Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share What If the 'Difficult' Kid Isn't the Problem?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
What If the 'Difficult' Kid Isn't the Problem?
What if the "difficult" kid isn't the problem — it's that we're responding to their energy instead of the actual situation?
Dr. Bethany Bildeau (Dr. B) went from hiding in school bathrooms with panic attacks to becoming the sensory and behavioral specialist who helps the kids everyone else has given up on. She knows what it's like to be labeled "the problem." Now she works with students with trauma histories and teaches parents and educators how to support high-energy kids without breaking their spirit.
This is a conversation about navigating the messy middle of parenting when you're overthinking every decision and wondering if you're doing more harm than good. About the transition anxiety when your kid doesn't fit the mold and you're trying to figure out who you are as a parent. For anyone trying to validate big energy without losing your mind, set boundaries that protect everyone, and stop carrying the shame of "difficult."
Dr. B shares the 30-second stair trick that helps kids focus and regulate, why "suffering is a badge of honor" is killing our kids, the frozen water bottle hack for dysregulation, and how to tell if you're parenting from anxiety or responding to what's actually happening.
In this episode:
- How to support high-energy kids without breaking their spirit
- The 30-second stair trick (it oxygenates the prefrontal cortex)
- Frozen water bottle trick for immediate regulation
- Why parental anxiety shows up as behavioral responses in kids
- Boundaries for parents: validating energy without losing your mind
- How to make kids feel seen when behavior management fails
- Emotional regulation strategies that work for any age
- Starting over after being "the difficult kid"
Whether you're a parent trying not to break your kid's spirit, an educator dealing with the student nobody else will work with, or just someone navigating major life changes in how you understand behavior, this conversation is for you.
Get Connected & Support the Show:
- Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions
- Follow Dr. B on Instagram & visit her website
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
View all episodes
By Nikki PWhat if the "difficult" kid isn't the problem — it's that we're responding to their energy instead of the actual situation?
Dr. Bethany Bildeau (Dr. B) went from hiding in school bathrooms with panic attacks to becoming the sensory and behavioral specialist who helps the kids everyone else has given up on. She knows what it's like to be labeled "the problem." Now she works with students with trauma histories and teaches parents and educators how to support high-energy kids without breaking their spirit.
This is a conversation about navigating the messy middle of parenting when you're overthinking every decision and wondering if you're doing more harm than good. About the transition anxiety when your kid doesn't fit the mold and you're trying to figure out who you are as a parent. For anyone trying to validate big energy without losing your mind, set boundaries that protect everyone, and stop carrying the shame of "difficult."
Dr. B shares the 30-second stair trick that helps kids focus and regulate, why "suffering is a badge of honor" is killing our kids, the frozen water bottle hack for dysregulation, and how to tell if you're parenting from anxiety or responding to what's actually happening.
In this episode:
- How to support high-energy kids without breaking their spirit
- The 30-second stair trick (it oxygenates the prefrontal cortex)
- Frozen water bottle trick for immediate regulation
- Why parental anxiety shows up as behavioral responses in kids
- Boundaries for parents: validating energy without losing your mind
- How to make kids feel seen when behavior management fails
- Emotional regulation strategies that work for any age
- Starting over after being "the difficult kid"
Whether you're a parent trying not to break your kid's spirit, an educator dealing with the student nobody else will work with, or just someone navigating major life changes in how you understand behavior, this conversation is for you.
Get Connected & Support the Show:
- Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions
- Follow Dr. B on Instagram & visit her website
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation