With nearly half of American parents reporting that their stress is completely overwhelming on most days, the question of who helps parents before they reach their breaking point has become urgent. According to the American Psychological Association, 48% of parents say their stress is overwhelming, and 41% say it is so high they cannot function. The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a national advisory on parental well-being, calling it a public health priority.
Children's mental health expert Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge is bringing this message to Orlando, where she will speak at two events focused on strengthening families, early intervention, and child abuse prevention. “We can't wait until a family is in crisis to decide they deserve support,” says Dr. Roseann. “Prevention means reaching the parent while they're overwhelmed, not after they've reached their breaking point.”
Dr. Roseann highlights a common scenario: a child's meltdown triggers the parent's stress response, leading to a collision of two overloaded nervous systems. “When a child is dysregulated, their stress response can activate the parent's stress response, and vice versa,” she explains. “Before you know it, nobody has easy access to calm, flexible thinking.”
Her Regulation First® framework offers a solution: regulate before reacting, reconnect, then correct or guide. The goal is not perfect calm but giving parents tools for difficult moments. “Parents are human,” she says. “Prevention is about giving them another option when they feel themselves getting close to that edge.”
Prevention organizations have long recognized the importance of strengthening families before crises escalate. The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida invests in programs to improve outcomes for children and preserve families, while Healthy Families Florida works directly with parents facing significant challenges. Dr. Roseann's message aligns with this upstream approach.
“Supporting parents isn't separate from supporting children,” she says. “When we give parents tools to understand their own stress response and their child's nervous system, we're strengthening the entire family.”
At the 2026 Florida Prevention Convention, themed “Stronger Families, Stronger Florida,” Dr. Roseann will join professionals advancing prevention strategies. Her message is simple: prevention starts before the breaking point—when parents recognize their stress cup is overflowing, understand that a child's behavior may signal overwhelm, and have practical tools to use before yelling becomes automatic.
Dr. Roseann has spent over 30 years helping families with anxiety, ADHD, OCD, and emotional dysregulation. She often sees parents who have tried sticker charts, consequences, and reasoning, but the missing piece is starting with the nervous system. “When a child's brain is in a stress response, more correcting isn't necessarily what that brain needs,” she says. “We regulate so the brain can do what we're asking it to do.”
Her forthcoming book, The Dysregulated Kid: The Parenting Playbook for Helping Your Child Find Calm in a Chaotic World, will be published by Page Two Books on September 22, 2026. It introduces strategies like the Love Pause® and CALMS Protocol® to help parents move from reacting to understanding their child's needs. Pre-orders are available at dysregulatedkid.com.
Dr. Roseann will be available for media interviews and speaking engagements while in Orlando, addressing topics like the overwhelmed parent epidemic and why kids are so dysregulated. She is known for translating complex neuroscience into practical guidance.
For more information, contact Dr. Roseann's team at drroseann@drroseann.com or call 203-438-4848. Visit her website at drroseann.com.
