MSI Press Blog

Today's shared blog post comes from Franki Bagdade, author of the award-winning book,  I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them . This week, Franki asks:  Are you Mommying with ADHD? This is for you! For more posts by and about Franki, click  HERE . Book Description: Selected as Independent Authors' Network Book of the Year as the Outstanding Parenting Book and winner of the Literary Titan Gold Award, I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them, is the ultimate survival guide for parents living through one of the strangest times in history. This " how to guide" will support you even if you are exhausted and burnt out in improving your child(ren)'s behavior. Written by an expert with 20 years of experience in behavioral observation in the classroom, in overnight camp, and more. Franki's storyteller cadence helps the book to read as if it's a casual conversation and pep talk between two parents over coffee. Franki is raw, authentic, and honest a...

  Let’s be honest: parenting is beautiful, sacred, and sometimes absolutely maddening. You love your kids. You’d do anything for them. But there are days when the noise, the mess, the questions, the whining, the sibling squabbles, and the sticky fingers on every surface make you want to scream into a pillow—or flee to a monastery. You’re not alone. And you’re not a bad parent. You’re just human. Step One: Pause Before You Pounce When your nerves are frayed, your first job isn’t to fix the chaos. It’s to calm yourself . Take a breath. A real one. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Step outside if you can. Nature is a nervous system reset. Lock yourself in the bathroom for 90 seconds. (Yes, they’ll knock. Ignore them.) Put on music—soothing or silly. Dance if you dare. Step Two: Decode the Madness Often, kids act out because something’s off. Are they hungry? Tired? Overstimulated? Bored? Do they need connection, not correction? Are they mirroring your stress? ...

  As 2026 begins, many parents are quietly asking: How do I keep showing up for my neurodivergent child with strength, grace, and clarity—especially when the world feels noisy, fast, and often unkind? The answer isn’t in perfection. It’s in presence. Parenting a neurodivergent child means navigating systems that weren’t built for them—and often weren’t built for you, either. It means decoding behaviors, advocating in medical offices, rewriting routines, and sometimes rebuilding your own expectations from the ground up. But it also means witnessing extraordinary resilience. It means learning to celebrate progress that others might miss. It means becoming fluent in a language of dignity, autonomy, and emotional safety. What 2026 Might Ask of Us This year, we invite parents to consider a few gentle shifts: From urgency to clarity : Not every meltdown is a crisis. Sometimes it’s a message. From compliance to collaboration : Your child’s needs aren’t obstacles—they’re invitations...