Parenting in the Daily Grind: Where You Can Ease Up Without Giving In

In this episode of Educating the Uniquely Wired Child, I sit down with educator, founder, and parent Linda McDonough for a grounded conversation about what it actually looks like to support uniquely wired children in real life… not just in theory.

We talk about the daily grind many families find themselves in, and how small shifts in where we put our energy can make a meaningful difference over time.

One moment that stayed with me from this conversation:

“Store-bought cake is fine. If your child insists on sleeping in tomorrow’s clothes, let them. There are places you can cut corners without giving in.”

This episode is about letting go of the idea that everything has to be done “right” and instead focusing on what actually moves your child and your family forward.

🔗 Resources & Links

🎧 Join the Parent Community:
 https://linktr.ee/uniquely.wired.child

(You can connect with other parents, access resources, and continue conversations like this one.)

💡 NC Innovations Waiver (Medicaid-funded support program):
 https://medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/nc-innovations-waiver

The NC Innovations Waiver is a Medicaid-funded program in North Carolina that can provide support and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, helping families access resources in home and community settings.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Today's episode is one that I've been looking forward to for a long time because it sits right at the intersection of two conversations we don't have enough of: what it really means to raise a uniquely wired child, and what it looks like when the systems actually work for them. I'm joined today by Linda McDonough, an educator, founder, and parent who's lived this journey from every angle. Linda is the co-founder of Hope Creek Academy, created out of a deeply personal need, not just for her own child, but for so many children who don't fit into traditional educational settings. The school was designed to support neurodivergent students through movement, reducing stress, multi-sensory learning, creating an environment where kids can actually thrive, not just survive. But what makes this conversation especially powerful is that Linda is also a parent of a neurodivergent adult, a young woman who now lives in a group home. And that perspective matters. Because so many of the parents listening right now are in the thick of it, navigating school behaviors, systems, and wondering quietly, what does this look like long term? What happens when my child becomes an adult? And how do I make decisions now that actually support that future? Linda brings a perspective that is both grounded and honest, shaped by years in education and a lifetime of parenting, including navigating complex mental health needs and systems that don't always work. In this conversation, we will talk about what kids actually need to feel safe and successful in school, why traditional systems often miss the mark, what changes when you start designing environments for neurodivergent learners, and what she wishes more parents understood earlier in their journey. So this is one of those conversations that expands your perspective, not just as a parent, but as someone thinking about the long game. So let's get into it. Welcome, Linda. Thanks for being here today. Well, thank you for having me. All right, so take us back to the early years of parenting your daughter. So what were you noticing before there was language or any type of diagnosis around it?

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Brianna is my second child, and my first child may have been the world's easiest kid, a fact that I put down entirely to my superior parenting. Well, then Brianna came. She was placed in my home as a foster child at seven weeks old and remained with me till I adopted her at age two. I think maybe my first clue came, and she cried a lot, but my first real clue came when she was expelled from her first daycare at 18 months. The director said she had never seen such an angry baby before. She was expelled from her second one at three years. And at this point, I'm thinking, yeah, something's not right here. But you know, she was meeting her other developmental milestones, and nobody really seemed to know what was going on. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

So just a quick tangent, but what did you do without child care? I mean, how did you manage that?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Well I think I guilted people into doing something different, trying something different. And she was in a program for kids with behavioral issues and daycare three days a week, and her second daycare took her back two days a week. And and that was helpful. I also had a fairly flexible job, but I did end up eventually getting fired from that job because my life just looked like it was such in crisis all the time. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Well, what did people not see that you were holding behind the scenes as her parent? I mean, it sounds like a lot of people were worried, but what did people not see?

SPEAKER_01 4:47

People didn't see, I mean, there was a lot they did see because I was very open about it from the beginning. I think I guess what they didn't see was how hard nights were. I mean, she would just scream and scream and scream at nights, and I would sing to her till my voice was hoarse. And I remember one night our minister called and I answered the phone and I said, I don't know who this is, I can't hear you, but call me back in about an hour. And he called back in an hour and said, Man, that sounded like all four horsemen of the apocalypse were going through your house. He's like, Well, that's every night.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

So wow, and yeah, nights, nights can be can be hard, right? Nights were hard. Yeah. Was there a moment where you realized that your path with Brianna might look different long term?

SPEAKER_01 5:48

I think it was probably a series of moments. I remember, you know, there was the daycare things, but I remember she would climb out of her car seat all the time and crawl, try and crawl onto me and try and grab the steering wheel. And I finally called social services. She was still a foster child then. I said, I'm just letting you know up front, I am bungee cording her into her car seat. And if you have a problem with that, tell me now. And I think when you have to make that kind of call, there's something different going on. Exactly. Because you were doing that purely for safety. Sure. I mean, sometimes I'd stop the car 10 times on a five-mile run to put her back in her car seat.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Oh wow. And what was her language like at that point? You said her other developmental milestones were on target, but could she verbalize it all?

SPEAKER_01 6:55

I did baby signs with her and she got quite good at those, but I don't think she could understand what was going on inside. She always had to have her way. You know, it had to be her radio station. And we didn't let that happen all the time, but we knew there was a tantrum coming when we didn't.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

And right. And so you you knew the right thing to do was not to give in, but then you had to be prepared for what was going to happen. Yeah. And that's a that's a hard space to be in. I remember some evenings, especially when my kids were really young, they were 20 months apart. And I can remember, you know, trying to cook dinner with two toddlers, and there's part of me that wanted so badly just to give in, right? So that the rest of the night was quiet, right? But I knew in my in my head that that was not the right, not the right thing to do. But there was a part of me that wanted so badly to just say, sure. So right then stop crying, anything. Exactly, exactly. All right, so let's talk parenting. What was hardest for you as a parent, not just logistically, but emotionally?

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I think the fact that I was a single parent was hard. And I was not just a single parent, I was a single older parent. I had Molly when I was 40, and I adopted Brianna when I was 44. I so doing it alone was definitely a problem at times, although we were always unanimous about discipline at my house. So that was the good part of that. But the other thing I think is it was hard when people with good intentions would make suggestions. Parents with mentally ill kids, have you tried a sticker chart? Because the number of people who say, Have you tried a sticker chart? just makes me want to punch someone. Um, yes, we tried sticker charts all the time and they did not work with her. I think people had good intentions, they just had no idea of what our reality was and wanted to offer something, but what they offered was less than helpful. People suggested I spank and I did not do that. People suggested, you know, moving to the country and letting her run around naked outside, and I couldn't do that. I think that was hard. Yeah, unsolicited advice.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Yes, because they they didn't know what was going on. And to go back to what your minister said, you know, when he heard what it sounded like in your house, it was it was shocking. So, you know, I'm thinking that if there's people that suggested behavior charts, if they if they could be in your house in one of those evenings, they would realize how ridiculous that would sound. Right. But but you're right, the intentions are good, but yeah, unsolicited advice is usually not not good in general. Right? Right. All right, what do you wish that someone had told you earlier in your parenting journey?

SPEAKER_01 10:23

What you can with what you know and feel guilty all the time. Again, there's so many suggestions, there's so many paths you're gonna go down. Have you tried OT? Have you tried speech? Have you tried the fine gold diet? Have you tried this? And there are things I would have done differently now if I were raising a child like that, but I did the best I could with what I knew. And I think that's true of most parents.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Absolutely. So for parents who are listening who are in that daily grind right now, behaviors, school calls, exhaustion, maybe even saying your kid can't come back to this daycare. Like, what would you say to them? Store-bought cake. That's what I'd say.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Let the corners, you know, if your kid insists on sleeping in tomorrow's clothes, let them and don't let anybody make you feel guilty about that. There are places you can cut corners without giving in. The other thing is you need to know school law because I think a lot of what the schools do to kids like this is not legal. And you know, they'll slap those kids in homebound so fast. Well, I couldn't do homebound, I had to work.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

So um well, and being at home is not gonna fix the problem because the problem is learning how to adapt to your environment and just taking you completely out of the environment is not just makes things easier for school staff.

unknown 12:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Well, Kristen, the other thing I think I'd say is check out the right school, W-R-I-G-H-T school. It's your tax dollars at their very best. It's a a school in Durham for kids six through 13, and they take the kids no one else can deal with, that they're verbal and can understand therapy. It's a semi-residential program that'll take them for six months. And that was that was the first time I worked with mental health professionals who did not treat me like I was crazy. And while it didn't fix Brianna, it gave me a lot of tools to work with.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Absolutely. Yeah, and one of my very good friends just retired from working at the right school. Oh, that's right. And when when I was doing school consulting, what I loved the most was how much thought and effort and preparedness they did when the students left the right school and were coming back to traditional public school settings. That's a big change. They're going back home and they're going back to public school. And both of those were hard beforehand. And so making that transition and having those skills and strategies transfer into their real life environment is so crucial in their success. Yes. Yeah. I remember there were a couple of times, probably way more than a couple, but there were a few years where there was rumors that you know the right school was going to lose its funding. And I remember every year thinking, do not take that away because it has that school has literally saved kids' lives.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Yes, it really has. And we've pulled back from the brink every single time that it has.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

All right, well, that leads right into the system and how it can break down because it clearly broke down for your girl, breaks down for a lot of uniquely wired kids. So, where do you feel traditional school systems most consistently miss neurodivergent kids?

SPEAKER_01 14:43

I think, you know, I had two kids that had difficulty with schools. My first child is a gifted dyslexic ADHD kid, and I ended up having to pull her in middle school because it was just a disaster. And I think one of the places that they often miss is with borderline kids that look normal, so they should be able to do it. And we don't see what a kid is holding in inside when they're barely holding it together at school. So I think they miss that. And I don't think they have the skills to work with a lot of really difficult neurodivergent kids.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

And and through these podcast conversations, the the first one that you said has come up in every single conversation, that your you know, inattentive ADHD girls are the ones that are not getting diagnosed until way later in life and they're suffering in silence when there's really there's really no no need for that. And to your other point, when I used to teach teacher preparation courses at a university, and coming from my background, you know, training, you know, in like the behavioral management and behavior analysis, you know, behavior management is was, you know, something that is to me so, so, so important because it doesn't matter how much you know about math or social studies if you can't manage behavior. And I was shocked that students in teacher preparation programs were not even getting one full course in behavior management. And I don't even think one course is enough, but at least, you know, one full, you know, set of uh curriculum hours to learn that super important piece.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

That's right. And there are classes out there that teachers could take. We require many of them of our teachers here at Hope Creek.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Good. Um, so what do you feel that schools are often focusing on that really isn't uh the most important thing to focus on?

SPEAKER_01 17:14

They're focused on, and unfortunately, that's sort of their mandate on cramming in as much information as possible. I always told my teachers, I don't want you to cover material, I want you to teach material. And we talk about mastery learning, that kids should not try to go on to the next skill if they haven't mastered the skill under that. Um and I think mastery learning takes more time, and what the public schools don't have is time and money and people. Um, I think what they should be focusing on is teaching emotional regulation. It's what you just said a minute ago. You know, I have a child in my class that is incredibly bright and used to scream and carry on, and once he's learned to um regulate his emotions, it turns out he's very bright and he is growing by leaps and bounds academically, but that could not happen until he could master emotional regulation.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Absolutely. And I, in one of my earlier episodes, I interviewed a teacher and she said the most important part of her day, and she is a huge advocate for it, is her 15-minute morning meeting. And it's where her students can come with concern, you know, talk about you know things that might be on their mind. And she said it sets the whole tone because if you don't feel safe and secure, you can't learn. That's right. So, what are what would be some of the the hidden stressors in school environments that most people don't think about?

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Well, fire drills, for one, you know, they are so noisy. And I had one child who knew that I pulled the fire alarm every month, that if I'd walk in his class, he'd cry. And this was a problem because I taught this child. And so we finally made a deal that he would come with me. The fire alarm would not go off unless he was the one that pulled it. So he'd get his headphones and walk to the fire alarm just sobbing. He'd pull it, we'd get him outside, and it was over for a whole month. So that's one thing. I think the lack of structure is really a problem. We had to change our schedule today. We had a fire safety assembly that was really fun. The fire trucks came, they got to climb on them, but we had one child who sat who's shut down for two periods because the schedule had changed. I think a lack of movement is a problem. We have four recesses a day. We start the day with recess, and we find that our kids do so much better at holding it together when they know that every couple of hours they're going to be able to get outside and play. And this is not, they have PE too, but this is not PE. This is time to play. I think reading is often a problem. We have multiple reading teachers here, and every child can be pulled for reading if they knew it or need it. And I think missing elementary lessons, I had to spend three days on how to write on a sheet of notebook paper. They were writing on it upside down and backwards, and the holes were on the wrong side. They didn't understand about indenting, about margins. And that's not, they're not going to get three lessons on that in a public school because most of the kids will get it. But most isn't everyone.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Most is not everyone. Right. And just because you miss it in that first try, like everybody else gets it, that doesn't mean that you that you can't get it. You just need it a different, you just need it a different way.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Yes. And in math this year, we were doing fractions, and they were having a really hard time with the word equivalent. And so we made a cheer. What does equivalent mean? Equal, equal, equal. And later in the year, they came across the word equivalent, and they said several of them said, I don't remember that word. And I just looked at them, I said, What does equivalent mean? And they all yelled, equal, equal, equal, equal, equal. They needed that. They need things to hang their knowledge on. And they all remembered it. They didn't write it first, but they did after. That. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Well, all right, so let's talk about Hope Creek Academy. How did you get to founding Hope Creek Academy?

SPEAKER_01 22:11

So I've started three nonprofits, and every single one of them started with a temper tantrum, including Hope Creek. One of the hardest things about having a new neurodivergent kid is that you're expected to educate them, but nobody wants to educate them. And after another just ridiculous IP meeting, I finally left and said, I'm just going to start my own damn school. Well, a friend of mine, Marion Hauser, took me seriously and started pushing it. We got a board together and we found a building. I had been fired for my job. And when you don't have a job, you get a lot braver than when you do have a job. Absolutely, yes. North Carolina has very few qualifications for a private school. It's really shocking. I think it's vaccinations, attendance, and one standardized test each year. Nothing about curriculum or teachers or anything like that. And to our great surprise, nine people signed their kids up right away. And by the next year, we were up to I think 15. And then the next year, 30. We have 70 now. So obviously it was something that was needed.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

I want to talk about the environment at Hope Creek. Is intentionally different from traditional schools. And you talked about the importance of getting outside, and that's not PE, which I think is an important clarification for people to understand. Being outside should be an intentional part of the day. So what are some other ways that Hope Creek is intentionally different from traditional schools?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Well, one thing that I don't think much about, but I think it is a huge thing, is we don't allow kids to have cell phones. And when you don't have a cell phone at recess, you have to play. We have we put a lot of effort into our playgrounds. I'm I'm not sure if you're aware that Mr. Beast just swooped in and built us a new playground, which was great fun. But kids, you see kids at the beginning and they're like wandering around going, What do we do? But then very soon they're playing gaga ball, they're playing games they make up with basketballs, and they they're walking and talking with their friends. So I think that is a huge difference. I teach third through fifth graders. I have nine kids, and there are two teachers, we're co-teachers, and two of those kids have behavioral therapists with them. I would say everyone in our class is probably college-bound, but they had a lot of difficulties early on with tantrums and anxiety and things like that. We allow kids to take breaks when they want to, have like bands on our desk that they can push if they need a little um a little movement. Again, we offer reading to anyone that needs it. We don't have, we don't follow IEPs, and people are always kind of shocked about that, but it is so much easier just to give a child everything they need instead of fighting about it. And there's almost nothing that we're not going to do. You want your speech therapist to come in? Sure, we'll provide a room for them. You want them to sit in the front row? Sure. We only have two rows, anyhow. That leads to an atmosphere where there's not controversy and arguing over what's good for the kids. And I think the one commonality of all of our kids is that every child has anxiety. And you do, you are anxious when you don't fit into the world. And here is a world they can fit in. I've seen a child screaming and crying in the hall, and a high school kid will walk by and lean down and say, Don't worry, buddy, I used to do that too. And the fact that they're not shunned or ostracized for their behavior, I think is a huge thing.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

Interesting. Yeah, because a lot of that outward behavior, let's talk about the homeschool connection. So, what do you see happen at home when a child is in the right school environment?

SPEAKER_01 27:03

I think the lack of stress at school translates to home too. Another thing we do that makes us different is we do not have homework. You know, that was a corner I cut when Brianna was in school, too, is that people say, well, she's not doing her homework. I said, homework involves calling the police. We are not doing homework. You know, they work hard all day, both keeping it together and trying to learn, and then to make them do it again at home with their safe place and their safe people. That is just unreasonable. And there's no research that supports homework, especially in lower grades, anyhow. So parents find that makes a huge difference, that they just don't have to argue about that. And the fact that the kids don't mind coming to school makes for a more peaceful home, too. The fact that their kid has their first birthday party invitation helps with stress a lot as well. That's that's that's really awesome.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

All right, so let's talk about the long game. So you have the perspective of parenting into adulthood. So, how did your role as a parent shift over time?

SPEAKER_01 28:29

I think, you know, when she was little, it was just trying to keep up with things and trying to figure out what was going on. As she got older, and we really had a better idea of what was going on. She often went from, I mean, we've hit just about every hospital in the state. And finally at Central Regional Hospital, they figured out the drug that would really help her a lot. She's been on that since she's come out. She's had a couple of sort of touch-up visits, but nothing long-term like we used to. I get to have my own life, at least some of the time. She comes home almost every Saturday, and I take her back Sunday. And I'm I love having her home. We have our routines and things we do. I think the other thing is I share parenting with an amazing couple, Mr. and Mrs. Terry, who run her home. And they love her, they take care of her, uh, they handle all the doctor's appointments, and I get to have fun with her most of the time without having to do as much of the hard stuff.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

Well, I like that. So you're you're still there as a support person, but you have support probably for the first time ever in parenting her. I mean, true support. Very much. So, what are some realities about adulthood that parents of younger kids might not be thinking about yet? Find it encouraging that you said that the students that you have right now in your school, you said that they're all college-bound. I think that the realities about adulthood for parents of younger kids.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Being realistic about what your child can and can't do. I have some parents that say, my child will always have to live with me. And I'm like, no, they won't. Not if you start working with them now. There are other parents who say, Well, my child's gonna go to college. And it's like, maybe, but let's be prepared if they're not. I think knowing where they're gonna live when they grow older, and especially when we're not around, I think will they be able to hold a job? What kind of job? Who is going to be guardian of your child when you're gone? I did file for guardianship, and I think that has been very, very helpful. Brianna was fine with that. She likes the idea that I'll be around for a long time. If parents haven't learned about the innovations waiver, they definitely need to look into that, especially for children with more severe difficulties, because the waiver at this point pays $135,000 a year for the rest of Brianna's life. Now, we don't use $135,000 a year. We may use $20,000 a year, but that money is there, and there are some kids who are in a much harder place than her that would use that much. So look into the innovations waiver. It's a Medicaid program here in North Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

And I can put a link in the show notes for that. But but I really I really like what you said in terms of when you're thinking about the realities of adulthood, you know, be realistic with your expectations and and also, you know, being okay if you know those realities look different from from yours. Because if it's something different than what you expected, that doesn't necessarily mean it's it's it's not good or what was absolutely perfect for your child.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

Right. And sometimes we have to get out of the way of our own egos and start looking out for our kids.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Absolutely. All right, so let's talk about adulting and what that looks like for your daughter. Do you think that there are some misconceptions that people might have about group homes or supported living?

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Probably. Brianna is because of the innovations waiver, we were able to get into this alternate family living home. And this is a really good opportunity for her for several reasons. For one thing, I'm white, Brianna's black, and her group home parents are black. And so she gets to be part of a black family. They have three kids, all of whom have children of their own, which she gets to see them regularly. She can't wait to buy them birthday gifts, and there's two other residents there as well. She really gets the best of two families. You know, we've put Miss Terry in charge of hair because she's so much better than I am, and Brianna appreciates that.

SPEAKER_00 33:39

Well, so what has surprised you the most in both hard and beautiful ways about this journey with Brianna?

SPEAKER_01 33:48

I think starting with the hard part, I think the effect that she had on my first daughter, I I really regret. And I think because I'm just someone who sort of barrels through things to not understand that it was so much harder in her. Um, she's amazing with her sister, but it was very, very hard. And I know that. I think the the really beautiful part is I've come to realize that every child, no matter their disabilities, um, have worth. Um, we have one child that chooses not to use words. Um, she does at home sometime, but she doesn't hear. And I have had a blast teaching her. You know, we did fractions, we moved along in math. Um, when my back was turned, she tried and throw her work away. Um and seeing each of these kids, all 70 of our kids here, they are such amazing people. And I really hate that they're those who don't see that about them. Um because they're missing out on some really cool kids. And, you know, through Brianna, and what I didn't say is that Brianna came to Hope Creek for a while. She was also my first expulsion um because she just was too violent to be here. But she gave me my life's work, and I'm so grateful to her for that. And she knows that she'll say that school is my school, and I'm just really happy that I get to hang out with these kids every single day.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Wow, and and how powerful! Like you created the school for her, it didn't work for her, but think of all the other children that it it did or it does work for, and that was because of Rihanna. I mean, that's a that's pretty powerful.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

Yes, and I think she feels that, even though she didn't get to go here. But um, you know, so I see kids that maybe never would have thought about that going on to college or getting jobs or getting their driver's license. And when somebody votes, we have a morning assembly every morning and we announce things like that. And the kids that turned 18 got to vote this year, and everybody cheered and shouted for them. Oh, you know, we did that during COVID too, when somebody got a COVID vaccine. We cheered and shouted and and really celebrating those accomplishments. We have a prom for sixth grade and up, and the parents just sit in the back and cry because they never dream their kid would get to go to prom. And they do, and they have a blast and they have prom pictures.

SPEAKER_00 36:57

So it's a beautiful journey. That is amazing. Well, all right, so advice for parents. So if you could sit across from a parent who's overwhelmed right now, what would you want them to know?

SPEAKER_01 37:14

I would want them to know that first every journey is different. And it's really hard to give advice to anyone because your reality, your family system is so different from mine. But I'd want them to know that if you can accept your child as he or she is, and find out what's best for them and not you, that things will go a lot better.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

Yeah, there was a there's a line in our workbook, educating the uniquely wired child, and we said that your your path might not be linear, like going from point A to point B, but that doesn't mean that your path isn't gonna get you to to where you need to be on your journey. It just there might be some some pit stops, some detours, but they're still gonna get there. That's right. Yep. What gives you hope right now?

SPEAKER_01 38:15

You know, I think hope is hard to come by right now as we watch program after program getting slashed and attitudes about certain types of people changing for the worst. So from a systems point of view, I I'm not feeling the hope right now, but from an individual point of view, I am. You know, it's I get up in the morning and I never mind coming to work because I get to work with these kids and hear the funny things they say and the amazing things they do, and we get to chant what does equivalent mean? And equal, equal, you know, to see them learning to tell time for the first time and to see them really, really learning in a way they couldn't before. And that gives me a lot of hope because I know if we, you know, we may have served about 300 kids here, and just knowing that we're sending those kids out into the world in better shape than we took them in, gives me a lot of hope. And I wish we could do this everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Absolutely. Listeners, that was my conversation with Linda McDonough. And I hope that you're walking away from this episode feeling a little more grounded. What I appreciated most about our conversation is the way Linda holds both perspectives at once as a parent who's lived this over decades, and as someone who has built a school designed to actually meet kids where they are. But there's one takeaway I hope you carry with you, it's this your child doesn't need to fit into the system. The system needs to learn how to fit your child. And that starts with how we think about support, environment, and what success actually looks like, not just today, but long term. So if this conversation resonated with you, I'd love for you to share it with another parent who might need to hear it. And if you're looking for a space to continue conversations like this with other parents who get it, you can find that inside my parenting community, and I'll link that community in the show notes. And as always, parents, thanks for being here and for doing this work. It matters. I'll see you next time.