Why Adjusting Expectations Matters When Parenting a Child with Anxiety or OCD
AT Parenting Survival | Raising Kids with OCD & Anxiety
Natasha Daniels: Child Therapist, Child Anxiety and OCD Expert, Parenting Coach and Parent
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When you’re parenting a child with anxiety or OCD, it’s easy to get caught in a constant push to fix, improve, and move things forward. But when our expectations don’t match where our child actually is, it can quietly create more frustration, more pressure, and more disconnection for everyone involved.
In this episode, we explore how to recognize when expectations are starting to do more harm than good, why they develop in the first place, and how to gently adjust them without losing hope or momentum. You’ll learn how to shift from pushing for outcomes to supporting capacity, so your child can build skills in a way that actually sticks, and you can find more peace in the process.
If you are a parent who feels stuck between wanting more for your child and feeling discouraged by where things are, this episode will help you reset your expectations in a way that supports both growth and connection.
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***
This podcast episode is sponsored by NOCD. NOCD provides online OCD therapy in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. To schedule your free 15 minute consultation to see if NOCD is a right fit for you and your child, go to
https://go.treatmyocd.com/at_parenting
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we dive into today's episode, I want to make sure you know about something that could really |
| 0:05.2 | change the way you support your child with anxiety or OCD. I am running a free video series called |
| 0:11.7 | survival tools for parents raising kids with anxiety and OCD, and it is packed with practical |
| 0:17.6 | strategies and insights. Honestly, I wish every single parent had because you're going to |
| 0:23.4 | learn how to get your child to open up and communicate more. Who doesn't need that? Create exposures |
| 0:28.8 | that they'll actually want to do or be willing to do. And most importantly, build a home environment |
| 0:35.4 | that supports long-term progress and not just crisis |
| 0:39.8 | management like so many of us are doing. This is the kind of information that's hard to find |
| 0:45.3 | unless you're deep in the trenches, and I want to make it as accessible as possible. |
| 0:51.0 | Register now for free at atparenting Survival Series.com. The series runs from |
| 0:58.5 | April 16th through April 24th. I'll see you over there. Welcome to the AT Parenting |
| 1:07.4 | Survival Podcast, where you get help and guidance through the chaos of parenting a child with anxiety or OCD. |
| 1:14.4 | This show is for educational purposes and is not intended to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. |
| 1:20.9 | Here's your host, child therapist, Natasha Daniels. |
| 1:24.6 | Well, hello there, and welcome to another episode of the AT Parenting Survival |
| 1:29.1 | Podcast. Today we're going to be talking about why adjusting expectations around our child with |
| 1:37.4 | anxiety and OCD really matters. And this is something that I've been grappling with. I feel like |
| 1:43.8 | more lately than normal. And this is something that I've been grappling with. I feel like more lately than normal. |
| 1:47.7 | And I thought it would be something good that we can explore because it's something that I think |
| 1:52.9 | parents really struggle with is the balance of their expectations. So we're going to talk about |
| 2:00.0 | how to spot when your expectations are |
| 2:01.9 | hurting you. Kind of go through like a little mini checklist with that. How to adjust your |
... |
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