TPP 383: Kristina Kuzmic Debunks “Parenting Truths” That Keep Parents Stuck and in Crisis Mode
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
41 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 14 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What challenges do parents face when their child’s mental health crises feel unfixable?
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I think most of us grow up. And have kids and believe that a good parent. sees a problem, sees your kid as suffering or struggling or whatever, and we figure out a way to fix it. That's what a good parent does. And so when my kids started struggling, I was like, okay, let's do this. We'll get a therapist, we'll get a doctor, we'll get this, we'll get that. I really sort of convinced myself that I had more control than I did. And what I realized is convincing myself I had control is what caused so much self-abuse. Because if you think you can control something, then when things don't turn out well, well it's all your fault, right? Because you were supposed to know how to control it.
I'm Debbie Rieber and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. As parents, we want more than anything to help our kids thrive, to protect them from pain and harm, and avoid some of, or maybe all, of the mistakes we made in our own lives. But what happens when our kids are struggling with really big, difficult, scary, maybe even Life-threatening stuff, and none of our efforts to fix things are making a difference. That's the focus of today's show, and I am absolutely thrilled to be in conversation about it with Christina Kuzmich, a mental health advocate, author, comedian, and self-described cheerleader for her fellow humans.
Christina has just come out with a powerful new book, I Can Fix This and Other Lies I've Told Myself While Parenting My Struggling Child. In which she writes about her complex journey of parenting a child struggling with mental health and substance abuse. She wrote it to help other struggling parents reject ideas that keep families stuck and with her trademark authenticity and wisdom dispel the lies we believe as parents. This is such a raw, deep, and generous conversation. It is exactly the conversation: a parent feeling hopeless and overwhelmed and figuring out. How to help their child needs to hear. Truly balm for the soul. And if you're not familiar with Christina's work, here's a little bit more about her.
Christina immigrated to the US from Croatia during the war in her homeland. After later facing more challenges: divorce, single parenting, poverty, mental health challenges, Christina's goal became clear: to be for others what she needed when she was at her lowest. In 2011, Oprah crowned Christina the winner of Mark Burnett's reality TV competition, Oprah's Search for the Next TV star. Since working with Oprah, Christina has branched out on her own, creating videos and juggling all of life's challenges and encouraging our audience to prioritize their mental health. She's quickly become a viral sensation with nearly 3 million Facebook followers, over 670,000 Instagram followers, and more than a billion.
In addition to the book we're talking about today, she's also the author of Hold On But Don't Hold Still. And one last thing, before we begin this episode, a quick content warning. This episode contains mention of suicidal ideation, self-harm, and mental health struggles. So if these are challenging topics for you to hear about, please do what you need to do to prioritize your well-being. And now here is my conversation with Christina. Hey Christina, welcome to the podcast. Hi, thank you
so much for having me.
I'm so looking forward to this conversation. I loved your book and I want to get into all the concepts. But before we do that, there might be listeners who aren't familiar with you in the world. You have a big presence in the world and a huge social media following as well.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What challenges do parents face when their child’s mental health crises feel unfixable?
0:00–6:43
2
How did Kristina’s personal journey lead her to focus on her son Luca’s struggles?
6:43–11:58
3
Why is the belief ‘I can control my child’s problems’ a harmful lie for parents?
11:58–17:07
4
What strategies helped Kristina navigate doctors, therapists, and treatment systems?
17:07–22:26
5
Why does having more information not always bring clarity for struggling families?
22:26–26:58
6
How can parents practice self‑compassion and kindness during their hardest days?
26:58–31:22
7
What role does forgiveness—both of yourself and your child—play in healing?
31:22–36:15
8
What final advice does Kristina give to parents feeling hopeless and burned out?
36:15–41:22
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids