In this episode of Parenting the Mental Health Generation, Amy talks with therapist Karen Cloyd about how parents can help kids navigate a world full of constant headlines, graphic images, and overwhelming information. Together, they explore what it looks like to respond rather than react, how to open age-appropriate conversations, and why curiosity, calm, and connection matter so much when kids are trying to make sense of hard things.

Karen shares practical ways parents can support children of different ages, help them name their feelings, sort truth from misinformation, and understand the impact of social media and comparison. This conversation is a reminder that parents do not have to have perfect answers—they just have to keep showing up as a safe, steady place for their kids.

Action item: Learn what your kids are seeing and hearing. Be curious. Prioritize connection with your children and find a regular time to normalize conversation about feelings and vulnerabilities including yours.

Some of the news to which our kids are exposed in this ever-changing world may cause them to experience big feelings or feel overwhelmed. Use the safe place you've created to help them process and better understand with your guidance.

SHOW NOTES:

Family Service Center, Northfield IL

Music Credit: Line Up/Pond 5

CATCH 2026

To find all of the resources CATCH provides to caregivers of young people struggling with their mental health, go to www.catchiscommunity.org.

Follow us on social media
Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky: @catchiscommunity

CATCH, Community Action Together for Children's Health, is a 501(c)3 that provides support and education for families around mental health topics. Original content and materials from CATCH and its collaborators are for informational purposes only. They are provided as a general resource and are not specific to any person or circumstance.

In this special, closer-to-home episode of Parenting the Mental Health Generation, host Amy O. shares a real (not scripted, not polished) conversation with her daughter, Shawn. It was recorded for a CATCH “Parenting with Grit” event on February 25, 2026. Together, they talk about what it looked like to grow up in pressure-filled community, chase achievement for a sense of self-worth and battle crippling anxiety- all while trying to stay connected.

They get honest about the moments parents miss, how reassurance can feed anxiety, and why kids need space to feel what they feel, without being rushed, fixed, or talked out of it. This episode isn’t about quick solutions. It’s about presence, repair, and building trust that can hold steady when things get messy.

Action item: Over the next few days, choose one moment to validate instead of fix. Reflect back what you see or hear, “That sounds really hard,” “I can see why that upset you,” “Thanks for telling me”, and stop there. No lesson. No solution. Just connection.

SHOW NOTES:
Letting Go and Trusting What Matters Most | A Parenting with Grit Conversation

music credit: Line Up/Pond 5
©CATCH 2026

To find all of the resources CATCH provides to caregivers of young people struggling with their mental health, go to www.catchiscommunity.org.

Follow us on social media
Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky: @catchiscommunity

CATCH, Community Action Together for Children's Health, is a 501(c)3 that provides support and education for families around mental health topics. Original content and materials from CATCH and its collaborators are for informational purposes only. They are provided as a general resource and are not specific to any person or circumstance.

As the school year settles in, so do the big feelings our kids carry with them. In this episode, Amy O. sits down with our podcast producer, Anne Neumann, to share real-life parenting stories and strategies for noticing what our kids need. From giving them space to express emotions, to balancing structured activities with free time. Walk away with one powerful takeaway you can start practicing today: simply noticing.

SHOW NOTES:
CATCH Parent Support Network (Parents Connect)

Ross Greene The Explosive Child / CATCH Talk Enough with the Consequences

Lizzy Appleby (Youth Services Glenview/Northbrook) S.O.Y.

music credit: Line Up/Pond 5
©CATCH 2025

To find all of the resources CATCH provides to caregivers of young people struggling with their mental health, go to www.catchiscommunity.org.

Follow us on social media
Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky: @catchiscommunity

CATCH, Community Action Together for Children's Health, is a 501(c)3 that provides support and education for families around mental health topics. Original content and materials from CATCH and its collaborators are for informational purposes only. They are provided as a general resource and are not specific to any person or circumstance.