Many parents quietly believe that needing help means they’re failing.

In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, I gently challenge that idea and offer a much healthier reframe: getting support isn’t giving up – it’s showing up for yourself and your child.

If you’ve ever felt guilty for asking for help, struggled to do everything on your own, or worried that seeking support means you “should be coping better,” this episode is for you.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why so many parents believe they should cope alone
  
• How modern parenting has moved away from shared support and community
  
• Why strong parents don’t do it all by themselves
  
• How getting support improves your child’s wellbeing, not just your own
  
• Why support isn’t about fixing your child – it’s about strengthening the whole family
  
• A powerful mindset shift that can reduce stress and increase confidence
  

This episode is especially relevant for parents of neurodivergent children or kids who seem to need more support than others. Parenting is harder when you feel isolated, and it becomes much more manageable when you feel understood and guided.

A Gentle Question to Reflect On

What would change for you if you saw getting support as a strength, not a failure?

This episode isn’t about strategies or tools. It’s about changing how you think about support – and how that shift alone can bring more calm and confidence into your family.

You Were Never Meant to Do This Alone

Parenting was never meant to be a solo effort. Getting support doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It means you care deeply about doing things well – and sustainably.

🎧 Listen to the episode now and take a breath.
You don’t have to carry everything on your own.

👉 Want more support?
Explore my parent programs and resources designed to help you feel calmer, clearer, and more confident in your parenting. When parents feel supported, kids do better too.

You’re allowed to get help. And when you’re ready, I’m here.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
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In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, we explore a powerful idea every parent needs to understand: behaviour is communication.

When children don’t yet have the words or skills to explain how they’re feeling, they use behaviour to send the message for them. And just like adults, when that message isn’t heard, it doesn’t disappear, it gets louder.

We talk about:

• Why big, challenging behaviour is often a sign of unmet needs, not bad behaviour
  
  
• How emotional overwhelm, lack of control, or difficulty with regulation can show up as rudeness, meltdowns, or defiance
  
  
• Why ignoring behaviour often leads to escalation
  
  
• How shifting from “How do I stop this?” to “What is my child trying to tell me?” can change everything
  
  
• What listening to behaviour actually looks like in everyday parenting
  
  

This episode is especially helpful for parents of children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, or emotional regulation difficulties, but the message applies to all kids.

When children feel understood and supported, behaviour often softens. Connection grows. Stress reduces. And parenting starts to feel more manageable.

🎧 Listen now if you want to understand your child’s behaviour with more clarity and compassion.

👉 Need more support?
If you’d like help working out what your child’s behaviour is communicating, and how to respond with less stress and more confidence, I’d love to help. Explore my parent programs or get in touch to find the right next step for your family.

You don’t have to do this alone.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

Many parents tell me they’re waiting.

Waiting for things to settle.
Waiting for their child to grow out of it.
Waiting for the “right time” to get support.

In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, we talk about what actually happens when a child’s emotional, behavioural, or developmental needs go unmet, and why waiting often makes things harder, not easier.

One of the biggest misunderstandings parents have is thinking challenges will pause while they wait. They don’t.

Unmet needs tend to snowball.

A child who struggles with emotional regulation when they’re young might start with tantrums or meltdowns. Over time, those same unmet needs can show up as:

• Bigger emotional outbursts

• Anxiety or chronic stress

• Friendship difficulties

• Learning disruptions at school

• School refusal or avoidance

What starts as one challenge often turns into two or three, not because parents have done anything wrong, but because the original need was never fully supported.

Getting help early isn’t about panic or overreacting. It’s about prevention.

When parents understand what their child needs and how to meet those needs, they can:

• Reduce stress and anxiety before it escalates

• Build emotional regulation skills earlier

• Protect learning, friendships, and confidence

• Lower their own stress and emotional load

Early support often stops small struggles from becoming much bigger ones.

Many parents worry they’ll be judged, told they’re imagining things, or that they’re wasting a professional’s time.

That simply isn’t true.

Seeking support is thoughtful, protective, and a sign of a deeply engaged parent. It’s also about easing your load before things feel overwhelming.

Ask yourself:

• Have the challenges stayed the same, or changed over time?

• Are they showing up in new or more complex ways?

• Is waiting making things feel heavier for you?

Challenges don’t pause while we wait. They usually reshape themselves.

If you’ve been hoping things will improve on their own, or you want to stop challenges from snowballing, this is your sign to reach out.

My programs are available anytime, so you can start when you’re ready. You don’t have to do this alone.

👉 Listen to the episode now
👉 Explore my parent programs for practical, supportive guidance

Early support is not dramatic. It’s calm, protective, and powerful.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

Have you ever had a small, uncomfortable feeling that something isn’t quite right for your child – and then immediately talked yourself out of it?

In this episode, I talk about that quiet gut feeling many parents have and why it matters. The one that whispers “something’s off” even when others say, “They’ll grow out of it” or *“You’re overthinking it.”

Drawing on my work as a psychologist, I unpack why parental intuition is information, not overreaction. We explore why it’s so easy to dismiss our concerns, how this can delay support, and why listening earlier can actually reduce stress for both you and your child.

This episode is especially helpful if you’re wondering:

• Whether your child’s struggles are “normal” or need support

• If you’re overreacting or actually picking up on something important

• When the right time is to ask for help

• Why that uneasy feeling keeps coming back

You’ll also be guided through gentle reflection questions to help you tune into what your gut may be trying to tell you – about your child and about what you need as a parent.

If you’ve been thinking, “Do I need help?”, that question alone might already be your answer.

🎧 Listen now and give yourself permission to trust what you already know.
If this episode stirs something for you, explore support early. Small, gentle steps can make a big difference.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

When your child seems to be “acting out just for attention,” it can feel frustrating, personal, and endless. In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, I’m joined by US psychologist Dr Larry Waldman to unpack what’s really going on underneath “attention-seeking” behaviour – and how parents can respond in a calmer, more effective way.

Drawing on decades of work with children, teens, and families, Dr Waldman explains the behavioural approach to parenting in simple, practical terms. We talk about why kids quickly learn that certain behaviours get a big reaction, how a negative attention cycle develops at home, and why parental time and attention are the most powerful “currency” children have.

Instead of focusing on punishment or “making kids learn a lesson,” we explore how to:

• Use your attention as a positive reward for the behaviour you want to see

• Break the pattern where kids only get noticed when things go wrong

• “Catch them while they’re good” and build more cooperation over time

• Balance ignoring minor misbehaviour with noticing and praising positive choices

• Apply these ideas not just with kids, but also at work and in relationships

If you’ve ever heard yourself say, “They’re doing it just for attention,” this episode will help you see that attention differently – and use it in a way that strengthens behaviour and your relationship with your child.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

What does it really take for a girl to grow up liking herself in a world that constantly tells her she’s not enough?

In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, I sit down with bestselling author and researcher Kasey Edwards to unpack the key ideas behind her book Raising Girls Who Like Themselves. Kasey and her husband, Dr Christopher Scanlon, spent 10 years investigating what helps girls develop genuine confidence, strong self-worth, and a clear sense of who they are.

Together, we explore the seven foundations that help girls feel strong and secure:

• Body ownership & body safety

How everyday rules about clothing, affection, and appearance shape a girl’s belief about who her body belongs to, and how body autonomy protects her throughout her life.

• Confidence built on mastery

Why stepping back, letting kids try hard things, and allowing them to fail is essential for resilience and true self-esteem.

• Moving beyond beauty-focused praise

Girls hear more appearance-based comments than anything else. Kasey explains the hidden harm behind this, and what to focus on instead to build inner strength.

• The “power perspective”

A simple shift that teaches girls to value their own opinions over external approval, including Kasey’s brilliant “flipping praise” strategy.

• Teaching girls to ask, not hint

How socialisation teaches girls to wish, hint, and wait, and how to help them ask directly for what they want.

• Independence, responsibility & speaking for themselves

The small daily interactions that shape a girl’s confidence at school, socially, and with adults.

• Raising a girl who is truly herself

Kasey shares the idea of “seed parenting vs stone parenting,” and how nurturing who our kids naturally are helps them thrive.

This is a warm, honest, and deeply practical conversation for any parent raising daughters in today’s world.

If you’re raising a girl, or you simply want to better understand how to support the girls in your life, this episode is a must-listen.

If you’re looking for practical tools to feel calmer and more confident in your parenting, explore my parent programs here:

👉 Parent Courses Available Now, start anytime, no waitlist
(Link Here)

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au

How attachment-first parenting helps kids thrive in the age of screens and AI

In this episode of Parent Like a Psychologist, I sit down with Todd Sarner, parenting coach, marriage therapist, and author of The Calm and Connected Parent: An Attachment-First Guide to Raising Resilient Kids in the Age of Screens and AI.

Todd’s work centres on helping parents lead with calm confidence, strong boundaries, and deep connection. His attachment-based approach is steady, warm, and refreshingly practical, especially for parents of neurodivergent kids.

This conversation goes deep into the heart of modern parenting, and why connection is the foundation for everything else, including behaviour, emotional regulation, sibling dynamics, and screen time.

We explore:

• Why “attachment-first parenting” matters more than ever in a world of screens, AI, and constant distraction

• The real reason many common parenting approaches fall flat (hello, pendulum swings between “gentle” and “tough love”)

• How kids signal their need for connection, even when it looks like resistance, complaining, or pushing you away

• Why teenagers often open up only right before bed, and how to use that time wisely

• The truth about sibling rivalry and how much of it comes down to a child’s fear of losing your attention

• Why one-size-fits-all parenting doesn’t work, and how to read each child’s unique temperament and needs

• Simple shifts parents can make to build resilience, cooperation, and trust

• How to balance warmth and boundaries without yelling, threatening, or feeling like you’re constantly firefighting

Parents today are raising kids in a completely different world, social media, algorithms, AI, academic pressure, and constant stimulation.
Todd explains how secure attachment acts like a compass, helping children feel safe, grounded, confident, and better able to manage challenges.

If you’ve ever felt:

• torn between being “gentle” and setting firm limits

• confused by conflicting parenting advice

• frustrated when strategies work for one child but not another

• overwhelmed by kids fighting, screen battles, or emotional ups and downs, this episode gives you clarity and direction.

Todd is a parent coach and couples therapist based in the U.S., known for his attachment-based, developmentally aware approach to raising resilient kids. His new book, The Calm and Connected Parent, offers a clear, compassionate roadmap for parenting in the digital age.

This is one of those conversations that will leave you feeling seen, supported, and equipped with practical tools you can use right away.

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts, or listen now on Parent Like a Psychologist.

Follow me on:

Instagram:@leannetranpsychology
Facebook: @Leanne Tran
Linked In: @leannetranpsychology

Email me: hello@leannetran.com.au
Visit my website: learn.leannetran.com.au