In this heartfelt and funny continuation of last week’s episode, Michelle and Megan tackle the second half of the ADHD parenting personality types from The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids by Elaine Taylor-Klaus, and reflect on how those same patterns shape how we parent ourselves.
From the anxiety-fueled planning of Anxious Ava to the quiet retreat of Distant Dana, the sisters explore how these archetypes show up in real life, in restaurants, in parenting, and even in podcast recording sessions. Megan shares candid stories about growing up with learned rules and what it means to finally break them, while Michelle gets real about what it's like to catch yourself reacting from a place of fear or habit.
They also dive into the concept of emotional permanence, the idea that some of us need regular reminders that we are loved, even if we’ve just had a great day. This episode is a reminder that you’re not alone in your patterns, your fears, or your flailing Kermit moments, and that naming those patterns might be the first step to changing them.
favorite line from the episode: “He's not gonna inject heroin into his eyeballs.”
00:00 welcome back and defining parenting in all its forms
04:00 parenting as a village — dogs, stepkids, and inner children
05:50 Anxious Ava: planning, fear, and over-control
11:15 pushing past the panic spiral
12:00 Pushover Pat and setting boundaries
16:30 mental health days and radical honesty
20:00 Denying Dale and societal myths about ADHD
25:30 Playful Peter and learned helplessness
31:00 Distant Dana and parenting avoidance
35:00 emotional permanence and unspoken rules
42:15 shifting perspective with “up until now”
45:10 how we parent different people differently
47:30 radical acceptance — even when you’re tired
ADHD, ADHD women, parenting archetypes, Elaine Taylor-Klaus, neurodivergent parenting, anxious parenting, emotional permanence, childhood rules, inner child, emotional regulation, mental health, radical acceptance, masking, executive function, sibling podcast, self-awareness, neurodivergent adults
If any of these parenting patterns hit close to home, we see you. Share this episode with a friend who might relate, or revisit Episode 95 to hear the first half of the parenting archetypes. And don’t forget to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s dive into Defensive Drew, Demanding Randy, and more. Until then, stay curious, joyful, and full of radical acceptance.
Dec 11 202549 mins