How Single Parents Can Support Tweens & Teens Through Anxiety Without Losing Connection

If you're a single parent, you're probably no stranger to anxiety—your own or your child’s. It shows up during screen time negotiations, emotional outbursts, bedtime battles, and even quiet avoidance. The problem? We often respond to anxiety by shutting it down… which only makes it worse.

In a recent episode of The Single Parenting Reset Show, therapist Tess Connolly sat down with adult psychiatrist Dr. Tracy Foose to talk about how we can reframe anxiety, manage our own reactions, and support our tweens and teens through emotional overwhelm.

Here’s what we learned:

• Avoiding anxiety makes it grow. Parents and kids alike need to understand what anxiety feels like and how to move through it, not around it.
  
  
• Tweens and teens often act out because they don’t have the words. Learn to spot the signs of avoidant behavior and respond with curiosity instead of control.
  
  
• Clear communication is key. Whether it's about screen time, social anxiety, or everyday routines, what matters most is staying connected—even when things get hard.
  
  

🎧 Listen to the episode now and discover how to bring more calm, connection, and clarity into your parenting.

📥 BONUS: Download the Tech Reset Agreement to create screen time boundaries that actually stick—without daily battles.
👉 https://www.mindfulkidsandfamilies.com/tech-reset