Connection Before Correction - GET YOUR FREE POSITIVE DISCIPLINE CHEAT SHEET HERE!

Parenting a highly sensitive child while being a sensitive parent yourself? We see you. In this episode, Leah and Adrienne dive deep into how Positive Discipline can transform your parenting journey — especially when traditional methods just don’t work.

What You’ll Hear:

• Why sticker charts, timeouts, and yelling backfire with sensitive kids
• What makes highly sensitive kids tick (hint: their nervous systems are wired for depth)
• Real-life examples of how connection calms the chaos
• Tools you can use TODAY to build cooperation without shame

Why Traditional Discipline Fails

• Sensitive kids experience correction as threat
• Their brains flip into fight/flight/freeze — no learning happens
• Punishment = shutdown. Safety = growth.

What Positive Discipline Offers Instead

• Connection before correction
• Teaching through empathy, not control
• Emotional safety that leads to real cooperation

Tools We Talk About:

• Connection First: “You’re upset the tower broke. You were so upset that happened. What can you do to make things better?"
• Curiosity Questions: “What’s your plan for finishing homework?”
• Choices Within Limits: “Do you want to brush your teeth before or after pajamas?”
• Natural & Logical Consequences: “You spilled juice — let’s clean it up together.”
• Encouragement Over Praise: “You must feel proud of how hard you worked.”
• Modeling Repair: “I yelled earlier. I’m sorry. I was overwhelmed.”

“When you choose curiosity over control, you teach connection over fear.”

FREE CHEAT SHEET! GET YOUR FREE POSITIVE DISCIPLINE CHEAT SHEET HERE!

🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: 👉 Which tool do I want to try this week?

📲 Share this episode with another sensitive parent 🌐 Visit www.adriennebishopcoaching.com or risingsuntherapy.com for more support.

We love to hear feedback about the show! Send us a text!

Leah and I are back this week for podcast Episode 5: Why Your Kid Freaks Out Over Tags and You Hate Perfume: How Physical Sensitivity Impacts Moms & Kids. We’re diving into something most people have never heard of: the 8 sensory systems that shape how highly sensitive kids (and their moms!) experience the world (and cause meltdowns).

If you’re parenting a highly sensitive child while being sensitive yourself, you know how overwhelming life can feel. This episode is your roadmap to understanding physical sensitivity and how it influences behavior, emotions, and even meltdowns.

When I found out that there were 8 senses, not just the basic five, I finally understood why I am the way I am. It was incredibly freeing.

So today, we’re breaking down all eight sensory systems that impact sensitivity:

1. Tactile (Touch): Tags, messy hands, tight hugs — too much touch can feel like pain.
2. Auditory (Sound): Vacuums, hand dryers, multiple voices — sound can be physically overwhelming.
3. Visual (Sight): Bright lights, cluttered rooms, busy patterns — visual input can trigger anxiety.
4. Olfactory (Smell): Perfume, food smells, diapers — sensitive noses pick up everything.
5. Gustatory (Taste): Picky eating isn’t just picky — it’s sensory. Bland foods feel safe.
6. Vestibular (Balance & Movement): Swings, stairs, car rides — movement can be scary or addictive.
7. Proprioception (Body Awareness): The secret weapon for calming overstimulated kids and moms. Think weighted blankets, deep pressure, pushing, pulling, climbing. It’s organizing, regulating, and almost always soothing.
8. Interoception (Internal Signals): Hunger, thirst, bathroom needs, emotional awareness — sensitive people feel it all… or not at all.

What Actually Helps - Sense by Sense

General Principle:

• Accommodate when you can, build tolerance gradually when needed
• Use calming sensory input (especially proprioceptive) to regulate
• Prevent overload rather than manage meltdowns

Tactile Solutions:

• Sensory-friendly clothing
• Let kids cut tags out themselves

Sensory-Friendly Clothing Brands

• Smartknit Kids - seamless socks specifically designed for sensitive kids
• Primary - tagless, soft basics with flat seams
• Target's Cat & Jack line - affordable tagless options with sensory considerations

Noise Management:

• Loop earplugs - discreet noise reduction for kids and adults
• Calmer earbuds by Flare Audio - reduce overwhelming frequencies
• Noise-canceling headphones - Puro Sound or Muted brands for kid

Visual Solutions:

• Dimmer switches
• Sunglasses indoors if needed

Olfactory Solutions:

• Unscented products
• Kitchen exhaust fans

Gustatory Solutions:

• No pressure eating
• Gradual exposure through food chaining

Vestibular Solutions:

• Don't force playground equipment
• Car sickness accommodation

Proprioceptive Input

• Heavy work activities (pushing, carrying, climbing)
• Weighted blankets (brands like Gravity, YnM, SensaCalm)
• Tight hugs (if welcome)
• Chewing gum or crunchy foods
• Sensory swings

Interoception Building:

• Help kids name body sensations
• Regular check-ins before crisis

🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: Which sensory system do you and your child struggle with most?

📲 Share this episode with a fellow sensitive parent 🌐 Visit

We love to hear feedback about the show! Send us a text!

The postpartum period is one of the most transformational times in a woman’s life. She is changing from the inside out - from brain changes to cellular changes and it can be very overwhelming for the sensitive mom.

During pregnancy and after giving birth, drastic hormonal shifts occur and you are expected to manage all of this with elegance, grace, looking good and enjoying every moment. That is not the reality for most moms, and these expectations can cause a host of problems during motherhood, including postpartum disorders.

In this episode, we explore how highly sensitive moms uniquely experience the postpartum period. We discuss what the symptoms of postpartum anxiety, depression, and postpartum OCD look like and how to take care of yourself during this tumultuous and beautiful time.

Recognizing symptoms of a postpartum disorder early is key, and in this episode we talk about how to know what those symptoms are and when to seek professional help. Management of these symptoms, whether on the normal spectrum or a disorder may include therapy—especially cognitive behavioral therapy—medication like SSRIs, and strong support systems.

We also talk about how lifestyle changes such as better sleep, nutrition, and mindfulness help immensely to keep you emotionally healthy.

We’ll talk about:

• Why sensitivity amplifies emotional and physical challenges
• What to do when symptoms become overwhelming
• How to create a smoother, more supportive postpartum experience

Even if you're past this phase of motherhood, this podcast will be so healing for you as a senstiive mom, because, let's be honest, you never stop being "postpartum" and it may even help you feel like you weren't crazy for feeling the way you felt or having the struggles you had.

What Helps Highly Sensitive Moms Thrive during postpartum and how can you prepare?

• Gentle support systems: Empathetic friends, family, or therapists who validate and listen
• Quiet time and boundaries: Guilt-free space to recharge and protect emotional energy
• Mindfulness and grounding: Practices that soothe the nervous system and reduce overstimulation
• Professional help: Therapy, medication, or support groups tailored to postpartum mental health

If you or a highly sensitive mom you know is pregnant, or you are in your 4th trimester, this episode is for you!

Professional Resources:

Postpartum Support International: postpartum.net

Perinatal Partners Network: perinatalpartnersnetwork.com

Postpartum Stress Center: postpartumstress.com

We love to hear feedback about the show! Send us a text!