Open Book Parenting

01/17/2026

People ask me how to know when they need help with parenting their anxious child and I always tell them, "When you feel stuck, when you feel like every day you're doing the same old thing and it's not getting better then it's time for help." Are you there? Then please reach out!

01/17/2026

Some people WANT to live their lives thinking about worst case scenarios and living with those in mind and you know, they get to choose that if they want. But is it limiting us? Does living with the constant threat of disaster helping us live better lives? Or is it ruining the life we have now? That's an honest discussion that those of us who are anxious need to have with ourselves from time to time. It's not a one and done decision; it's something we revisit in new contexts. We, as parents, aren't just teaching our kids to stretch this time but we're also teaching them to think about how to stretch in the future. This parenting gig, it ain't easy. (This is an excerpt from my podcast TELL ME IT WILL BE OK)

01/16/2026

I would love it if we were as great at celebrating the journey as we are at making fuss over reaching the destination. The doing of the thing -- the planning, the process, the assessment and reassessment -- is so much more than we give credit to. In what way can you bring appreciation for the work to your life and to your child's life? How would appreciation of the EFFORT regardless of outcome change your ideas about success and failure?

01/15/2026

Need a school fundraiser that's super easy to implement AND can make a positive difference for the students and families your school community? Reach out to me to learn about how we can partner to bring my services to your school and send 50% of tuition back to your program. Direct message me or comment on this post and let's talk about it!

01/15/2026

Much of dysfunctional anxious behaviors serve to tell us that we have more control than we do. The avoidance is in accepting the limits of our capability to protect ourselves. Ironic, eh? We feel less anxious -- or at least learn to tolerate our anxiety better -- when we accept that we can only do our best and then we must deal with whatever life offers us. It's a fundamental reality of being human that we need to accept in order to find joy in spite of or alongside suffering.
(This is an excerpt from my podcast TELL ME IT WILL BE OK)

01/14/2026

01/13/2026

I remember when my kids were learning to walk and they'd toddle under the kitchen table until one day they headed confidently that way and -- bam! -- they'd hit their nogging on the edge. Because they were growing and didn't realize they'd hit the height limit! So it goes. So goes parenting. Every day is a brand new day and every day is potentially a brand new relationship because your child is always heading to yet another developmental milestone.

01/11/2026

Sometimes we feel so bad about the way we're doing things or something we've done that we're just stuck in it. We're just mired in it. It's like we can't let ourselves do anything else because it feels like we're letting ourselves off the hook. I met a lot of parents with anxious kids who feel this way. They beat themselves up so hard that they don't have energy to get out of the Parenting Pitfalls and learn to do things differently. But guilt is supposed to be a motivator. Don't want to feel guilty? Learn not to do the thing! Need help with that? PLEASE reach out!

01/10/2026

Once parents understand the patterns they may be inspired to start interrupting them all at once but this usually backfires! Kids get overwhelmed and their behavior amps up, parents get overwhelmed and start thinking that nothing is going to work. But actually it's typical for anxious kids to lean on less healthy behaviors while they're building skills and focusing on one area at a time gives them the bandwidth (and you the space) to start figuring out how this is all going to work. Growth is a journey! It takes time!

01/10/2026

Parenting is a relationship (oh look at that beautiful perfect baby!) and also a job (oh that beautiful perfect baby just had a massive blow out all over the new car seat). 🤢 Some of us love to parent toddlers (seriously, some of us do) and some of us are counting the days until the first day of kindergarten. It's ok. Being a good parent doesn't mean you're always going to love parenting!

01/09/2026

Isn't that interesting? Mom and Grandma meant to show concern and caring and may have thought Grandfather (whose name was McFeely, by the way!) was being too lax. But how young Fred experienced it was trust. "I trust you," he heard from his grandfather. "I trust you to do it and to be able to manage whatever happens next."
When we step in too quickly or hold them up too much we may think we're saying "I'm here for you" but what we might actually be saying is, "You can't do it without me."
Tough work, this parenting gig. ❤️