Calm the Chaos Parenting

Latest Episodes:

How to Prevent Challenging Behaviors Before They Even Appear May 30, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 7: Imagine a world where parenting isn't like playing an endless game of Whack-a-Mole, where you're not constantly bouncing from one struggle to the next. Sounds too good to be true? Well, this week, we're here to tell you it's actually possible.

In this episode, we're diving into the Ahead of the Moment stage of the Family Road Map. It's all about leaving reactive parenting behind and stepping into the realm of proactive strategies and empowerment.

The point is to shift our perspective and become true collaborators and partners with our children. Throughout the earlier stages, we've learned the importance of staying calm, shifting our mindset, saving our energy, and weathering storms together.

But now, it's time to level up!

In this stage, we're done with constantly extinguishing fires and arguing about shoes, electronics, and bike rides. It's time to get strategic. We're becoming problem-solving sidekicks, guides, and mentors instead of mere disciplinarians.

Because here's the thing: in this stage, we're not just parenting — we're empowering, guiding, and nurturing our kids' growth.

The real beauty of this stage lies in equipping children with the skills to navigate life, communicate effectively, and advocate for themselves.

It's a game-changer, really. They learn to understand their own needs and find constructive ways to express them, how to problem solve, be compassionate, and truly listen to others.

So tune in, and let’s prevent challenging behaviors before they even appear. Get ready to be ahead of the moment!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

Dayna caused a ruckus on her Facebook page (00:57)

Today’s topic: Getting ahead of challenging behaviors (07:12)

The big D word - discipline (10:42)

How to approach a bad situation in a leadership way (12:36)

Bedtime routine challenges (16:40)

The 4-step ahead-of-the-moment plan (21:05)

You (22:04)

Connect (24:48)

Understand (30:12)

Empower (34:29)

Recap (41:43)

Additional resources:

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

How to Stop Escalating Challenging Behaviors and Start Defusing the Situation May 23, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 6: What is the best way to quickly defuse your child's challenging behavior in the heat of the moment?

Yelling at them? Punishing them? Locking them in their room?

Nah, that's not the way to go, although a surprising number of experts advise using such measures to set strict limits and insist on staying consistent no matter what. They make it seem like if you’re a gentle parent, your kids are going to walk all over you and have no rules.

But using these methods, you’ll only add fuel to the fire. And the point is NOT TO make things worse in those intense situations.

I've actually been using an alternative approach for a while now, and guess what? It works! Not just for me but for countless families I've shared it with.

This system has nothing to do with quick hacks or tricks you've seen scrolling Pinterest, TikTok, or Instagram. Here at Calm the Chaos, we're all about creating lasting change.

So how do we do that?

I've created the concept of in-the-moment 4-step plans grounded on our You-Cue framework. And in this episode, we’re going to show you how to handle tantrums, outbursts, and meltdowns while staying connected with your kid.

What’s the secret?

The more of these in-the-moment plans you create, the more valuable experience you'll gain, and become better at calming the chaos while empowering your child.

And here's the best part - you'll also learn to predict and prevent challenging behaviors before they even happen.

So tune in, and let's tackle this together, one step at a time!

Key Takeaways:

We're NOT supposed to make kids cry (00:00)
Family Road Map, Stage 3 - The Calm at the Center of the Storm (03:07)
In the heat of the moment, it’s never the time to ignore or fix (05:20)
Common situations of challenging behaviors (08:38)
4-step in-the-moment plan (15:11)
You - swapping the thought monsters (16:11)
Connect - get closer and lower (22:27)
Understand - identifying root causes of outward behavior in children (26:14)
Empower - knowing ahead of time what you're going to say/do/provide (34:49)
Recap (37:50)

Additional resources:

👉 Learn the system 100k+ parents use to Calm the Chaos

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

The Best Way for Parents to Protect and Renew Their Energy May 16, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 5: What if I told you that you could have all the energy you need to handle anything your kids throw at you, and you could do it in just five minutes a day? Would you believe me?

I don't blame you. Five years ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself.

What I remember from that period (actually, I can picture it almost like it was yesterday) was standing in front of the mirror, looking at myself, and not recognizing the person staring back at me.

Wrinkles, gray hairs, dark circles under my eyes, and a faint odor all seemed to confirm that I had lost myself. Later I realized that this is a common experience for parents of challenging children.

When you have a challenging kiddo, on top of everything else in your life, the first thing to go is you.

I feel for all of you struggling with these things today. I know there are millions of you who feel like they're spiraling out of control and think this is happening only to your family. But believe me - there is a way out. You can take baby steps every day to eventually calm the chaos.

In this week's episode, we're going to share a plan to create enough time and energy in just five minutes a day.

It's not about completely overhauling your day or going away for weekends to rejuvenate. It's about building small daily habits that can re-energize you and boost your energy so that you have enough to handle anything your family throws at you.

Join us as we’ll be walking through the second stage of the Calm The Chaos Road Map (Energy Reserves) to show you that you don't need to wake up exhausted and dreading the day ahead.

Tune in and start reclaiming your life today.

Key Takeaways:

I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror (00:00)
The Road Map stage that everyone tries to skip (03:57)
Thinking about yourself first is NOT selfish (06:48)
How stress affects executive functioning (09:36)
How the five-minute plan works (13:19)
You-Cue of the five-minute energy plan (17:05)
You - clearing your head (19:23)
Connect - connecting with another adult (27:43)
Understand - your energy boosts and drains (29:45)
Empower - taking care of your body (32:16)
Recap (34:32)

Additional resources:

👉 Learn the system 100k+ parents use to Calm the Chaos

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

- - -

- Visit Seth Perler’s website

- Check out Voxer App

- Check out Marco Polo App

- - -

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

4 Steps Parents Need to Handle Even the Most Challenging Behaviors May 11, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 4: Facing the most challenging behavior of your child is a devastating experience for any parent. In those moments, it's normal to feel afraid, hopeless, embarrassed, or even angry.

In one of such moments, I thought Jason would divorce me… Seriously - after an epic fight, he took our daughter and drove off to his parents’ place. However, we soon realized that it’s crucial not to let these emotions take over. Because it obviously doesn’t lead to anything good.

In life, we cannot avoid storms like this one. You are going to deal with your kids' meltdowns, arguments with your spouse, having your teenager screaming "I hate you" and breaking things, and other challenging situations.

However, we can prepare for them and get through them with minimal damage. Therefore, in this week’s episode, I am sharing a 4-step ride-the-storm plan that can help you survive the eye of the storm and remain calm during epic tantrums, outbursts, and meltdowns.

Developing this plan using the Calm the Chaos Framework can help you prepare for inevitable challenges and keep everyone safe and connected.

We will show you how to create a plan for surviving tough moments, whether it's a fight over electronics, a disagreement with your spouse, or having both of your kids in a knock-down fight.

Tune in and find out how this plan can help you weather the storm and emerge stronger on the other side.

Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways:

The day that I thought our marriage was over (00:00)
Creating a ride-the-storm plan (02:29)
What does survival mode look like? (04:23)
Stage one - survive the storm (07:15)
Four steps of You-Cue to follow (13:07)
Recap (30:16)

Additional resources:

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

Calm the Chaos Parenting: Framework and 5-Stage Road Map for an Empowered Family May 05, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 3: Hey there, parents!

So, we're on our third meeting now, and I can imagine you've tried every approach in the book (or even those that aren't in books) and everything under the sun (just like we did), but still, nothing worked for your challenging kid.

In the first two episodes of the podcast I’ve recently launched, we figured out that there's no one-size-fits-all approach for parenting challenging children. That's precisely why most mainstream methods fall short.

They don't get to the root of the problem, and they aren’t tailored to each child's individual needs and background.

That's why it's the perfect time to talk about other solutions... and by that, I mean THE SOLUTION - an out-of-the-box approach that covers not only your family but also best practices.

It's the Calm the Chaos System - the system I've come up with is based on over 20 years of research and experience. Because parenting isn't just a guessing game (these days, some people seem to think that on social media). There's a ton of science out there.

I get it, you guys are the experts when it comes to your kids, and nobody knows them better than you do. But we still need some sort of guide, some kind of road map that will help us through this without feeling like we're having to play a never-ending parenting game of Whack-a-Mole.

In today's episode, Jason and I are going to break down the 2 parts of the Calm the Chaos System:

Calm the Chaos Framework (You-Cue)
Family Road Map

We'll explain the ins and outs of this unconventional approach, why it works, and how to use it.

It has helped hundreds of thousands of families - I bet it will work for you too.

Key Takeaways:

No one-size-fits-all approach for parenting challenging kids (00:00)
The method that helped hundreds of thousands of people (02:05)
Calm the Chaos Framework (You-Cue) (06:54)
5-stage Family Road Map (16:47)
Why this approach works and how to use it (31:46)
Recap (34:02)

Additional resources:

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

Why Popular Parenting Methods Don't Work on Challenging Kids May 03, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 2: Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, nothing works for your kid?

Most of the time, it can be incredibly frustrating and leave you feeling helpless and lost, while others seem to just stand by and judge from the sidelines.

Believe me, you're not alone – countless families face the same problem. My family used to be in the same place.

But don't worry – there IS a path forward, and I am here to help guide you through it. In fact, that is the entire purpose of the Calm the Chaos Parenting podcast.

In our second episode, my husband Jason and I will be breaking down why the popular parenting methods you may have tried have failed for your child.

We’ll also show you how to deal with your child's challenging behaviors in a way that helps both you and your child, ultimately restoring your confidence and sense of control as a parent.

Just because your child's behavior isn't "perfect" doesn't mean you need to “get your child checked out”.

Today we’re debunking the myth that you’re a bad parent or there's something wrong with your kid just because they are struggling with behavior.

Tune in, and we’ll show you that there's a way to navigate challenging situations with your child that actually works.

Key Takeaways:

It feels like nothing works (00:00)
Struggles parents of challenging kids are facing (02:10)
The old and new ways of parenting (05:36)
The best time in history for raising kids that don't fit a mold (12:29)
Why some of these older parenting methods don’t work (15:03)
Parenting paradigm shifts (21:17)
Helping families create a family team (28:29)

Additional resources:

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

From “Failing” Parent to Helping 100k+ Families With Challenging Kids May 02, 2023

Show notes

EPISODE 1: This is precisely what the school principal told me when my son was in second grade:

“Take your son, and don’t bring him back until you figure out what’s wrong with him.”

I was crushed, but I realized that something needed to change. So I decided to quit my job as a teacher and start homeschooling my son.

During that time, my husband and I were dealing with frequent meltdowns, which resulted in broken dishes, toys, and even holes in the wall.

I felt like I was the worst parent in the world. An award-winning, national board-certified Chicago teacher became a mother of one of “those kids.”

I was overwhelmed by a sense of isolation, shame, and guilt.

Prior to this, we tried everything:

- positive parenting…

- strict parenting…

- therapies…

Even methods I am embarrassed to admit!

And still – nothing seemed to work.

Until I went all-in on a radically "out of the box" approach and finally discovered a way to calm the chaos.

It wasn't an easy journey, and I definitely didn’t have a magic formula.

I consulted countless sources… I applied, tested, and failed many times (sometimes epically) until I finally figured out what actually worked. And through analyzing our insights and identifying patterns, I created the Calm the Chaos System that works every single time.

How do I know? Because I rely on these principles every single day.

And because it’s also been tested and proven by 100k+ families with challenging children.

I decided to launch a podcast to bring these ideas closer to parents who feel lonely, hopeless, and responsible for their child's challenging behavior.

If there’s one thing I’m hoping you take away from this episode, it’s this… You are not failing, your child is not broken, and you are precisely the parent your child needs you to be.

You just need to learn how to calm the chaos.

Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Partners in crime (or welcome to the podcast) (00:00)
Feeling like the worst parent in the world (04:36)
It wasn’t a magical transformation (15:11)
The importance of defining success (18:43)
Creating the Calm the Chaos system (22:22)
You are not alone (24:52)

Additional resources:

🔍 Check out my website

📖 Pre-order your copy of Calm The Chaos Book

🗓️ Take the Routine Cure course and keep your days organized and running smoothly

👉 Check out my YouTube channel

Connect with me on social media:

🔹 TikTok

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

Calm the Chaos Parenting is a podcast offering parents practical tools and strategies to navigate the challenges of raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

🎧 Follow us on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode!

Welcome to Calm the Chaos Parenting Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

Start your journey from surviving to thriving as a family at: calmthechaospodcast.com

Is your child's challenging behavior leaving you feeling exhausted, defeated, and hopeless? You are not alone, you are not a failure, and your child is not broken.

Welcome to Calm the Chaos Parenting — the podcast for parents raising strong-willed, highly sensitive, and neurodivergent children.

I'm Dayna Abraham, a parenting expert, and I've helped hundreds of thousands of families just like yours.

Each week I’ll share simple science-backed solutions to help you feel more grounded, in tune, and deeply connected to your child, no matter what challenge you face.

Be sure to follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

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