Overpowering Emotions Podcast: Helping Children and Teens Manage Big Feels

About Overpowering Emotions Podcast: Helping Children and Teens Manage Big Feels

Child anxiety. Meltdowns. School refusal. Big emotions that take over before kids can think. Overpowering Emotions makes sense of what's really happening beneath the behaviour — for parents, educators, and professionals supporting anxious, intense, emotionally overwhelmed children and teens. Award-winning psychologist Dr. Caroline Buzanko translates the neuroscience of emotion regulation into practical, courage-building strategies, because big feelings aren't bad feelings — they're information. Learn to regulate first, respond in the moment, and build the capacity kids need to face hard things.

Publisher

Dr. Caroline Buzanko

Category

kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Oct 2021

Latest episode

27 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

273 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Oct 2026

   264. Why Does Your Child Save Their Worst Behaviour for You?

   Why Does Your Child Fall Apart After School? Your child holds it together all day at school, then comes home exhausted, irritable, or completely overwhelmed. Why does this happen, and how do you know when to give them space or hold firm with expectations? In this episode of Overpowering Emotions, Dr. Caroline answers common questions about after-school meltdowns, sensory overload, emotional exhaustion, and setting healthy boundaries. Using a practical battery check, Dr. Caroline explains how to recognise early signs that your child's emotional capacity is running low, identify what genuinely helps them recharge, and prevent overwhelm before it becomes a meltdown. You'll also learn how to respond when an overwhelmed child becomes rude or aggressive, why the timing of expectations matters, and how to tell when ordinary recovery time isn't enough. Dr. Caroline also addresses something many parents quietly struggle with: feeling like everyone else gets the best version of their child. If your afternoons have become a cycle of exhaustion, arguments, and emotional shutdowns, this episode will help you understand what's happening and find a more supportive way forward. Listen now and learn how to support your child's emotional capacity without giving up healthy boundaries. Homework Activities Dr. Caroline provides several practical activities throughout the episode. These can also become downloadable resources or newsletter content. Activity 1: Create an Emotional Battery Check Goal: Help children recognise their early signs of emotional exhaustion before reaching a meltdown or shutdown. Complete the battery check collaboratively when your child is feeling well. You can check the Battery Examples here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Go5sD2PuM6sF9m1_DumQkeaPNYmDxsD/view?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Go5sD2PuM6sF9m1_DumQkeaPNYmDxsD/view?usp=sharing) Homework: Ask your child, "How do you know when your battery is getting low?" Write down their answers and your observations. Identify two things that help them recharge. Activity 2: Practise Warm, Firm Boundaries Goal: Respond to hurtful behaviour without creating another power struggle. During a calm moment, discuss what will happen when someone starts yelling or becomes aggressive. Practise a simple response: "I can see you're upset. I'm going to give you some space. I'll be here when you're ready to talk." If hitting occurs, prioritise safety and move away when safe to do so. When everyone is regulated again, revisit what happened and practise a more respectful way to communicate the need for space. Resource needed: Family Boundaries and Communication Plan. Activity 3: Investigate What's Draining Their Battery Goal: Identify school demands contributing to repeated exhaustion. Have a conversation with your child's teacher and explore these questions: Which parts of the school day require the most effort? Are transitions, noise, or unstructured activities particularly difficult? Is the child eating lunch and taking bathroom breaks? Are they asking for help when needed? Are learning, social, or executive functioning demands contributing to exhaustion? Activity 4: Track Recovery Time Goal: Find out which activities genuinely restore your child's capacity. Try different recovery activities and durations, including the 10-minute and 30-minute breaks Dr. Caroline mentions. Sample Recovery Tracker Quiet time · 10 minutes Energising No change Draining Snack and free play · 30 minutes Energising No change Draining Add activity Look for whether the child feels more restored and can return to activities they normally enjoy. Persistent exhaustion, withdrawal, changes in sleep or appetite, or loss of interest may warrant professional assessment. Dr, Caroline also recommends ruling out medical contributors. Activity 5: Create a Low-Demand Homecoming Routine Goal: Make the transition home feel welcoming rather than demanding. For the next school week, experiment with a simple routine: Put your phone or computer away when your child arrives. Greet them warmly without immediately asking about their day. Offer a snack and access to a comfortable recovery space. Check in after they've had time to recharge. Introduce homework or chores when they have more capacity. Notice whether afternoons become easier and whether your child can return to ordinary family activities. You can Download the FREE Emotional Battery Check Worksheet here: https://korulearninginstitute.kit.com/7da495d069 (https://korulearninginstitute.kit.com/7da495d069) Enjoying the show? Help out by rating this podcast on Apple to help others get access to this information too! apple.co/3ysFijh Follow Dr. Caroline YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.carolinebuzanko (https://www.youtube.com/@dr.carolinebuzanko) IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.carolinebuzanko/ (https://www.instagram.com/dr.carolinebuzanko/) LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-caroline-buzanko (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-caroline-buzanko) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/ (https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/) Website: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/) Resources: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/resources/articles-child-resilience-well-being-psychology/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/resources/articles-child-resilience-well-being-psychology/) Business inquiries: https://korupsychology.ca/contact-us/ (https://korupsychology.ca/contact-us/) Want to learn more about helping kids strengthen their emotion regulation skills and problem-solving brains while boosting their confidence, independence, and resilience? Check out my many training opportunities! https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/upcoming-events/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/upcoming-events/)

2. 

   20 Oct 2026

   263. Why Is My Child Fine at School but Melting Down at Home?

   Your child holds it together all day at school, then walks through the door and falls apart. The meltdown might seem to be about the wrong snack, a sibling getting too close, homework, or one tiny request. But that moment may simply be the last demand on a nervous system that has been working hard for hours. In this episode of Overpowering Emotions, Dr. Caroline explores after-school restraint collapse and why looking regulated at school does not always mean a child feels regulated inside. Using the analogy of a battery, Dr. Caroline explains how sensory demands, social processing, transitions, hunger, executive functioning, anxiety, and everyday school expectations can slowly drain a child's regulatory capacity. This can be especially important for autistic, ADHD, and other neurodivergent children, though the pattern can happen for many kids. You'll learn how to tell the difference between stress behaviour and purposeful misbehaviour, why questioning or correcting an overloaded child can make things harder, and how to create a low-demand transition from school to home. Dr. Caroline also shares practical ways to discover what genuinely helps your child recharge, from quiet and reduced sensory input to movement, crunchy foods, comfortable clothing, or simply having some space. Recovery does not mean removing expectations. Sometimes a child needs their battery recharged before they have the capacity to meet them. Homework Ideas Try a 20 to 30-minute decompression experiment. For several days, reduce demands immediately after school. Skip the rapid-fire questions, homework reminders, chores, and corrections. A simple "Hey kiddo, so glad you're home" may be enough. Watch what changes. Build your child's battery map. Collaboratively identify what drains their battery during the day and what restores it. Consider noise, lighting, crowds, smells, transitions, social interactions, hunger, movement, clothing, touch, conversation, and schoolwork. Create a sensory sanctuary. This does not need special equipment. Some children may want dim lighting, comfortable clothing, blankets, quiet, or time with a pet. Others may need jumping, running, spinning, crashing, or crunchy foods. The goal is to discover what reduces their regulatory load. Delay the after-school debrief. Notice how quickly you ask questions when your child arrives home. Instead of immediately asking about homework, lunch, friends, teachers, tests, or permission slips, wait until they have had time to recharge. Test recovery without screens. Dr. Caroline specifically cautions against automatically using screens as the primary decompression strategy. Experiment with periods where the child's system does not need to respond to additional input. Track patterns rather than isolated meltdowns. Look at what happened across the whole day. Sleep, breakfast, sensory input, transitions, hunger, social demands, and previous stressors may matter more than the seemingly tiny event that happened immediately before the meltdown. Enjoying the show? Help out by rating this podcast on Apple to help others get access to this information too! apple.co/3ysFijh Follow Dr. Caroline YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.carolinebuzanko (https://www.youtube.com/@dr.carolinebuzanko) IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.carolinebuzanko/ (https://www.instagram.com/dr.carolinebuzanko/) LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-caroline-buzanko (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-caroline-buzanko) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/ (https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/) Website: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/) Resources: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/resources/articles-child-resilience-well-being-psychology/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/resources/articles-child-resilience-well-being-psychology/) Business inquiries: https://korupsychology.ca/contact-us/ (https://korupsychology.ca/contact-us/) Want to learn more about helping kids strengthen their emotion regulation skills and problem-solving brains while boosting their confidence, independence, and resilience? Check out my many training opportunities! https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/upcoming-events/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/upcoming-events/)

3. 

   13 Oct 2026

   262. Why Can’t My Child Just Get Started on Homework?

   Homework starts with one simple request. Twenty minutes later, everyone is frustrated, the work still has not started, and you are wondering why something so small became so hard. Sometimes the problem is not motivation. A child may know what they need to do and genuinely want to do it, yet still struggle to bridge the gap between intention and action. In this episode of Overpowering Emotions, Dr. Caroline continues her discussion on making homework, chores, studying, bedtime routines, and other everyday demands easier for kids who struggle with executive functioning. She explores body doubling, why quiet presence can help with task initiation, and how hovering, correcting, reminding, and answering every question can unintentionally add more cognitive and emotional load. Dr. Caroline also shares practical ways to shrink the first step, use short work intervals, externalize instructions, create simple systems, and distinguish support from rescue. She explains why a child's prediction-making brain may approach homework carrying memories of previous frustration, failure, conflict, or shame, making regulation and task initiation harder before the work has even begun. You'll also hear a personal look at Dr. Caroline's own homework experiences with her daughter and why protecting connection sometimes matters more than getting another assignment finished. If homework regularly ends in tears, shutdown, arguments, or hours of adult supervision, this episode will help you look beyond "They just won't do it" and ask a much more useful question: What is making it hard for this child to begin, continue, or work independently? Homework Activities for Adults Try five minutes of quiet body doubling. Sit near the child and work on something of your own. Read, answer email, prepare dinner, or fold laundry. Do not monitor, correct, remind, or comment on their work. Caroline suggests experimenting to see whether your presence improves initiation or persistence. Find the smallest first step. Replace “Do your homework” with something observable: open the Chromebook, get the backpack, write your name, read question one, or circle the numbers. If five minutes feels overwhelming, try one minute or even 30 seconds. The aim is to lower the initiation threshold without lowering the expectation. Ask: “What executive function am I providing?” Notice whether you are remembering, planning, sequencing, organizing, managing time, initiating tasks, or regulating emotions for the child. Then ask which part could be moved into the environment through a visual, timer, calendar, routine, recorded instruction, consistent location, or another external support. Create one small system. Dr. Caroline recommends choosing one repeated difficulty rather than changing everything at once. Options from the episode include a five-step homework launch card, five minutes of body doubling, a “system first, then me” rule, three lifelines before asking an adult for help, or one homework folder with separate unfinished and completed sides. Run a support-versus-rescue check. Ask whether you are helping the child build and use a system, or whether you have become the system. Support moves toward independence. Rescue may mean repeatedly remembering, checking, answering, organizing, and sequencing for them. Enjoying the show? Help out by rating this podcast on Apple to help others get access to this information too! apple.co/3ysFijh Follow Dr. Caroline YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.carolinebuzanko (https://www.youtube.com/@dr.carolinebuzanko) IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.carolinebuzanko/ (https://www.instagram.com/dr.carolinebuzanko/) LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-caroline-buzanko (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dr-caroline-buzanko) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/ (https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/) Website: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/) Resources: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/resources/articles-child-resilience-well-being-psychology/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/resources/articles-child-resilience-well-being-psychology/) Business inquiries: https://korupsychology.ca/contact-us/ (https://korupsychology.ca/contact-us/) Want to learn more about helping kids strengthen their emotion regulation skills and problem-solving brains while boosting their confidence, independence, and resilience? Check out my many training opportunities! https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/upcoming-events/ (https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/upcoming-events/)

Who has been a guest on Overpowering Emotions Podcast: Helping Children and Teens Manage Big Feels

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Caroline Buzanko
• Rafael McMaster
• Keri Cooper
• Monica Crnogorac

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

54,872

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

14 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 88 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

90

Social presence

94

YouTube

85

Engagement

85

Contact Overpowering Emotions Podcast: Helping Children and Teens Manage Big Feels

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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