Climbing Fish Parenting

Dr. Kristi Clarke
  • 4.9 (9)
  • Parenting

Your kid isn't broken. Your parenting isn't broken. Sometimes, we're just asking our fish to climb trees. If you're an exhausted parent who's tried everything and nothing has worked—this podcast is for you. You're carrying guilt about your parenting. Your child's behaviors don't respond to the typical strategies. The advice from books, friends, and even professionals just... doesn't fit. Here's what I need you to know: You're not failing. You're just using the wrong map. I'm Dr. Kristi, a psychologist and behavior analyst, and I help parents understand their child's unique wiring and use strategies that actually work. Whether your child has a diagnosis or you just know they're wired differently—whether it's ADHD, ASD, anxiety, sensory sensitivities, or they're just... not like the parenting books describe—this is for you. No fluff. No shame. Just practical, evidence-based guidance from someone who gets it. Each episode gives you real strategies for real challenges—meltdowns, school struggles, bedtime battles, and everything in between. This is where we stop asking fish to climb trees and start helping them swim.

  1. 1d ago

    The Fear of Finding Out: Should You Get Your Child a Diagnosis?

    You've wondered — maybe more than once — whether there's something going on with your kid that has a name. And you've decided you'd rather not find out. Not because you don't care, but because a diagnosis feels scary, or final, or like it might change everything. In this episode: Why not knowing doesn't protect your child from who they are — and what it costs to keep guessing instead of understanding The four things a diagnosis actually gives your kid, from understanding all the way to the support that finally fits The honest answer to "but what if the label follows them?" An exercise for weighing the decision, fears and all The fear of finding out is real, and I take it seriously. But knowing was never the thing that changed your kid — it's the thing that lets you finally understand them. Resources mentioned: 📩 climbingfishparenting.com/newsletter

  2. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    You Might Also Like: A Better Way to Money

    Introducing The Truth About That Financial Advisor Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding from A Better Way to Money. Follow the show: A Better Way to Money Most people picture a financial advisor behind a mahogany desk, running spreadsheets for people with serious money. Jonathon Gais grew up thinking the same thing—until he became one. Now, as VP of Client Experience and Personalized Planning at Northwestern Mutual, Jonathon shapes how NM advisors across the country think about financial planning. His core message: You don’t need to have it all figured out before you talk to an advisor. The right one helps you make smarter choices—and becomes the reason you finally start. Host Jennifer Borget sits down with Jonathon for an honest look at what a real planning conversation sounds like; why starting to plan today, even when everything isn’t perfectly in place, is always better than waiting; why protection is the blind spot most people in their 30s miss; and what it takes to close the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. The right time to start isn’t when everything lines up. It’s now.  Download your free Family Finances workbook and start preparing for your first financial advisor session TODAY: https://www.northwesternmutual.com/podcast/ Connect With Jonathon Gais LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathongais/ Connect With Northwestern Mutual Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northwesternmutualInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/northwesternmutual/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/northwestern-mutual/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@northwesternmutual Episode Page: https://www.northwesternmutual.com/life-and-money/a-sneak-peek-into-what-a-real-financial-advisor-conversation-looks-like LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/a-better-way-to-money-podcast/ DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

    You Might Also Like: A Better Way to Money

  3. Aug 10

    Why "Just Get Him Evaluated" Is Such Confusing Advice

    It's eleven at night, everyone's finally asleep, and you're on your phone with a list of providers open in front of you — no idea how to tell one from the next, feeling like you were supposed to already know the difference. Nobody handed you the glossary. So let's sort it out. In this episode: Why an evaluation isn't a fixed product you buy — it's a judgment about what your specific kid actually needs The range of people who "evaluate" children, and how far each one really gets toward the answer Why naming a diagnosis and figuring out what's underneath it are two different jobs Why the same support can help one child and backfire on another when nobody sorts out the why You're not looking for a title on a door. You're looking for someone who can figure out the answers to the question you're actually asking. Resources mentioned: 📩 climbingfishparenting.com/newsletter

  4. Aug 3

    Why Pool Days Keep Ending in Meltdowns (Even the Fun Ones)

    Two families, same neighborhood pool, same Saturday afternoon. One leaves after about forty minutes — daughter smiling, a little sun-pink, tired in the good way. The other stays the full four hours and leaves in a complete meltdown, son sobbing in the parking lot, nobody quite sure what went wrong. If you'd only seen them arrive, you'd have guessed it would go the other way. In this episode: Why "more fun time" doesn't equal "better day" for a lot of wired-differently kids What's actually loading up during a pool or beach day — sensory input, unpredictable other kids, water vigilance, temperature shifts How this plays out differently depending on whether your child is ADHD, autistic, or anxious How to pick an exit point in advance instead of waiting for signs of trouble The problem was never the pool. It was the dose — and the families who leave happy are reading the tank, not the clock. Resources mentioned: climbingfishparenting.com/newsletter

  5. Jul 27

    Supported Momentum — Why Small Wins Build Big Confidence

    A dad spent three weekends trying to get his daughter to jump off the diving board — "just do it, you'll see it's fine" — and three weekends of tears. What actually worked was smaller than anything he'd tried: sitting on the edge with her feet in the water. By the fourth weekend, she jumped on her own. Often, parents think tiny steps are making it too easy, but that is the key to finally making it possible. In this episode: Why pushing straight at a big fear tends to build failure instead of confidence for a lot of wired-differently kids What actually has to be true for a "small step" to function as a real win instead of a smaller version of the same struggle Why two families can both try "small steps" and come out with completely different results How repeated attempts, good or bad, quietly become a story a child believes about their own capability Confidence was never going to come from one big leap — it gets built the same way everything else does, one small, real, supported win at a time. Resources mentioned: climbingfishparenting.com/wiredtofeel (parent led emotion regulation program)

  6. Jul 20

    Stop fixing the child. Start reading the tide.

    Two moms, same friend group, same parenting workshop, same exact tool — a five-step sticker chart with a small reward at the end of the week. One family used it for three weeks and mornings actually got easier. The other used it for four days before it fell apart completely, more conflict than before they'd started. Same chart. Same follow-through. Completely different result. In this episode: What actually determines whether a parenting strategy works or fails — and it's rarely the strategy itself Why a strategy can work beautifully one week and completely fail the next, for the same child How to stop concluding "something's wrong with my kid" or "I'm doing this wrong" when a strategy doesn't land A simple one-question check to run before reaching for a new strategy Your kid isn't the problem, and neither was the last strategy that didn't work — nobody was looking at what was actually happening underneath it. Resources mentioned: climbingfishparenting.com/quiz (free 2-minute quiz to find your child's pattern)

  7. Jul 13

    Vacation Meltdowns: Why Time Off Doesn't Feel Like a Break for Kids who are Wired Differently

    It's day two of the trip you've been planning for months. Ocean house, grandparents, a countdown your kid had on their wall — and now they're on the floor, sobbing, over which beach towel they got. Not a preference. A full meltdown. Over a towel. In this episode: Why "keep the routine the same" doesn't actually work as vacation advice, and what to ask instead The four things — predictability, autonomy, sensory sameness, downtime — that quietly disappear the moment you leave home How this shows up differently for ADHD, autistic, and anxious kids on the exact same trip A short before-you-go exercise to protect the one thing your kid actually needs most Your kid wasn't failing to enjoy the vacation. Something specific was holding their day together at home, and nobody packed a replacement for it. Resources mentioned: climbingfishparenting.com/newsletter

  8. Jul 6

    Why Some Kids Implode and Others Explode

    Two kids. Same overwhelm, same stress, sometimes even the same diagnosis. And somehow one of them is loud about it, and the other one disappears. In this episode, Dr. Kristi breaks down why the exact same struggle can produce two completely different-looking kids — and why it has nothing to do with which one is "doing better." Drawing on a real case of two brothers with identical diagnoses and opposite presentations, she introduces the psychological framework of internalizing and externalizing behavior: two directions the same overwhelm can travel, and why one of those directions is so much easier to miss. You'll learn: Why the "quiet, easy" kid may be carrying just as much as the one causing all the phone calls home What the research actually shows about internalizing and externalizing in autistic and ADHD kids — and where that research is often misread Why a child's direction isn't fixed, and how the same kid can shift between the two depending on the day, the setting, or what else is going on at home What to actually do differently for a child who explodes outward versus one who goes silent Resources in this episode: Why Your Child Can't Just Calm Down, Dr. Kristi's free video training, now live at climbingfishparenting.com/calm.

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About

Your kid isn't broken. Your parenting isn't broken. Sometimes, we're just asking our fish to climb trees. If you're an exhausted parent who's tried everything and nothing has worked—this podcast is for you. You're carrying guilt about your parenting. Your child's behaviors don't respond to the typical strategies. The advice from books, friends, and even professionals just... doesn't fit. Here's what I need you to know: You're not failing. You're just using the wrong map. I'm Dr. Kristi, a psychologist and behavior analyst, and I help parents understand their child's unique wiring and use strategies that actually work. Whether your child has a diagnosis or you just know they're wired differently—whether it's ADHD, ASD, anxiety, sensory sensitivities, or they're just... not like the parenting books describe—this is for you. No fluff. No shame. Just practical, evidence-based guidance from someone who gets it. Each episode gives you real strategies for real challenges—meltdowns, school struggles, bedtime battles, and everything in between. This is where we stop asking fish to climb trees and start helping them swim.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Kristi Clarke
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Climbing Fish Parenting