Dr. Meredith Elkins

08/19/2026

Just in time for back-to-school!

Beyond excited to join the incredible Lynn Lyons next week as part of the GPS Parent Series for a conversation unpacking my book, Parenting Anxiety: Breaking the Cycle of Worry and Raising Resilient Kids.

And…in this video, I say that the talk is Wednesday the 27th….but Wednesday is the 26th 🫠

Please trust the calendar, not the mom trying to talk to a camera and keep dates straight at the same time 🌪️

The real details:
📅 Wednesday, August 26 — noon CST
🔗 Free & virtual — link in bio
📖 In conversation with Lynn Lyons — psychotherapist, author, international speaker, and host of the Flusterclux podcast (best podcast name of all time!)

We’ll get into how anxiety patterns take root in families, what parenting culture gets wrong about protecting kids from discomfort, and strategies you can apply right away to help your kids build real confidence — not just avoid what scares them.

Thank you GPS Parent Series 📚 for hosting this conversation.

See you there!

08/18/2026

As a clinical psychologist who treats anxiety in kids and parents, there's a phrase I see constantly — and it makes me cringe every time: "nervous system dysregulation."

Not because it's meaningless. Because of what it might be teaching us to do.

When every uncomfortable feeling gets treated as a 'condition' requiring intervention, we risk teaching ourselves — and our kids — to fear ordinary emotions.

And fear of our own feelings is one of the most reliable ways to manufacture more anxiety.

I wrote about this for my first newsletter post: the mechanism behind why some of today's most popular wellness language may be working against us, and the question I now ask instead of reaching for a "fix."

Curious how this lands with others working in mental health, education, or parenting.

Read it here:

Why I can’t embrace the wellness world’s favorite phrase, and what it reveals about our growing fear of discomfort.

08/13/2026

What an honor 💙 I got to spend time with NASA’s workforce this week, talking about something I think about constantly, as a psychologist and as a mom: when does our desire to protect our kids actually get in the way of their ability to develop confidence?

Huge thanks to the NASA OCHMO Mission: HEALTH team for creating space for such an honest conversation about parenting, pressure, and letting our kids struggle a little so they can grow.

Helicopter parenting isn’t a character flaw.

It’s love, colliding with a culture that has convinced us discomfort is dangerous.

So grateful to organizations like NASA for investing in their employees’ families this way. More of this, please 🙏

🚀🌎🪐🌌

08/07/2026

Mark your calendars📆💜we are *so* excited to have at the library this September for a talk about practical, compassionate strategies for supporting anxious kids without reinforcing anxiety, and for finding grace and balance amidst the pressures of modern parenting! Register here: https://westwoodlibrary.libcal.com/event/16285398

08/07/2026

Coping strategies aren’t the fix everyone promises they are.

But that’s because we are expecting them to deliver in ways that they simply can’t.

I am a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety, and I promise I’m not holding out on you: there is no hack or skill or product or strategy that can safely and sustainably obliterate painful feelings in the moment without creating bigger problems over time.

Coping strategies are not the answer to anxiety.

But they absolutely have a role to play.

The best use of coping strategies is to help us regulate just enough so that we can do what really works to improve anxiety over time: facing our fears, growing bravery muscles: exposure practice.

Link in bio if you want the full framework 👇

Agree or disagree? Tell me in the comments.

07/08/2026

One of the hardest truths about parenting an anxious child is that the things that bring relief in the moment can sometimes keep anxiety stuck in the long run.

When we step in, rescue, reassure, or remove discomfort, everyone feels better - temporarily.

But anxiety shrinks when kids have the chance to discover, “this is hard…and I can handle it.”

The goal isn’t to stop helping our kids! It’s to become more intentional about when our help is building confidence, and when it’s accidentally standing in for it.

This is "How do loving parents accidentally make child anxiety worse?" by Dr. Meredith Elkins on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

05/12/2026

In had the honor of speaking today about Parenting Anxiety with the Access Wellness group at Penguin Random House in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month 💚

We talked about breaking the cycle of worry, raising resilient kids, and why parenting anxiety deserves real conversation — not just reassurance.

So grateful to the incredible people at PRH for making space for these important discussions.

Thank you to everyone who attended and who asked such meaningful questions 🙏🏻🥰
ParentingSupport AccessWellness

05/01/2026

Transitions bring excitement, but they often bring anxiety too.

From starting kindergarten to heading off to college, these moments can feel big for both kids and parents. It’s natural to want to protect, prepare, and reassure.

But how we respond in these moments matters.

When we stay calm, acknowledge that change is hard, and show confidence in our child’s ability to handle it, we help shape how they see themselves and what they’re capable of.

We don’t need to remove the anxiety.
We just need to help them learn they can move through it.

04/28/2026

I wrote Parenting Anxiety for parents who are trying to support their children while also managing their own worry, self-doubt, and fear.

My goal was to take evidence-based strategies and make them practical, approachable, and grounded in real life. Because parenting an anxious child isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about learning how to respond with clarity, confidence, and compassion.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or unsure of what to do next, I hope this book feels like a steady, supportive guide.

Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

04/24/2026

When our kids are anxious, we want to help. So we let them skip the stressful thing. We rearrange the schedule. We give reassurance on an unending loop.

This is accommodation — and it comes from love, which is exactly what makes it so hard to see clearly.

The problem isn't the impulse. It's that accommodation reduces anxiety in the moment, while reinforcing it over time.

When we help our kids avoid hard things, we confirm anxiety's message: you can't handle this without me.

The question isn't "am I a good parent?" It's "is my response helping my child face this, or avoid it?"

That distinction changes everything.

More in Parenting Anxiety, available now on Amazon and wherever books are sold.