Are the Meltdowns Keeping You From Loving Your Step-Children?

If you had to write your own definition of parenting, what would you write?

The actual definition from webster's dictionary reads:

the raising of a child by its parents.

2 : the act or process of becoming a parent.
3 : taking care of someone in the manner of a parent.

Now with that as your basis, what would your definition be if your child was NOT stuck in the meltdown cycle?

Don’t lose that thought. We’ll come back to it at the end.

For now, I want to talk about the challenging aspect of parenting a kid that may not be 100% biologically your child.

Many parents have shared with me that they feel they are at a disadvantage in this case,

Because they never developed parenting instincts.

Therefore, they are missing that connection with their step/adopted child.

Let me bust that myth right away to say parenthood is not always natural.

There is no biological advantage in terms of parenting skills when you have your child vs adopting one (metaphorically and literally).

Anyone...

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How to Talk to Your HSC About Puberty

 

As a proud owner of the human body, I think we can all agree on one life stage we’d never teleport back to.

Puberty.

The raging hormonal highs and lows,

Acne and body hair randomly popping up all over the place,

Clothes fitting differently,

Social pressures…

You can probably name several of your own personal least favorite things about your experience with puberty, but I digress.

When you have a Highly Sensitive child who is on their way to teenagehood,

And that child is already stuck in the meltdown cycle,

Chances are, you’re already fastening your seatbelt for the wild ride and hoping it’ll get better…

Or you may be on the other side of things and assume your kid will grow out of it.

The thing is – neither of those things are going to happen.

Watch on to learn what's really going to happen.

Book a call with my team today: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/talk

For families with high school aged teens: ...

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How to Prepare for A Meltdown-Free Summer

As summertime approaches, the change in seasons makes everything feel lighter.

Until you’re hit with the realization that just because you’ve stopped dealing with school refusal, summer camp refusal is right around the corner.

Or you know that screen time for your teen is about to increase tenfold and be way harder to manage.

Let’s face it.

Being a parent is more than a full-time job and when you have a kid that is stuck in the meltdown/shutdown cycle,

It feels like you never really get a break.

But what if I told you that this summer, you can break the meltdown cycle in as little as 8 weeks?

It’s totally in the realm of possibility for your family.

I know that because it’s what we do here at MTC.

Our team of experts work with parents to eliminate suicidal thoughts and actions among kids and teens by teaching parents how to help their children manage their emotions.

And now that you know exactly what we do here,

I’m going to tell you how you can...

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What to Do When Negotiating With Your HSC Stops Working

Uncategorized May 25, 2022
 

When it comes to getting things done around the house,

You’re no stranger to negotiation.

Aside from making deals with your partner to do the dishes if they clean the toilets,

You are now saying things like “if you have dinner with the family, you can watch 10 extra minutes of TV before bed,” to your HSC.

What you didn’t anticipate was the fact that the deal-making never really stopped…

And it’s EXHAUSTING.

Especially when you’re asking your kid to do things you want them to do WITHOUT you having to beg.

Like brush their teeth,

Do their homework,

Wash their hair,

Or anything else your HSC doesn’t seem to deem as important at that moment.

The point is, negotiating with your kid doesn’t work.

Book a call with our team to learn if we can help you.

megghanthompsoncoaching.com/talk

For families with high schoolers

megghanthompsoncoaching.com/teentalk

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Are You Burnt Out from Trying to Stop the Meltdowns?

Do you ever wish you could hang a sign on your head that says “Out of Order,”

Just so everyone would leave you alone for five seconds?

Every parent has this experience. 

Between managing the household for multiple people,

Keeping dinner on the table,

Making sure everyone’s shoes has a pair,

And trying to find the seconds in between to brush your own teeth,

It’s easy to feel extremely burnt out after a while.

Throw the meltdown cycle in there and you feel like you don’t even have a chance for peace.

But I’m not going to sit here and just talk about how burnt out you are.

That’s what most mommy bloggers do, and they never really get to the point…

Other than reminding you to wash your hair and put on clean socks. 

Which I am in favor of!

But I’m even MORE interested in talking about what you can do to fix this problem. 

Not only this problem of the pervasive meltdowns…

But this problem where you feel burnt out...

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Can My HSC Also have ADHD, and what’s the difference?

 

Are the symptoms from ADHD or the meltdown cycle?

In a world where you can whip out your phone and Google whatever you want,

We are often a victim of information overload.

This can be especially challenging when you are trying to figure out what the heck is going on with your kid.

Between pinterest pins from mommy blogs giving out “expert” advice,

Clinicians evaluating your child based on a 30 minute conversation,

Your own gut knowing that that things you’re trying aren’t quite working,

And your mother in law’s unsolicited advice…

Not to mention that ANYONE can make a podcast now.

How can you really tell the difference between two similar looking diagnoses? 

Today, I’m going to talk about ADHD and the Highly Sensitive Trait.

Ready to book a call? Click the link below:

megghanthompsoncoaching.com/talk

For families with high school aged teens:

megghanthompsoncoaching.com/teentalk

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How Can I Help My Kid if They Keep Running Away from Me?

It’s true that you can only help people who WANT your help.

That includes your children.

This is a tough spot to be in, because not only do you want to help your child,

It’s literally your most important job on the planet.

It’s scary when you feel like you can’t help your kid.

It’s even scarier when they run away from you and you know they’re upset.

So when your kid shut you out or physically runs away from you,

What do you do first?

Find your kid… Then what?

Lecture them on the dangers of running away?

Yell at them in hopes that if they feel afraid, they won’t repeat the behavior?

Or walk on eggshells in case they do it again?

Chances are, you’ve tried all 3 things here, so I’m going to tell you what you HAVEN’T tried.

Here it is:

Eliminating the daily meltdown cycle all together.

And at MTC, you can do that in as little as 8 weeks.

First, I want to walk you through why your child is exhibiting this behavior.

...

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How To Know If Therapy is Actually Helping Your HSC

 

Taking your child to therapy to help them manage their emotions makes you a great parent.

This might seem like an obvious statement, it’s true.

You’ve chosen to take a different route than your parents probably took,

Because therapy is less stigmatized now than it was even ten years ago.

That takes a lot of guts and trust in yourself.

The thing is, if your child is Highly Sensitive and stuck in the meltdown cycle,

Therapy will not be the best option for your kid.

You might know this, but feel like there are no other options,

And that is where MTC comes in.

First, I want to go over what might not be working in therapy, and why.

If your child is suffering from daily meltdowns,

Hitting, kicking, screaming, flailing, running up to their room and slamming the door,

A therapist will talk about those things with your kid, after the fact.

They will ask them why they think that happened,

And have an in-depth session that could involve both talk therapy and play therapy.

But then,...

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Why Does My Kid Hate Me?

Grabbing your phone in the middle of the night and googling “Why does my kid hate me?” is an experience that I think all parents of sensitive kids and teens have.

You knew that you would sign up for sleepless nights when your kid was an infant.

But now, you lie awake and ponder questions you never prepared for.

Why does my kid hate me?

Why does my kid hide things from me?

How do I get my kid to tell me what’s wrong?

And the worst part about googling these questions is that you never find answers.

The internet, which can tell you almost anything, cannot tell you about your kid.

You know your kid.

So why can’t you figure out the answer to this one?

There are plenty of reasons why, but to give you the jist:

You’re hurt. 

Your feelings are hurt because you are a human, not just a parent.

And you are having trouble sorting through your own feelings to see what is really going on here.

That doesn’t make you a selfish person, or a bad parent.

It...

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What to do when our kid gets kicked out of school?

 

It’s one of the top nightmares that a parent can experience.

Your kid gets kicked out of school. 

Now what?

Or maybe you’re just on edge 24/7, waiting for the day it happens.

Regardless of where you are, I don’t need to remind you that this is no way to live.

When you are in full on worry mode, you simply can’t be your best self.

Walking on eggshells around this problem doesn’t fix it either.

So let’s rewind. 

If your child struggles with the daily or weekly meltdowns,

This can manifest in many different ways.

Sometimes, meltdowns can move from tears to anger between blinks.

Your kid could go from screaming to hitting and kicking a matter for seconds.

And you usually don’t even know where this aggression is coming from.

If this is happening at school, it’s even scarier to manage.

It usually involves multiple school officials,

Time outs, getting your red card pulled, getting sent to the principal's office,

All things that feel...

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