What does trauma‑informed parenting look like on a Tuesday morning when everyone’s frayed? In this honest, practical interview, coach and facilitator Adair Finucane blends research‑informed wisdom with lived experience as a queer, neurodivergent parent living with complex PTSD.

Adair reframes safety as subjective and teaches a humane lens: we’re “nervous systems first,” and behavior makes sense through that lens. Instead of chasing perfection, you’ll learn the everyday skills that build felt‑safety and capacity: balancing high nurture + high structure, using repair as the path back after rupture, and replacing the buzzword “regulation” with resonance — aligning body, mind, and heart for what this moment actually needs. 

Cycles end when someone says: This ends with me. In this vulnerable, practical session, educator and healing advocate Courtney Carlson maps how intergenerational trauma travels — and how caregivers can interrupt it without losing themselves. Drawing from her lived experience growing up amid addiction, volatility, and codependency, Courtney names the messy truth: healing is not tidy, quick, or linear. But it is possible. You’ll learn how to separate what’s mine vs. what’s theirs, shift from fixing to supporting, and build felt‑safety with steady boundaries and honest, kind language.

If you’ve wondered whether a different future is possible for your family, this session offers a grounded yes: imperfect people, practicing better patterns, changing what gets passed down.

Parenting doesn’t come with a license — and most of us learned on the job. That’s why parental guilt shows up so often, especially for trauma‑impacted families. In this shame‑free session, clinician and behavioral health administrator Melanie Williams, LCSW (aka The NonJudgemental Therapist) reframes guilt as a messenger instead of a verdict. You’ll learn the difference between guilt and shame, how guilt can point us back to what matters, and why felt‑safety and self‑compassion make change possible.

Melanie normalizes the big triggers (losing your temper, screen time, work‑life strain, comparison traps) and brings trauma awareness to the conversation. No perfection pressure — just doable practices that build safety for you and your child. Guilt can become a guide; together we’ll learn how.

When we ignore the body’s whispers, it eventually has to shout. In this compassionate, research‑informed session, Sai Praneetha Mutyala offers a practical way for caregivers to hear and honor what the body is saying long before crisis. You’ll learn why the nervous system flags danger pre‑consciously (neuroception) and how symptoms are the body’s language—information, not failure.

Sai clarifies the difference between burnout and trauma and reminds us that when adults can listen to their bodies with curiosity rather than judgment, home gets safer, connection gets easier, and co‑regulation becomes possible. Come as you are; leave with a kinder rhythm you can practice tonight.

When safety is only a rule, kids don’t feel it. When safety is felt, everything else gets easier: honesty, transitions, problem‑solving, learning. In this session, Renae M. Dupuis, Founder of TraumaWise, turns “felt‑safety” from a concept into a step‑by‑step home audit you can complete in under an hour. 

This talk fills the practical gaps between trauma theory and a Tuesday night at home. No perfection pressure—just small, repeatable moves that make safety feelable for everyone. 

If your child lies about everything — the snack wrapper, the homework, even brushing teeth — you’re not crazy and you’re not failing. You’re likely bumping into survival brain. In this compassionate, straight‑talk session, attachment and trauma specialist Ce Eshelman, LMFT pulls lying out of the “moral failure” bucket and puts it where it belongs: a protective adaptation for kids from difficult beginnings. Through memorable stories from four decades in the therapy room, Ce decodes why kids lie (fear of trouble, shame avoidance, and mistrust built from early control and danger) and shows you a better way forward. You’ll practice a three‑part response that actually works.

This isn’t about letting things slide; it’s about making truth safe so honesty wins more often — and everyone’s nervous systems can exhale.

Reading isn’t just about skills; it can be a safety ritual. In this practical, shame‑free session, educator and advocate Emily Remsen reframes literacy as a daily way to whisper “you belong” — especially on hard days. You’ll learn three flexible tiers that you can rotate by energy and need: read to, read with, and read near. Each tier is designed to lower threat and increase choice so perfectionism, avoidance, or “not at grade level” don’t hijack the moment. 

Emily offers sensory‑smart tweaks, plus gentle prompts that move beyond quizzing to curious conversation about feelings, choices, and values. Start where you are; let reading time become a felt‑safety anchor that naturally bridges to connection — no gold stars required.

Felt‑safety is the soil grief needs to breathe. Grief doesn’t move in a straight line — and it doesn’t mean you’re broken. In this intimate interview, Maria Belanic (bereaved mom; Certified Grief Educator) offers a compassionate map for caregivers navigating loss, trauma, and the lonely in‑between. Maria shares her story of parenting through a child’s long illness and the after — naming the loops of guilt (the “coulda‑woulda‑shoulda”), the shock of a world that looks the same when yours has shattered, and the pressure of hustle culture to “move on.” Instead, she invites a gentler way: see grief as a companion, not a deadline; remember that trauma lives in the body; and practice healing that doesn’t erase love — because healing isn’t forgetting.

You’ll learn Maria’s CARE framework and leave with tools to build felt‑safety in hard conversations, connection rituals that honor both love and loss, and permission to live again without betraying what (or whom) you miss. This session is a balm: honest, practical, and deeply human.

A cramped pantry. A crowded doorway. A veteran mom’s nervous system hits red, and the room goes muffled. In this candid, deeply hopeful session, Rosie Savage (MSW/CEO/Author/Activist/Veteran) names what many families live: trauma doesn’t end where it started — it echoes. With story and science, Rosie normalizes intergenerational impact (how bodies remember) while insisting on our power to change the ending at home.

You’ll learn a gentle path from survival to felt‑safety. This is parenting on purpose, across generations, so our children inherit more safety than fear.

Parenting asks so much of our hearts — and often asks us to carry it alone. In Reclaiming Village: Community Grief Tending in Modern Parenting, grief guide and ritualist Alyssa Rose opens a gentle, practical doorway into grief literacy and community ritual for real family life. You’ll explore why “the truth about grief is that it arises with all change, even good change,” how modern isolation amplifies parental burnout, and why social support is the strongest protective factor.

Learn how to model healthy grief for your children, transform unmet expectations into meaning, and weave practices of remembrance and co‑regulation into the everyday. Come as you are; leave with language, ritual, and a simple plan to tend grief together — so your home can hold more compassion, connection, and breath.

When caregiving gets loud and messy, connection is built in the after — the repair. Licensed psychologist and lived‑experience dad Dr. David Adams reframes ruptures (the blowups and shut‑downs we all have) as opportunities to model the way back. Drawing from clinical work and the chaos of real family life, he teaches a simple, repeatable rhythm: regulate first, own your part, enter your child’s emotional reality, invite a redo, and make a small next step together. You’ll hear word‑for‑word language for apologies that heal, plus a trauma‑informed lens for decoding behavior. 

Because staying connected requires capacity, David also normalizes compassion fatigue as the neurobiological cost of caring and gives practical safeguards: gather a support team, schedule micro‑respite, and use quick screeners to catch overload early. Expect a tender blend of science and solidarity — from a parent‑professional who admits he still gets it wrong sometimes and models how to repair, again and again.

Parenting an autistic child can stretch your capacity — not your worth. In this empowering, straight‑from‑lived‑experience session, autism advocate and speaker Louis Scarantino turns the spotlight toward you: your nervous system, your support, and your hope. Louis names what so many caregivers feel but rarely hear reflected back — the isolation, the constant advocacy, the fear of judgment — and then offers a humane, doable path forward: the Supportive Triad.

With scripts to ask for help, a quick cognitive‑reframing practice, and a monthly action challenge, this session meets you where you are and grows your capacity from there. You’ll leave seen, steadied, and equipped to navigate systems while protecting your own well‑being — because your mental health matters as much as your child’s future.

A slammed door. A rising voice. The thought, “I sounded just like my parent.” When stress hits, we react from what we were given — but we’re not stuck there. In this practical, hope‑filled session, parent educator Sadie Dodson teaches a simple framework that turns daily chaos into steadier connection: high nurture + high structure. Think warm relationship and clear limits — not soft, not strict… both. Sadie explains the science in plain language: co‑regulation is how nervous systems sync when a calm adult stays present; those micro‑moments of serve‑and‑return (the “dance”) wire the brain for trust and emotional control.

You’ll learn exactly how to put this into practice: regulate your body first, connect before you correct , and build two daily practices. Finally, Sadie’s 1‑minute NAME repair shows you how to come back together after conflict without shame. The result? Predictable love and reliable limits that kids can count on — the soil where resilience grows.

Connection isn’t the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of repair. On Day 2, host Renae M. Dupuis equips caregivers with a concrete rupture→repair flow you can use tonight. Start with Regulate, then Reflect impact without shaming, Repair with ownership + dignity‑protecting boundaries, Rehearse a do‑over, and Re‑enter with a micro‑ritual that says, “We’re okay.

Repair doesn’t erase rupture; it writes safety into the story. And families who repair well, connect deeper.

PACEs Science — Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences — gives caregivers a map for what hurts and what heals. In this clear, heart‑forward session, statewide facilitator Dana Brown distills the five parts of PACEs Science. She also translates science into daily connection: how to respond when a child’s nervous system is in survival, how to swap “get over it” for grace and repair, and how to install simple heart‑focused breathing moments that help everyone’s brain come back online.

You’ll also hear how communities are becoming HOPE‑informed (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) and why cultural humility — showing up as a learner — protects dignity.

Grief changes us — and it doesn’t only come from death. We grieve identities, seasons, relationships, and the people we’re still becoming. In The HOPE Factor, nonprofit founder and bereaved mother Hope Reger offers a compassionate, do‑able way to move through adversity without abandoning yourself or your children. Hope’s signature framework, H.O.P.E., turns overwhelm into a plan you can live with.

Hope normalizes retreat, rest, and re‑entry as part of growth — not failure. You’ll leave with a printable HOPE worksheet, language to talk about grief without overburdening kids, and a rhythm for moving from devastation to determination one doable step at a time. This is not about “staying positive.” It’s about honest inventory, open‑minded courage, simple planning, and kind execution — in community. Bring your story; build your next season.

For many of us, childhood meant hiding — feelings, needs, and even our true self — to keep the peace. In this vulnerable, powerfully practical session, speaker and empowerment coach Meghann Dawson names what she wishes the adults around her had known: children don’t need perfection; they need attunement. Meghann shows caregivers how to connect to a child’s inner world so performance can give way to belonging. You’ll learn simple, shame‑free ways to reflect back identity (“who you are”), not just behavior (“what you do”), and how to talk about hard things without forcing silver linings.

Expect scripts, rituals, and a 30‑day family challenge to deepen trust. This is connection as practice — not perfection — so kids can grow up knowing safety lives with people, not just rules.

Connection grows when kids are treated with dignity. Educator/advocate Thomas R. Wilson shares three scaffolds for neuro‑diverse families: Joy First (release pressure, connect on purpose), Autonomy (choices + the dignity of risk), and Adaptability (flex your plan, not your values).

Leave with scripts, step‑downs, and a family plan you can start tonight.

When stress spikes, most of us default to reacting — talking faster, tightening rules, throwing “fuel on the fire.” In this clear, compassionate session, relational‑trauma specialist Dr. Vicki Sanders shows caregivers a different way: responding with language that builds connection and safety. You’ll learn why relational trauma is real trauma (the brain reads emotional threats like physical ones), how nervous systems cue each other, and why your tone and pace matter more than perfect words. 

Expect real‑life examples across ages (toddlers to teens) and a reminder that intention isn’t impact — children experience our tone first. You’ll leave with a printable RESPOND Playbook and language that lowers defenses, restores dignity, and teaches skills — so home becomes a place where truth and trust can grow.