagram:
@earlyroots on Instagram

📘 Facebook:

If this episode resonated with you and you’d like personalized support on your parenting journey, Tarryn offers a free 30-minute parent coaching session to help you better understand your child’s behavior, emotional needs, and nervous system patterns.

📩 Email Tarryn ([email protected]) to book your free session.

Created by Tarryn Bovia, this guided journal helps children build emotional intelligence, gratitude, self-awareness, confidence, and healthy communication through simple daily reflection prompts and affirmations.

🛒 Available on Amazon:
Shop Big Feelings, Brave Goals on Amazon

Children are not born knowing how to understand or regulate their emotions. Emotional intelligence is a skill that develops through guidance, modeling, and everyday interactions with parents and caregivers.

In this episode, Tarryn explains how parents can intentionally teach emotional intelligence using simple tools that build self-awareness and empathy in children.

• Why emotional intelligence is one of the strongest predictors of long-term success

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Big Feelings, Brave Goals – Kids Gratitude & Emotional Intelligence Journal

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In this episode, we discuss:

If you’ve ever yelled at your child and immediately felt regret, you’re not alone.

In this free webinar, Tarryn explains what actually happens inside a child’s brain and nervous system when they are yelled at and how understanding the neuroscience behind behavior can transform the way you respond to your child.

Sign up here:
https://linktr.ee/theparentthing

Instagram: @theparentthing

Many of us enter parenthood with the best intentions, only to find ourselves repeating patterns we experienced growing up. In this episode, Tarryn explains how these patterns develop in the brain and nervous system, and how parents can begin creating healthier emotional patterns for their children.

You’ll learn how awareness interrupts automatic reactions, why children depend on adult nervous systems for regulation, and how intentional parenting can change the trajectory of your family for generations.

This episode is perfect for parents who want to raise emotionally intelligent children while also doing the deeper work of healing and reshaping their own parenting patterns.

Free Webinar – What Happens in a Child’s Brain When You Yell

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What happens in a child’s brain during anxiety (fight, flight, freeze explained)

Why the prefrontal cortex “goes offline” during stress

How breathwork activates the parasympathetic nervous system

Why co-regulation matters more than correction

Three simple breathing techniques that work for young children and older kids

How to integrate breathwork into daily routines

How to help your child build lifelong emotional regulation skills

1. Balloon Belly Breathing

2. Smell the Flower, Blow Out the Candle

3. Five-Finger Breathing

When children feel anxious, their bodies don’t feel safe. Breathwork is not about forcing calm, it’s about restoring safety in the nervous system. When safety is present, connection, learning, and emotional regulation become possible.

These tools are simple, free, accessible anywhere, and when practiced consistently, they help build resilient nervous systems for life.

If you want help implementing nervous system regulation and breathwork strategies tailored to your family, I’m offering a free 30-minute parent coaching session.

📩 Email: [email protected]

Why does bedtime feel so hard for so many families?

In this episode of The Parent Thing, we’re breaking down the science of sleep and what’s really happening in your child’s brain and nervous system at night. If you’re dealing with bedtime battles, frequent night wakings, sleep regressions, or a child who suddenly refuses to sleep alone, this conversation will help you understand why, and what to do about it.

Sleep is not just about getting kids to stay in bed. It’s about nervous system regulation, emotional safety, brain development, and connection. When we understand the biology behind sleep, we stop personalizing the struggle and start responding with clarity and confidence.

This episode covers:

The neuroscience of sleep and how it supports brain development

What happens in your child’s nervous system at bedtime

Why over-tired kids often look wired instead of sleepy

How cortisol and stress impact children’s sleep

The real reason some children fight sleep

How to create a predictable bedtime routine that supports regulation

What sleep regressions are and why they happen

How to handle 4-month, 8-month, toddler, and preschool sleep regressions

Practical tools to reduce bedtime resistance without power struggles

How to stay calm when bedtime feels exhausting

You’ll learn why sleep regressions are not setbacks, but signs of growth. Whether your child is learning to crawl, walk, talk, or becoming more aware of separation, developmental leaps often show up in sleep first.

We also talk about how connection during the day directly impacts sleep at night,  and why bedtime resistance is often a request for safety, not defiance.

If you’re looking for:

Gentle sleep support for toddlers

A healthy bedtime routine for kids

Help with toddler sleep regression

Nervous system-informed parenting tools

Science-backed sleep strategies for children

This episode will give you both the research and the reassurance you need.

Sleep is not about control. It’s about rhythm, regulation, and relationship.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with another parent who needs support. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe and leave a review . It helps this message reach more families who are navigating bedtime challenges.

For more resources on nervous system regulation, emotional intelligence, and connected parenting, visit The Parent Thing and follow along for weekly conversations that blend neuroscience with practical parenting tools.

In this episode of The Parent Thing, we dive into the powerful connection between parental stress, nervous system regulation, and child behavior. If you’ve ever noticed that your child’s emotions escalate when you’re overwhelmed, or that nothing seems to work when you’re exhausted, this conversation will bring clarity and relief.

Using neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology, and a neuro-somatic lens, this episode explains how children co-regulate with caregivers and why your nervous system state directly shapes your child’s emotional safety, behavior, and ability to self-regulate.

Rather than focusing on fixing behavior, this episode shifts the focus inward, helping parents understand how stress lives in the body, how it transfers to children without words, and how regulation is a skill that can be practiced and strengthened over time.

You’ll walk away feeling empowered, supported, and equipped with practical ways to regulate your nervous system in everyday moments without striving for perfection.

How parental stress impacts a child’s nervous system and behavior

The science behind co-regulation and emotional safety

Why regulation is a biological process, not a mindset

How chronic stress shows up in parenting reactions

Simple nervous system practices that support both parent and child

Why repair matters more than staying calm all the time

Parents feeling overwhelmed, reactive, or emotionally drained

Caregivers supporting children with big emotions or anxiety

Professionals working with children and families

Anyone interested in nervous system regulation and conscious parenting

If this episode resonated and you’re realizing your own regulation is a key piece of the puzzle, you’re invited to schedule a free 30-minute nervous system clarity call. This call offers space to explore what’s happening in your body, how stress is showing up in your parenting, and what supportive next steps might look like.

📧 Email: [email protected]
📱 Instagram & TikTok: @theparentthing

If this episode supported you, please share it with another parent who needs this reminder- you’re not alone in this.

Parenting an anxious child can feel exhausting, confusing, and emotionally draining, especially when traditional advice tells you to “just reassure them” or “help them be more confident.”

In this episode of The Parent Thing, Tarryn dives deep into what childhood anxiety really is and why it’s not a behavior problem, a parenting failure, or something that can be talked away with logic.

You’ll learn how anxiety lives in the nervous system, why children lose access to skills when they feel unsafe, and how co-regulation- not correction- is the foundation for helping anxious kids find calm.

This episode is for parents who:

Are raising an anxious, sensitive, or highly reactive child

Feel like they’re constantly soothing worries, fears, or meltdowns

Want to understand anxiety through a brain- and body-based lens

Are tired of advice that doesn’t actually work in real life

What anxiety looks like in children (and why it often shows up as anger or control)

Why logic, reassurance, and “you’re fine” don’t calm an anxious nervous system

How your child borrows your nervous system for regulation

What co-regulation really means and how to practice it daily

Body-based tools that help calm anxiety more effectively than words

What to say (and what to stop saying) when your child is anxious

Why calming anxiety is a long game, not a one-time fix

This conversation will help you shift from trying to fix your child’s anxiety to understanding it, and supporting their nervous system in a way that creates lasting emotional safety.

If this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you.

💌 Email me at [email protected] and tell me:

What part of this episode hit home

What you’re currently struggling with in your parenting

Let's schedule a free 30 minute connect call so that I can support you.

📲 Follow along for daily nervous-system-informed parenting support:

Instagram: @theparentthing

TikTok: @theparentthing

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and share it with another parent who may be walking this same road. You are not alone—and neither is your child.

Why movement is essential for healthy brain development in children

How sensory and motor input shape emotional regulation and behavior

The neuroscience behind why “sitting still” is a developmental outcome, not a starting point

How the nervous system responds to movement from a neuro-somatic perspective

Why behavior is often a message, not a problem

Practical, realistic ways to integrate movement into your child’s daily life

When children struggle with focus, impulsivity, anxiety, or emotional outbursts, the solution isn’t always more structure or discipline. Often, the nervous system needs support first.

This episode empowers you to:

Respond to behavior with insight instead of frustration

Support regulation before correction

Use movement as a tool for connection, learning, and emotional safety

Understanding how the brain and body work together allows you to parent with more confidence, compassion, and clarity.

Parents of toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children

Educators and early childhood professionals

Therapists, coaches, and caregivers working with children

Anyone interested in brain development, nervous system regulation, and conscious parenting

Have questions or want to continue the conversation? Book a FREE 30minute connect call with me:
📧 Email: [email protected]

Follow along for more nervous system–informed parenting insights:
📱 Instagram & TikTok: @theparentthing

If this episode resonated with you, share it with another parent who needs this perspective—and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

✔️ How the developing brain learns best in early childhood
✔️ What screen time does and does not impact
✔️ The difference between regulated vs dysregulated screen use
✔️ How screens affect the nervous system and emotional regulation
✔️ Why transitions off screens are so hard - and how to support them
✔️ Practical screen time boundaries that reduce meltdowns
✔️ How to balance technology with movement, play, and connection
✔️ How to release parenting guilt around screen use

Screen time and brain development

Child nervous system regulation

Emotional regulation in children

Neuro-somatic intelligence and parenting

Early childhood development

Technology and attention span

Parenting in a digital age

Real-world play vs digital stimulation

Conscious and responsive parenting

This episode is especially helpful for:

Parents of toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children

Families navigating screen time in Europe, the UK, the US, and globally

Homeschooling parents and expat families

Teachers, childcare providers, and early childhood professionals

Coaches, therapists, and practitioners working with children and families

✨ Shift from counting screen hours to observing nervous system states
✨ Offer movement and connection before screen time
✨ Create predictable screen routines that feel safe for children
✨ Support smoother transitions off screens
✨ Parent with presence instead of pressure

Connect with Me

If this episode resonated with you or you’d like support navigating screen time and nervous system regulation in your family, I’d love to hear from you.

📧 Email: [email protected]
📱 Instagram & TikTok: @theparentthing

If you know a parent, teacher, or caregiver who’s struggling with screen time guilt or confusion, please share this episode with them. Your share helps normalize these conversations and support families everywhere.