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PODCAST

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins for Parents

Dr. Amy Patenaude, Ed.D., NCSP

Psyched2Parent turns brain science into tiny wins for parents raising big-feeling, strong-willed, big-hearted, big-brained kids, especially the ones who hold it together at school and unravel at home. I"m Dr. Amy Patenaude, a school psychologist, parent coach, and your school psych in your pocket. Each week, I help you decode what"s underneath the behavior, understand your child"s brain and nervous system, and figure out what to do next at home and at school. You"ll get parent-friendly

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

23:45

The Honeymoon Is Over: When School Struggles Aren't...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/10/06

The Honeymoon Is Over: When School Struggles Aren't Getting Better Episode Summary It's October. The novelty of back-to-school has worn off, routines are established, and now you have something valuable: a pattern. Maybe reading keeps ending in tears. Homework is still a battle. Your child keeps saying they have no friends. Sunday-night stomachaches are becoming a regular thing. At some point, we move from: "That was a hard day." to: "Okay. I'm seeing a pattern." In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude

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26:57

ADHD Homework Struggles: Why Smart Kids Fall Behind

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/09/29

ADHD Homework Struggles: Why Smart Kids Fall Behind What to do when your child knows the work but struggles to get it done and turned in Episode Summary Your child understands the material. You've watched them finish the homework. So why does it take forever? And how does the finished assignment STILL end up missing? "I forgot." "I thought I turned it in." "I don't know where it is." Sound familiar? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents understand why ADHD can make the homework process

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26:27

Homework Anxiety: Why Your Child Knows It but Struggles

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/09/22

Homework Anxiety: Why Your Child Knows It but Struggles What to do when your child knows the work but still falls apart at home Episode summary Your child knows how to do the work. The teacher says they can do it independently. You have watched them solve the same kind of problem before. And then homework starts: "Is this right?" "Are you sure?" "Can you check this?" "I CAN'T DO THIS." In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents figure out whether homework struggles are coming from a skill

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21:13

School Refusal: What Parents Can Ask Schools to Do

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/09/15

School Refusal: What Parents Can Ask Schools to Do How to build a school plan that actually helps Episode summary What can you actually ask the school to do when your child is struggling to get through the school door? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents move from a chaotic, constantly changing morning plan to something simpler, more predictable, and easier for everyone to follow. Because when a child is already anxious, they do not need seven adults trying seven different things. They

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30:18

School Refusal: When Anxiety Says "I Can't Go" : What...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/09/08

School Refusal: When Anxiety Says "I Can't Go" : What to do when your child says they cannot go to school School Refusal: When Anxiety Says "I Can't Go" What to do when your child says they cannot go to school Episode summary What do you do when your child is still in pajamas, crying at the kitchen counter, refusing to get in the car, or sitting in the school parking lot saying: "I can't." In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents look underneath school refusal before jumping straight to

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36:05

🧭 School Concerns: When Parents Should Wait or Act

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/08/31

🧭 School Concerns: When Parents Should Wait or Act Staying One Step Ahead: Part 5 of 5 "I don't want to overreact." "I know the school year just started." "I don't want to be that parent." And underneath all of that: Something doesn't feel right. In the final chapter of the Staying One Step Ahead series, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents answer one of the hardest school-year questions: When do I wait, when do I contact the school, and when do I push for more support? You don't need certainty to take

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31:41

🧠 Why Kids Struggle When School Starts

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/08/24

🧠 Why Kids Struggle When School Starts Staying One Step Ahead: Part 4 of 5 The first few days of school can look surprisingly okay. Your child likes the teacher. They come home excited. School says they're "doing fine." Then week two hits. Suddenly mornings are harder. Homework brings tears. Your child is snapping at everyone, refusing things they could do all summer, or completely falling apart after school. So what happened? In Part 4 of the Staying One Step Ahead series, Dr. Amy Patenaude goes

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33:06

🔎 What's Normal During the First Weeks of School?

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/08/17

🔎 What's Normal During the First Weeks of School? Staying One Step Ahead: Part 3 of 5 Your child cries at drop-off. Says nobody played with them. Forgets the homework folder on day three. Comes home exhausted, irritable, or completely falls apart over the wrong water bottle. And suddenly your parent brain is asking: Is this normal? Should I be worried? Is this already becoming a pattern? In Part 3 of the Staying One Step Ahead back-to-school series, Dr. Amy Patenaude explains why the first weeks of

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33:44

Reduce Back-to-School Chaos With Simple Routines

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/08/10

🧩 Reduce Back-to-School Chaos With Simple Routines Staying One Step Ahead: Part 2 of 5 If your family routine mostly consists of you saying "shoes," "backpack," "water bottle," and "we are leaving in five minutes" until everyone is irritated… you may not actually have a routine. You may just be the routine. In Part 2 of the Staying One Step Ahead back-to-school series, Dr. Amy Patenaude explains how simple routines can reduce some of the remembering, prompting, and decision-making that make school

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34:31

The Back-to-School Checklist Nobody Gives Parents

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/08/03

🎒 The Back-to-School Checklist Nobody Gives Parents Staying One Step Ahead: Part 1 of 5 Episode summary Back-to-school preparation is supposed to be about backpacks, folders, uniforms, and finding the extremely specific supply nobody can locate. But underneath the supply list are bigger questions: Will this teacher understand my child? Will mornings be a disaster again? Will my child hold it together all day and fall apart at home? Can we fit school, homework, activities, dinner, and showers

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37:46

Meet-the-Teacher Without the Panic Dump : What to say...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/07/27

🏫 Meet-the-Teacher Without the Panic Dump What to say when your child is fine at school but melts at home Episode summary What do you say at meet-the-teacher, the first parent-teacher conference, or in that early check-in email when your child seems fine at school but melts at home? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents prepare for school conversations without overexplaining, overpreparing, or panic dumping the whole novel in the first three minutes. Amy also normalizes that even as a

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32:56

When School Says "We Don't See That Here": Bring the...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/07/20

🏫 When School Says "We Don't See That Here": Bring the Pattern, Not the Novel How to talk to teachers when something feels off at home Episode summary What do you do when your child is falling apart at home, but school says, "We don't see that here"? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude helps parents make sense of the confusing school-home mismatch, especially when concerns look like anxiety, ADHD, executive functioning struggles, learning stress, gifted/2e patterns, unused accommodations, or

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32:53

Not Lazy: After-School Homework Meltdowns

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/07/13

🧠 Not Lazy: After-School Homework Meltdowns Episode summary Why does your child seem capable at school, then fall apart the second homework comes out at home? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude breaks down why "They know how to do this" does not always mean "They can access this skill independently, consistently, after a full school day." If your child has ADHD, anxiety, executive functioning challenges, perfectionism, giftedness, 2e patterns, school stress, or big feelings after school, this

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32:47

Fine at School, Melting at Home: The After-School Crash

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/07/06

Fine at School, Melting at Home: The After-School Crash Episode summary Why does your child seem fine at school, camp, or practice, then melt down the second they get in the car or walk through the door? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude breaks down the after-school crash: why kids may hold it together all day and then fall apart at home, why "How was your day?" can accidentally feel like one more demand, and what to do before you start asking questions. If your child has big feelings, ADHD,

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25:43

Is It Dyslexia? When Reading and Spelling Don't Stick

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/06/29

Is It Dyslexia? When Reading and Spelling Don't Stick Episode Summary Wondering if your bright child's reading struggles, spelling problems, or homework meltdowns could be signs of dyslexia? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude explains why reading and spelling may not "stick" for some kids, even when they're smart, verbal, and trying hard. You'll learn how dyslexia and learning load can look like avoidance, shutdowns, attention problems, or math fact struggles, and what to ask the school when

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26:01

Traveling With Kids Who Melt Down: A Regulation Plan

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/06/22

Traveling With Kids Who Melt Down: A Regulation Plan If travel with your big-feeling kid feels less like a vacation and more like scanning the horizon for the next meltdown, this episode is for you. After a two-week multigenerational trip that included a 16-hour nonstop flight, Dr. Amy shares what actually helped her family get through long travel days, sibling spice, sensory overload, screen decisions, and those "everyone is hot, hungry, cramped, and done" moments. You'll learn the simple travel

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26:38

Pride Month, Panic, and the Open Door: How to Stay...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/06/15

Pride Month, Panic, and the Open Door How to Stay Connected When Kids Ask Big Questions June is Pride Month, and this episode is for every parent who wants to support LGBTQ+ kids, raise kind allies, and know what to say when children ask big questions about identity, Pride, pronouns, belonging, or friends. Maybe your child is LGBTQ+. Maybe your child is questioning. Maybe your child has a friend who came out. Maybe your child saw a rainbow flag and asked, "What does Pride mean?" Or maybe you simply

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29:50

Preventing Summer Slide Without Worksheets: 3...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/06/08

Preventing Summer Slide Without Worksheets: 3 Routines That Actually Stick If summer has already turned into "too much TV" and "I've asked you 47 times to start," this episode is for you. We're protecting reading, regulation, and executive function without worksheets or turning your house into summer school. You'll learn a simple daily loop, Buckle, Body, Book, then screens, so the plan isn't living only in your head. We'll make summer work startable with clear finish lines and tiny reps that add up

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22:52

Sibling Fights and "I'm Bored": Summer Peace Protocol

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/06/01

Episode Summary When kids say "I'm bored" all summer, it can turn into sibling poking, tattling, and demand-play meltdowns fast. In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude shares a sibling-specific plan to interrupt the boredom-to-conflict loop without becoming the cruise director or the full-time referee. If you're navigating camp weeks, home weeks, or those chaotic in-between hours, this is your calm, doable reset. In This Episode You'll Learn How to treat "I'm bored" as a signal instead of a problem you

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29:31

Bribery vs Reinforcement: Motivation, Allowance, and...

Psyched2Parent: Turning Brain Science into Tiny Wins... ·

2026/05/25

Bribery vs Reinforcement: Motivation, Allowance, and Chores That Build Skills Episode summary Are you constantly reminding, negotiating, and "sweetening the deal" just to get basic chores done? In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude breaks down the difference between bribery (reactive, in-the-moment bargaining) and reinforcement (planned, skill-building follow-through), with real-life examples for late elementary and middle school kids. You'll learn how to make chores finishable (micro-steps), how to

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