Complicated Kids

Complicated Kids is a podcast about why raising kids can feel like an extreme sport sometimes. Join me to unpack all of it, figure out who needs what, and help your family thrive. Gabriele Nicolet is a Toddler Whisperer, Parent Coach and Speech Therapist. – She is the co-founder of Raising Orchid Kids – an online, global parent education and coaching practice, as well as the owner of GabrieleNicolet.com – a parent coaching practice in the DC metro area. Gabriele has a hard time eating out in restaurants if children are present because she always wants to play. She is passionate about all things child development, and particularly fascinated by the ways in which common parenting practices affect highly sensitive (Orchid) kids and how to tweak them so that everyone can stay calm and become their best Selves. Have questions? Reach out today complicatedkidspodcast@gmail.com.

Screens Are Not the Enemy with Leslie Tyler

Jun 30, 2026

Screens are not going anywhere, which means our kids need more than rules. They need guidance.

I’ll be honest. This is one of those topics where people tend to have feelings.

Big ones.

And fair enough. Screens can be a mess. They can also be useful, regulating, connecting, necessary, and sometimes genuinely...

Brain Mapping with Andrew Hill

Jun 23, 2026

Brain mapping is not about making a complicated brain average. It is about understanding what the brain is doing.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Andrew Hill, a cognitive neuroscientist, brain mapping expert, founder of Peak Brain Institute, and author of Gifted & Tortured.

And yes, we go right into the...

The ABCs of Big Emotions with Elizabeth Sautter

Jun 16, 2026

You do not have to be afraid of big emotions, but you do need a way to meet them.

In this episode, I talk with Elizabeth Sautter about what actually helps in those moments when a child’s feelings get big. Elizabeth walks us through her ABCs of big emotions framework: first assess and get curious, then balance the...

You Can Teach Your Kid to Read at Home with Faye Bankler Casell

Jun 9, 2026

If a child is struggling to learn to read, waiting rarely makes that easier.

In this episode, I talk with Faye Bankler Casell about what parents need to know when early reading is not coming together the way it should. Faye explains why reading instruction in schools can feel like a lottery system, why so many children...

Parenting ND Teens In Crisis with Katie K May

Jun 2, 2026

When a teen is in crisis, the behavior is not the whole message.

In this conversation, I talk with Katie May about what she calls “fire feelers,” kids and teens who are biologically sensitive, highly reactive, and slow to return to baseline once emotions get big. Katie explains how these kids often grow up hearing...