Britney Duner, LCSW · Child & Family Therapist
Connected Parent: understand behavior and build connection
Practical, evidence-informed support from Britney Duner, LCSW, child and family therapist, parent educator, and PCIT clinician. Find clear help for big emotions, ADHD and child behavior, parent regulation, and the everyday work of staying connected.
Free with a free account. Start with the guide that matches today.
Start where you are
What's happening right now?
Pick the moment that sounds like your house today. Each one takes you straight to a short, practical read.
Free for parents
The Calm Moment Starter Kit
A free printable with the ten most-needed scripts, a one-page meltdown plan, and a 60-second reset for you. Free with a free account.
- 10 word-for-word scripts by age
- Before / during / after meltdown plan
- A regulation practice for the parent
Includes the starter kit plus scripts for mornings, anxiety, defiance and meltdowns.
Workbooks & printables
Practical tools you can use tonight
Full courses are in development and launching soon. Until then, these therapist-made toolkits give you the same strategies in a format you can print and use today.
Printable toolkit
The Meltdown Toolkit
A 4-tool toolkit for understanding triggers, responding during meltdowns, regulating yourself, and repairing afterward.
Printable toolkit
The Defiance Toolkit
Five tools for warm, firm limits — so you can stop repeating yourself without turning every request into a power struggle.
Printable toolkit
My Anxiety Toolkit
Five tools for responding to worry without feeding it — including what to say, what to stop accommodating, and how to build brave steps.
Premium membership
Every module and script, whenever you need it.
The full parenting module library and the full “What Do I Say?” script library, together in one place for the moments you need more than a quick answer.
- Full module library
- Full script library
- Ages & Stages at-home practices
- 20% off every toolkit
$9.99/month or $79/year (save 34%)
Founding Member rate — locked in while you stay.
Parenting education, not therapy.
Find help fast
Tell us what's happening. We'll find the rest.
No diagnosis, no jargon, no guessing which therapy model you need. Choose what your child is doing, how old they are, and the kind of help you want.
About the educator
Research, Education & Professional Experience
Verified work connecting Britney Duner’s clinical expertise, research, professional education, and practical parent support.
Peer-reviewed publication
Co-author of a 2025 Frontiers in Psychology study on adversity, autonomic reactivity, mindful awareness, and current functioning.
Read the publicationClinical research
Principal investigator on a University of Florida study examining Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and caregiver functioning.
View the clinical trialProfessional presentations
Presenter on PCIT implementation, caregiver stress and physiology, clinical coding, and culturally responsive practice.
See presentationsPCIT-related work
PCIT-certified clinician, clinical educator, and parent educator translating evidence-informed ideas into practical support.
Learn about PCITBritney Duner, LCSW brings clinical practice, research, and professional education together through Connected Parent, turning evidence-informed ideas into clear support for everyday parenting.
The shift
Behavior is communication
If today was hard — the fourth repetition before 8am, losing it over shoes, googling at 11pm — you're not the only one having this day, and none of it makes you a bad parent. Children rarely have the language for what's happening inside them, so they show us instead. When you can translate the behavior, your next move changes.
"I hate you!"
This feeling is bigger than my words, and I need to know you'll stay.
Refusing to put shoes on
Switching tasks is hard for my brain and I have almost no control over my day.
Hitting a sibling
My impulse arrived before my brakes did. I need help before I need a lecture.
"I can't do it" before trying
Failing in front of you feels more dangerous than not trying at all.
The good news
Parenting is a set of skills — and skills can be learned
You don't need a different personality or a calmer child. You need a handful of repeatable moves, practiced enough that they show up when you're tired.
Why children behave the way they do
Behavior is communication from a developing brain. When a child is overwhelmed, the thinking part of the brain goes offline and the survival part takes over — so what looks like defiance is often distress, immaturity, or an unmet need.
Why connection comes before correction
A child cannot learn from a lesson they cannot hear. Attuning first — naming the feeling, staying close, holding the limit warmly — is what makes boundaries land instead of bounce off.
How your regulation shapes theirs
Nervous systems sync. Children borrow calm from the adults around them long before they can generate it themselves. Your steadiness is not a nice extra — it is the active ingredient.
Practical scripts you can use today
You do not need a new philosophy at 7:45am. You need words. Every strategy here comes with exact phrasing for the moment it is happening.
Library
Articles that help in the moment
Short, practical reads for tantrums, anxiety, defiance, ADHD, and the moments you almost lose it.
How to Handle Toddler Tantrums
A therapist-informed guide to handling toddler tantrums without shame, threats, or bribes. Learn what to say, what to avoid, and how to shorten the storm.
Read articleHow to Stop Yelling at Your Kids
Yelling is usually a stressed nervous system, not a character flaw. Learn a 90-second reset, a parent pause script, and how to repair after you lose it.
Read articleChildhood Anxiety Symptoms Checklist
A practical checklist for parents worried about childhood anxiety. Learn what typical worry looks like, when it crosses into anxiety, and what helps.
Read articleFollow Along
Britney Duner, LCSW
Child & Family Therapist | Parent Educator | PCIT Clinician
Parenting is messy. The goal isn't perfect parenting. It's building connection, understanding behavior, and having tools for the hard moments.