One of the hardest parts of raising a child with OCD is figuring out who you’re actually talking to. Is it your child… or is it their OCD pulling you into another loop?

In this episode, we talk about the different ways OCD ropes parents in—whether it’s endless reassurance seeking, constant confessing, permission checking, “just right” demands, or those sneaky checking questions like, “Do I look sick?” or “Is this bad?”

I’ll walk you through how to spot when OCD is taking over the conversation: the circular back-and-forth that goes nowhere, the distress when you don’t answer the “right” way, or the need for more and more clarity tied to their specific OCD themes.

Then we shift into what you can do. We’ll cover how to talk to your child about these patterns ahead of time, how to team up on a plan for responding, and how to use exposures and tools (like reassurance cards) to stop feeding the OCD loop.

And finally, an important reminder: not talking to OCD does not mean ignoring your child. You can still validate, support, connect, and check in, just without fueling compulsions. Pulling yourself out of OCD’s conversations is often one of the first big steps toward real progress.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

PDF handout for this episode: www.natashadaniels.com/handouts

Join my free series: How to Be an Effective Anchor for Your Child’s Anxiety or OCD — www.atparentingsurvivalseries.com

Youtube video: Reassurance can Be a Compulsion

Youtube video: Confessions Can be a Compulsion

Podcast: How to Use Reassurance Cards

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This podcast episode is sponsored by NOCD. NOCD provides online OCD therapy in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. To schedule your free 15 minute consultation to see if NOCD is a right fit for you and your child, go to