Nearly half of American parents report that their stress is completely overwhelming on most days, according to the American Psychological Association. Another 41% say their stress is so high they cannot function. These statistics have prompted the U.S. Surgeon General to issue a national advisory on parental well-being, calling it a public health priority. Yet, as Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a children's mental health expert, prepares to speak at two Orlando events focused on strengthening families, she poses a critical question: Who helps the parent before they reach their breaking point?
Dr. Roseann, a licensed therapist and Board Certified in Neurofeedback with over 30 years of experience, will address the 'overwhelmed parent epidemic' at The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and the 2026 Florida Prevention Convention, themed 'Stronger Families, Stronger Florida.' Her message: prevention starts before the breaking point, not after a family is in crisis.
The core of her approach is the Regulation First framework, which teaches parents and professionals to understand the nervous system beneath a child's behavior, regulate before reacting, reconnect, and then move into correction or problem-solving. 'When a child is dysregulated, their stress response can activate the parent's stress response, and vice versa,' Dr. Roseann explains. 'Before you know it, nobody in that moment has easy access to the calm, flexible thinking needed to solve the problem.'
This approach is particularly relevant in the context of child abuse prevention. Organizations like the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and Healthy Families Florida have long recognized that strengthening families before problems escalate is key. Dr. Roseann argues that supporting parents is inseparable from supporting children. 'When we give parents tools to understand their own stress response and their child's nervous system, we're strengthening the entire family,' she says.
Her forthcoming book, 'The Dysregulated Kid: The Parenting Playbook for Helping Your Child Find Calm in a Chaotic World,' published by Page Two Books on September 22, 2026, distills these principles into practical strategies like the Love Pause and CALMS Protocol. The book is designed for parents who are exhausted from managing behavior without understanding what drives it.
Dr. Roseann's presence in Orlando highlights a growing recognition that parental well-being is a public health issue. As she puts it, 'We can't wait until a family is in crisis to decide they deserve support. Prevention means reaching the parent while they're overwhelmed, not after they've reached their breaking point.' Her work offers hope that by focusing on the nervous system, parents can find new options in difficult moments, changing what happens next for their families.
