Your Parenting Bell Starts Way Before 8AM | Therapists Unhinged Ep.17

On this episode of Therapists Unhinged, Nella, Dr. Robin, and TJ return from summer break with an honest and timely conversation about the realities of back-to-school season. With Dr. Robin’s decades of teaching experience and Nella’s raw parenting perspective, they explore how school success starts at home, what support teachers actually need, and how to reset expectations on all sides. This is the episode every overwhelmed parent and burned-out teacher needs before that first bell rings.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• Back-to-school season means more than buying supplies
• Teachers are facing burnout from overwork and lack of support
• Parents must mentally and emotionally prepare kids for the school year
• A strong parent-teacher relationship makes all the difference
• Clear communication prevents blame and builds trust
• Helicopter parenting can do more harm than good
• Parents must meet their kids where they are, not where they wish they were
• Teachers cannot do the parenting too
• Family structure and routines directly impact school success
• Success isn’t just straight A’s, it’s growth, maturity, and effort

BEST MOMENTS:
00:00:50. “The bell is going to start 8 a.m., but your parenting bell starts way before the bell.”
00:02:23. “Teachers are getting burnt out just like us, just like a lot of people in different fields.”
00:04:08. “Start talking to your children about the expectations.”
00:06:01. “Everybody’s kind of on a learning curve.”
00:08:15. “I’m worried that we’re going to burn them out too.”
00:09:48. “When you take the human factor out of a human experience, it doesn’t work.”
00:13:06. “We cannot keep pointing fingers at these teachers.”
00:20:09. “That would be a really good thing for teachers—to make sure they’re in contact with at least one parent in the home.”
00:25:19. “If I don’t know, I can’t help you.”
00:34:47. “People learn the most from failure. And your children will too.”