Why Can My Kid Do It One Day and Not the Next? (Part 1)

Samantha and Lauren discuss why children may struggle with tasks they seemed able to do the day before (like getting dressed, brushing teeth, or doing homework) and how parents can respond without assuming laziness or defiance.

They emphasize a mindset shift: yesterday’s success doesn’t guarantee today’s ability, and parents should get “curious, not furious” by looking for what helped previously and what’s harder now.

The episode explains executive functioning and how multi-step tasks involve transitions, planning, organization, impulse control, memory, and sensory tolerance, which can be affected by ADHD, autism, stress, sleep, sensory processing, and environmental factors like rushing or noise.