Thrive Parenting Project

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Thrive Parenting Project

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Parenting isn’t easy — Parent Support Groups, Resources, Blog and Youth Coalition

At the THRIVE Parenting Project, Inc., we develop support groups and offer resources for parents managing the stress of supporting their children facing maladaptive behaviors, emotional instability, trauma, abuse, neuroatypical challenges and mental illness including Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, BPD, ADD/ADHD, and substance abuse.

10/10/2026

“How are you?” can become one of those questions we ask while unloading groceries and looking for the missing car keys.

Today, try asking when you have a moment to hear the answer.

“How are you—really?”

Put down the phone. Leave a little silence. If something difficult comes out, try:

“Thank you for telling me. Do you want me to listen, or help you think through what comes next?”

And parents, your answer matters too.

This World Mental Health Day, make room for an honest answer.

You don’t have to do this alone.

https://thriveparentingproject.com

10/06/2026

Sometimes, “I can’t go to school” doesn’t mean defiance.

It may mean:

“I’m so overwhelmed that I don’t know where to start—and I’m afraid to tell anyone.”

When my daughter had several projects piling up, her anxiety took over. She procrastinated, shut down, slept, and avoided the class—and sometimes school altogether.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t smart enough or capable of doing the work. She was stuck in an anxiety-driven snowball, and she didn’t know how to stop it.
I learned quickly that shame only made the problem worse. Asking, “What’s the hard part?” and truly listening helped us understand what was happening beneath the behavior.

In this week’s blog, I share what helped our family, including:
• Understanding an amygdala hijack
• Recognizing how ADHD can intensify overwhelm
• Working with teachers and creating a 504 plan
• Breaking large assignments into manageable starting points
• Using the DBT skill DEAR MAN to help children advocate for themselves

Sometimes parents know what the system cannot see. When we share that information, we can help our children feel understood—and give them a better chance to succeed.

Read the full blog:
https://thriveparentingproject.com/thrive-parenting-project-1/f/what-parents-know-that-the-system-doesn’t-always-see

You don’t have to do this alone.

10/05/2026

Every child deserves to belong.

If your child tells you someone is hurting or excluding them, begin with:

“I’m glad you told me. You don’t have to handle this alone.”

Listen before jumping into solutions. Ask what happened, help document concerns and work with the school on a plan for safety and follow-up.

Today is World Day of Bullying Prevention. It’s also a good day to ask our children:

“Who could you make room for this week?”

Listen. Include. Speak up.

Parenting resources and support: https://thriveparentingproject.com

10/01/2026

ADHD isn’t laziness. And “just try harder” isn’t much of a plan.

When a child struggles to begin, follow through or remember the thing we mentioned three minutes ago, it’s easy to get frustrated.

We can hold an expectation and still get curious about what’s making it hard.

Try asking:
“Which part feels stuck? Let’s find one small place to start.”

This ADHD Awareness Month, let’s look underneath the behavior before we label it.

Find parenting resources and support at https://thriveparentingproject.com

09/29/2026

Have you ever heard the tone you used with your child and immediately thought, Well…that could have gone better?

One question helped me pause:
Would I say it that way to someone else’s child?

The Neighbor Test is not about becoming permissive or giving up limits. It is about delivering the same message with more calm, respect and connection.

Our newest blog explores the DBT skill GIVE and how it can help during difficult conversations:
Be Gentle
Act Interested
Validate
Use an Easy Manner

We can hold our children accountable without making them feel small.
Read Would You Say It That Way to Someone Else’s Child?

https://thriveparentingproject.com/thrive-parenting-project-1/f/would-you-say-it-that-way-to-someone-else’s-child

09/28/2026

Family connection does not have to look like a perfect dinner. It can be ten minutes in the car, takeout around the kitchen table or putting down the phone long enough to really listen.

On National Family Day, choose one small moment to connect. Small moments build strong families.

09/26/2026

Have you ever heard the tone you used with your child and immediately thought, Well…that could have gone better?

One question helped me pause:
Would I say it that way to someone else’s child?

The Neighbor Test helps me deliver the same limit with more calm and respect. Our newest blog also shares the DBT skill GIVE: Be Gentle, Act Interested, Validate and Use an Easy Manner.

We can hold our children accountable without making them feel small.

Read the blog: https://thriveparentingproject.com/thrive-parenting-project-1/f/would-you-say-it-that-way-to-someone-else’s-child-1

09/22/2026

ome school mornings begin with a missing shoe. Others begin with a child under the covers saying, “I’m not going,” while the clock keeps moving and your nervous system starts applying for another job.

School refusal can feel like a full family crisis—and the school’s calls and attendance notices can leave loving parents feeling as though they have failed.

You have not failed. But you do need a plan.

One year, one of my daughters kept wanting to arrive late so she could miss second period. The real problem was not laziness or a lack of caring. She had procrastinated on a project, fallen behind, become overwhelmed and frozen because she did not want to get in trouble or disappoint anyone.

What looked like “I don’t care” was really “I don’t know how to face this.”

Our newest blog looks at how anxiety, bullying, sleep problems, academic shame, ADHD, ODD and other challenges can show up as school refusal—and how parents can work with their child and school to find the hard part and build a way forward.

Read the blog: https://thriveparentingproject.com/thrive-parenting-project-1/f/when-“i’m-not-going”-becomes-school-refusal

09/15/2026

Family dinner never looked like a commercial at our house...

Sometimes it was homemade. Sometimes it came from a takeout container. And sometimes someone was “not hungry” until five minutes after the kitchen was cleaned.

But dinner gave us something important: a place to talk.

We shared the good and difficult parts of our day, asked silly questions, played games and occasionally discovered that something bigger was hiding beneath an ordinary answer.

Our newest blog shares practical ways to make family meals feel more connecting—without requiring a perfect dinner, perfect manners or a perfectly regulated family.

Because dinner may not fix everything, but it can give your family a place to talk.

Read the blog: https://thriveparentingproject.com/thrive-parenting-project-1/f/the-family-dinner-that-didn’t-fix-everything—but-gave-us-a-place

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Saint Charles, IL

Telephone

+13122820969

Website

http://ThriveParentingProject.com/

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