Parenting a child with big emotions can take patience and energy. Sometimes when our energy is depleted and we’re really frustrated with our kids, we respond in a way that we later regret… and then we feel guilty. But the next time we’re frustrated, we still react in a way that we regret… which leads to even more guilt. In this episode, you’ll learn how to recognize the frustration-guilt cycle, how we can minimize our frustration in difficult moments, and how we can reduce our guilt even when we DO handle things in a way we wish we hadn’t.

It’s almost the time of year when calendars are filled with holiday parties, end-of-year events, and large family gatherings. While some kids love these activities, children with big emotions often find them overwhelming… and their reaction can affect us as parents. In this episode, you’ll learn why kids with big emotions have a hard time in loud or crowded spaces and tips to help our children (and ourselves) when they are feeling overstimulated or overwhelmed.

Even when we set limits and boundaries that are logical and make sense, our children with big emotions often have BIG reactions: whining, arguing, complaining, etc. How can we set much-needed limits for our children without causing long-term damage to our relationships? In this episode, you’ll learn why explaining our reasoning for limits when kids get upset actually makes things worse. You’ll also learn a plan to reduce drama around limits and boundaries, including a Long Game strategy that can eliminate resistance and build trust between us and our children.

Raising children with big emotions can be exhausting. And because we use so much of our energy managing their emotions and behavior, it can be especially devastating when they say things that are intentionally meant to hurt us. In this episode, you’ll learn specific reasons why children say mean things, why we can’t take everything they say personally, and a Long Game strategy that helps children handle their Yuck maturely and independently.

One thing we’re all dealing with almost every day is getting our kids off their screens. Even when we give them warnings, they still get upset or angry. How can we help them follow screen time limits without so much drama? In this episode, you’ll learn why getting our children off their screens is more than a behavior issue, two reasons why this particular situation is so difficult for kids with big emotions, and how to work with our kids  (instead of against them) when it comes to screen time.

Often children with big emotions struggle with uncomfortable situations like losing or trying things they’re not good at. In those moments, they may become upset, or rude to others, or they may just shut down. And we feel helpless when the things we do to try to get through to them in the moment don’t seem to help. In this episode, you’ll learn why phrases we heard as kids (like “life is hard; get used to it”) don’t work for kids with big emotions, what our kids truly need in order to handle these situations, and a simple Long Game strategy that helps children gain long-lasting resilience.

When our children with big emotions have “Yuck behaviors” -- yelling, being disrespectful, shutting down -- of course we want those behaviors to STOP. And we may try many things to get them to stop yelling, being disrespectful, or shutting down. One of the only strategies that sometimes works is to distract them. But is distraction really a good idea? In this episode, you’ll learn how our kids with big emotions move through Yuck (the Yuck Curve), which part of the Yuck Curve is the best time to use distraction, and why we shouldn’t stop our kids from releasing their Yuck.

Kids with big emotions are often impacted by the tone we use when we speak to them, especially when we’re correcting them… and even sometimes when we’re not! Recognizing children’s responses to our tone can reduce cycles of Yuck that currently keep us stuck. In this episode, you’ll learn why our tone does affect children with big emotions, why we do have to consider our tone, but we don’t have to walk on eggshells to make sure we don’t upset them, and what truly builds resilience so that children are less impacted by how people speak to them.

We’ve all found ourselves in situations where our kids have said or done something hurtful -- to us, to their siblings, or to a friend -- and we’ve told them to say they’re sorry. But what do we do when they refuse to apologize? In this episode, you’ll learn powerful reasons why children with big emotions shouldn’t be forced to apologize, how to replace (ineffective) short-term assumptions with practical Long Game strategies, and how we can motivate our kids to WANT to apologize – without reminders from us.

Children with big emotions often experience overwhelming feelings when they are out in the world – at school, at events, at activities they do. Not only do they have to deal with a rush of big emotions, they also have to deal with other people noticing their discomfort. As parents, it’s natural to want to fix those situations for our children, but even our good intentions can lead to a cycle that can make them feel worse. In this episode, you’ll learn what makes situations so uncomfortable for kids with big emotions, how suggestions to make things better can actually make things worse, and Long Game strategies we can use that increase confidence, reduce shame, and lead to long-lasting positive results.