THE PARENTING IQ PODCAST
Understand your child & parent with confidence
Parenting advice is everywhere. Knowing what fits your child and your family can feel really hard.
The Parenting IQ Podcast helps you make everyday parenting decisions with greater understanding and confidence. Join Dr. Kelly Cagle and her guests for practical conversations that connect research with real family life so you can understand your child, weigh your options, and confidently choose your next step.
Hosted by Dr. Kelly Cagle, a PhD in K-16 education, ADHD researcher, and homeschooling mom of three boys, each episode helps you better understand your child’s needs, so you feel confident teaching life skills, character, and emotional intelligence that go far beyond the textbook and last a lifetime.
Some of the topics we cover include:
ADHD-friendly parenting strategies
How to motivate your kids without nagging
Building confident, connected families
Teaching life skills that stick
Rethinking academics for real-world success
Managing sibling dynamics and home rhythms
Biblical wisdom + brain science and so much more
The show is proudly part of The Christian Parenting Podcast Network.
Our mission is to help you understand your child so you can parent with confidence.
The Small Habits That Slowly Destroy a Marriage w/ Lindsey Maestas
In this episode, Dr. Kelly Cagle sits down with Lindsey Maestas to uncover the small, everyday habits that can slowly create distance in a marriage. They discuss how distractions, unmet expectations, resentment, and avoiding hard conversations can weaken connection—and how simple shifts like putting down your phone, taking responsibility for your own patterns, dating your spouse, and keeping Christ at the center can help rebuild intimacy and friendship.
How to Help Your Child Feel Safe When the World Doesn't w/ Courtney Reissig
When the world feels scary, how do we help our kids feel safe without pretending that hard things won’t happen? In this episode, Dr. Kelly Cagle talks with Courtney Reissig about helping children process fear, navigate difficult questions, and find security in God even when we don’t have all the answers. They share practical ways parents can filter overwhelming information, create healthy boundaries around the news, and point their kids toward hope in a broken world.
Teaching Kids Body Boundaries Without Scaring Them w/ Sara Ernst
How do we teach kids about body boundaries without making them afraid of the world? In this episode, Dr. Kelly Cagle talks with Sara Ernst about helping children recognize “tricky” behavior, trust when something feels uncomfortable, and confidently use their voice. They share practical ways parents can teach body safety, respect a child’s boundaries, and build skills that will serve them from childhood into their teen years and beyond.
5 Boundaries You Need If You Have ADHD
In this episode of Parenting IQ, Dr. Kelly Cagle shares five essential boundaries that can help adults and kids with ADHD thrive. She explores how setting intentional guardrails around friendships, commitments, intake, stagnation, and ideas can protect your time, attention, and capacity. You’ll learn why boundaries aren’t about restriction—they’re about creating the structure your ADHD brain needs for greater focus, follow-through, and freedom.
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Speaking Topics
ADHD Conversations:
Parenting Beyond the ADHD Label— Understanding a child’s strengths, challenges, and needs without letting a diagnosis “define” them.
Why Won’t You Just Do It?— Exploring why getting started, following directions, and finishing tasks can be difficult, and how parents can help through systems, not more nagging and yelling.
Homework, ADHD, and the Parent-Child Relationship— Creating a more supportive homework experience through realistic expectations and school partnerships.
ADHD and Big Feelings— Navigating frustration and emotional overwhelm with compassion, clear boundaries, and opportunities to reconnect.
Building Independence When Your Child Has ADHD— Helping children practice responsibility with support that grows and changes alongside them.
Home Rhythms Conversations:
Creating a Home That Works for Your Family— Establishing predictable patterns that bring structure while making room for joy, hiccups, and real life.
Less Rushing, More Connection— Using simple moments as anchors, making busy life feel more manageable and less chaotic.
The After-School Reset— Creating space for kids’ needs while juggling homework, activities, and family time.
Running a Home Like a Business— Using systems to create a healthier flow, accomplish more, bring clarity and unity, and build skills
When the World Becomes Your School— Recognizing there are many lessons no school will teach and how we can weave them into our day-to-day.
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