With 48% of parents reporting that their stress is completely overwhelming on most days, and 41% saying their stress is so high they can't function, according to the American Psychological Association, a growing crisis is straining families. The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a national advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents and caregivers, calling parental well-being a public health priority. This has prompted a closer look at who helps parents before they reach their breaking point.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a children's mental health expert with over 30 years of clinical experience, is bringing this message to Orlando, where she will speak at The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and the 2026 Florida Prevention Convention, themed "Stronger Families, Stronger Florida." These events focus on Healthy Families, early intervention, and child abuse prevention. Dr. Roseann emphasizes that prevention must start before a family is in crisis. "We can't wait until a family is in crisis to decide they deserve support," she says. "Prevention means reaching the parent while they're overwhelmed, not after they've reached their breaking point."
The core of Dr. Roseann's approach is her Regulation First® framework, which teaches parents and professionals to understand the nervous system beneath behavior, regulate before reacting, reconnect, and then move into correction or problem-solving. This method addresses the common scenario where a child's dysregulation triggers the parent's stress response, creating a cycle of escalating conflict. "When a child is dysregulated, their stress response can activate the parent's stress response, and vice versa," she explains. "Before you know it, nobody in that moment has easy access to the calm, flexible thinking needed to solve the problem."
Traditional parenting advice often focuses on what to say or what consequence to give, but Dr. Roseann argues that regulation must come first. "The goal isn't to create perfectly calm parents," she says. "Parents are human. They're going to get frustrated. They're going to have bad days. Prevention is about giving them another option when they feel themselves getting close to that edge."
The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida invests in programs designed to improve outcomes for children and preserve and strengthen families before problems require more intensive intervention. Healthy Families Florida works directly with parents facing significant life challenges, building on family strengths and empowering parents through education and community support. Dr. Roseann's message aligns with this upstream approach, noting that "supporting parents isn't separate 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."
This doesn't mean parental stress causes child abuse, nor does it mean every overwhelmed family is in crisis. But prevention includes ensuring parents don't have to wait until they're drowning to receive support. Dr. Roseann will address how parents today are carrying work pressure, financial strain, lack of sleep, children's emotional and behavioral needs, and endless to-do lists, yet are expected to remain perfectly regulated when their child isn't.
Her forthcoming book, The Dysregulated Kid: The Parenting Playbook for Helping Your Child Find Calm in a Chaotic World, will be published by Page Two Books on September 22, 2026, and offers practical tools based on the Regulation First® framework, including the Love Pause®, CALMS Protocol®, and 10-Minute Resets. The book aims to help parents understand the connection between the brain, nervous system, and behavior, moving from reacting to understanding what their child's brain and body need first.
At a time when nearly half of parents report feeling completely overwhelmed, these tools are about strengthening families. "Every hard moment isn't a crisis," says Dr. Roseann. "But every hard moment is an opportunity to change what happens next." Her presence at the Florida Prevention Convention highlights the growing recognition that supporting parents is a critical component of child abuse prevention and family well-being. For more information on the 2026 Florida Prevention Convention, visit The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida.
