Did you know that only about 10 percent of U.S. high school students get 9-10 hours of sleep a night, the amount required for healthy sleep at that age? Teens who aren’t sleeping enough don’t just walk around groggy. A lack of healthy sleep negatively impacts mental health, cognitive function, reactivity, emotional regulation, immune function, and relationships.  Clearly, adequate sleep is important. But how do we help teens with a lot of demands and distractions prioritize sleep? That’s what Heather and Julie, authors of the new book, “Generation Sleepless,” offer in this episode of Beautifully Complex. We discuss the ramifications of sleep deprivation and how to help your teen get motivated about their sleep health.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

In celebration of the 200th episode of the Beautifully Complex Podcast, I have my son Luke back on the show. It’s been 14 years since his first diagnosis of ADHD, and we’ve both learned a lot of lessons along the way. In this episode, Luke and I each share our top 5 lessons learned — my lessons in parenting a neruodivergent child and his lessons in being a neurodivergent individual. The episode starts with Luke sharing his lessons for other neurodivergent kids, teens, and young adults, so we encourage you to have your kids listen with you. As always with Luke, it’s a fun conversation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

There’s a cultural misconception that self-care is treating yourself to something, like a spa day or a weekend away with friends. While that is a type of self-care, it doesn’t sustain you through the day-to-day like internal self-care does, managing our stress, our mindset, and our thoughts and emotions.  Don’t discount internal self-care as “fluff” — I can personally attest that it’s life-changing, as can my guest for this episode, licensed psychotherapist, Sarah Sanders, MFT. Sarah outlines the three main areas of internal self-care and teaches us how to go about internal self-care and why it matters so much. Making internal self-care a priority is a key ingredient to being the parent you want to be.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

It can be difficult to secure accommodations and services for your child at school. It requires that many people agree on a shared vision and how to make that student’s vision for their education a reality through necessary support. Getting everyone on the same page is key, along with focusing on a few priorities in the here and now.    In this episode of Beautifully Complex, I’m joined by Beth Liesenfeld of The IEP Lab. Beth shares her 3-part process to setting priorities for your child around school/education. She walks us through taking those priorities and creating a vision statement to share with your child’s school team to help everyone collaborate for a common goal.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

Did you know that we are reactive by nature? That’s right! Our brains are wired to respond in kind for protection. But responding in kind — like yelling at your child after they yelled at you — is rarely needed in today’s modern world. And it’s never helpful, which is why we need to reduce our reactivity with our kids and parent from a place of calm intention.  My guest on this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast is parenting and mental health educator, Laura Linn Knight. Laura shares her insights and strategies on reacting less, addressing behavior and struggle with intention a lot more, and giving ourselves grace and amending our own behavior when we make mistakes. The calmer you are, the more power you actually have.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

Recent data shows us that anxiety and depression have spiked tremendously in kids since the pandemic. Kids are struggling more than ever and they need our help (adults too, by the way). But what does that help look like?   In this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast, psychologist and author of several books on anxiety and depression, Dr. Gregory Jantz explains the signs of anxiety and depression in children, what we can do as parents and educators to help them, and when and how to seek professional help.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

The difference between supporting a child and enabling a child is often a very fine line when you’re talking about neurodivergent kids, who need extra support. Plus, busy, overwhelmed parents often default to enabling because it’s just easier to do it yourself a lot of the time and you’re on auto-pilot in survival mode yourself. So how do you parent more intentionally and as a supporter?   In this episode of the Beautifully Complex Podcast, Sarah Wayland, Ph.D. and I discuss the difference between supporting and enabling, when enabling is ok, how to be intentional about defaulting to supporting, and the consequences of enabling too much.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

I truly believe that we all have greatness within us. Each and every one of us. My guest for this episode, Cathay Domoney, believes this wholeheartedly as well, and it’s one of the core tenets of her work with children and families. Listen in as Cathy shares her process to help kids discover their own individual greatness. We talk about the mindset and “pure filter of love and curiosity” required to truly allow our kids to discover their authentic selves and shine, which starts by stripping away the expectations of culture and others. You’ll learn how to build a relationship with your child that provides sacred space for exploration (and mistakes) so they can discover themselves… and their greatness.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

Parenting is hard. Parenting kids in this generation is even harder. Our kids today have a lot more potential pitfalls — and risks — to navigate with the internet and social media. And we parents have that whole additional world of risk to help our kids navigate. It’s vast, it’s tricky, and it’s scary. In this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast, I’m talking with Titania Jordan with Bark Technologies. Listen in to learn all the dangers our kids face online as well as important conversations to have with your kids about these risks and tools and strategies to keep them safe. This is a very difficult but important topic and a must-listen for all parents.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.

Are you pressuring your child? You may not realize when you’re adding pressure, but you are very likely doing it often and not recognizing it. Neurodivergent kids don’t do well under pressure. It’s dysregulating and actually makes them less capable of actually doing the thing you’re pressuring them to do.  In this episode of the Beautifully Complex podcast, I outline how we pressure our kids, what the pressure does to them and why we should stop, and what to do instead.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/beautifully-complex--6137613/support.