My Top 3 Podcast Picks for Parents of Kids with Emotional/Behavioural Difficulties

It's no secret - I'm an avid podcast listener! I listen to a pretty wide range of genres, including podcasts specifically focused on children's mental health topics such as behaviour problems, anxiety/OCD, and ADHD. So go ahead and scroll down to find my top 3 podcast picks for parents of children who struggle with emotional/behavioural difficulties. Hopefully there's at least one on this list that might be helpful for you and your kiddos!

Podcast Pick #1: For Parents of Little Ones with Emotional or Behavioural Difficulties

Podcast Title: Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled Podcast Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/respectful-parenting-janet-lansbury-unruffled/id1030050704 Janet Lansbury is one of my all-time favourites to listen to! She works within a similar niche as me - focusing on supporting parents and families who are struggling with their little one's emotional or behavioural difficulties. In her podcasts, she discusses different behaviour challenges that can come up for little ones, what the underlying causes may be, and how to best solve the issues. One of the reasons I love her so much, is she has a wonderful way of speaking calmly yet firmly. She addresses parent concerns about child behaviours without parent blaming or child blaming, yet gets directly to the point of what needs to happen in order to address the underlying issue. She doesn't just offer quick tips and tricks and strategies, though, like so many - which is yet another reason why I love her stuff! Instead, she actually digs down deeper, bringing the root of the issue to parents' awareness. She discusses and educates parents on WHY those problems exist in the first place or what may be maintaining them, and only then goes on to discuss potential solutions. She doesn't claim quick fixes or one-size-fits-all approaches, but really aims to understand the individual child, parent, family and issue in a deep and meaningful way. I don't necessarily agree with everything she says, and her podcast seems to be aimed more at addressing developmentally expected or typical behaviour difficulties (especially regarding those that appear after or just prior to a birth of a new baby, or through other major family transitions), versus focusing on children who have more severe or pervasive emotional/behavioural challenges or diagnosed developmental or mental health disorders. So, some of her suggestions or recommendations that work very well with typically-developing kids may require additional or different approaches when applied to a child who has more severe or pervasive emotional or behavioural difficulties. That being said, she is extremely knowledgeable, and provides excellent positive parenting approaches that work well for ALL kids. And with weekly (or more) episodes dating back to 2015, you can likely find at least a few episodes that will speak directly to some of the challenges you might be experiencing with your own kiddos.

Pick #2: For Parents of Kids With Anxiety/OCD

Podcast Title: AT Parenting Survival Podcast Podcast Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-parenting-survival-podcast-parenting-child-anxiety/id1205679186 If you have a child that struggles with Anxiety/OCD, this podcast is a MUST! Natasha Daniels is a child therapist and a mother of kids who struggle with these same difficulties. So, not only does she understand Anxiety/OCD from a professional lens, but she also has the practical knowledge and experience of the impacts that Anxiety/OCD can have on a child, a mother, and a family. She uses real-life examples to discuss a variety of topics related to Anxiety/OCD and presenting concerns, and does so in a calm, professional, yet practical manner. She doesn't preach perfection, there's no parent-blaming, and she understands (both professionally AND personally!) that sometimes, life gets in the way of even our best intentions at helping our kids with Anxiety/OCD. Yet at the same time, she communicates that parents have a huge role to play in treatment, and gives incredible, practical examples of how to help your child. The aim of this podcast is to educate parents on all different aspects of Anxiety/OCD, and can be an excellent resource for parents who just aren't familiar with or aren't too sure what to do when faced with their child's anxious reactions. This podcast is on episode number 224 (at the time of writing this), so there's something for everyone with a child who struggles with Anxiety/OCD!

Pick #3: For Parents of Kids with ADHD

Podcast Title: ADHD Experts Podcast Podcast Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/adhd-experts-podcast/id668174671 David Anderson is a clinician specializing in the assessment and treatment of kids and teens with ADHD, learning difficulties, and other emotional/behavioural challenges. His podcast focuses on educating parents, teachers, and other caregivers on ADHD and learning difficulties, and how it can impact a child, family, and other systems. He provides a lot of valuable information on the typical signs, symptoms, and challenges children with ADHD display and how to support children through those challenges, of course. But he also frequently touches on some of the lesser-know signs, symptoms, or difficulties for children and teens who struggle with ADHD and learning disabilities, how to recognize them, and what to do about them. A lot of the podcast episodes also speak directly to the importance of caregiver support. They offer a lot of compassion and suggestions for parents who often themselves struggle with signs or symptoms of ADHD or learning difficulties (diagnosed or not). And also include episodes speaking directly to Teachers, extended family, or other caregivers who often aren't sure how to best help or support children and teens struggling with ADHD or learning difficulties. Unlike a lot of the information out there on ADHD, this podcast does not oversimplify the disorder, or paint every child diagnosed with ADHD with the same brush. Instead, this podcast speaks to the diversity of ADHD and how it shows up uniquely for every child and every family, and provides a great deal of information for parents, other caregivers, AND TEACHERS on how to best support children and teens who struggle with this diagnosis.

Special Note Before You Go Download These:

A general theme of all of these podcasts - and probably a major factor in why I love them each so much - is that the problems kids are facing do not present children as broken or in need of fixing. Because they aren't! Nor do they place the responsibility for treatment and alleviation from those difficulties solely on the shoulders of the children themselves. Because it isn't! Instead, they all speak directly to caregivers about how caregivers themselves can understand and manage (and help their child understand and manage) these difficulties. Aaaaand (*spoiler alert*) it involves a whole lot more than simply dropping a child off with a therapist or refilling medications. It's really all about the day-to-day, tough stuff, that parents play a huge part in and that can have a tremendous impact on their child's outcome. Because here's the truth: There are no quick fixes, and there are no solutions without putting in the hard work. When parents and caregivers take ownership of their respective roles, and are ACTIVE participants as a child or teen works through those emotional/behavioural challenges, that's when real change happens! I hope this was helpful! Now go listen, learn, and implement! [But first, a little disclaimer... this blog post is not therapy, podcasts are not therapy, nor are blogs or podcasts replacements for therapy. If you and your child/teen are actively working with a therapist, make sure you discuss the treatment plan and make sure any new things you learn or any questions/concerns you have are discussed with your therapist prior to implementing! Because, let's be real, universal education is excellent - but your therapist probably has a better context of what's best for your child's treatment plan than a guy or girl talking into a microphone to no one and everyone all at once - expert or not!] See you in the next post!