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110 Understanding Your Child’s Stress Animal Is the Key to Calmer Days
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If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “Why is nothing working?” when your child is melting down, this episode is for you.
In today’s episode, Andi introduces the concept of Stress Animals—a powerful and accessible framework to help parents decode their child’s behavior in moments of emotional overwhelm.
You’ll learn how to spot the early signs of dysregulation, understand your child’s stress response, and most importantly, how to shift your own energy so you can help your child return to calm.
Key Takeaways:
- Every child has a unique stress response—and it’s not about bad behavior, it’s about nervous system overload.
- The Stress Animal framework (Dolphin, Shark, Turtle, Clownfish) helps parents identify how their child reacts to stress—and how to support them accordingly.
- Your own stress animal matters too. The way you react can either soothe or escalate your child’s stress state.
- You can’t connect through correction. Lasting change happens when you meet your child’s stress with the kind of connection they need.
- Regulation before resolution: Problem-solving comes after calming the nervous system—never during a meltdown.
Episode Highlights & Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction – What to expect & why this matters
[02:00] Why traditional strategies fail with dysregulated kids
[05:00] The biology of stress – nervous system states explained
[06:45] Introducing the Stress Animals:
Dolphin – The regulated, connected state
Shark – Explosive, reactive energy
Turtle – Shut-down, withdrawn, retreating energy
Clownfish – Anxious, people-pleasing, over-worrying
[11:00] How your stress animal impacts your child’s response
[13:30] Why we don’t want to be in dolphin all the time
[14:00] Matching your response to your child’s stress animal
[15:00] Real-life examples: what worked, what didn’t, and why
[20:00] Supporting the nervous system through grounding tools
[21:00] One family’s story: shifting from Clownfish to quiet presence
[22:00] Final thoughts – Why this approach changes everything
✨ You’re not expected to get this right every time. But every step toward understanding helps build the connection your child needs to feel safe and supported.
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