262 - Should You Try to Fix Your Parents? (Q&A)

Should you try to fix your parents? Most people spend years trying. Here's what actually works — and what's just making it worse.

In this candid Q&A episode, Barb and Michelle get into three questions that don't have easy answers:

— Should you try to fix your parents (or your adult kids)? — Does emotional connection get harder the bigger your family gets? — How do you apologize to your kids without losing your authority as a parent?

Barb — who's spent 40+ years in therapy and recovery — breaks down the fix/control/compare trap that keeps most families stuck, why apologizing to your kids is actually a power move when done right, and what it really means to "let go" of a parent who hurt you (hint: it's not what the internet tells you).

Michelle brings the adult-child perspective — including the quiet role reversal that happens when you start parenting your own parents, and why that's more common (and more complicated) than anyone admits.

In this episode:

• The fix/control/compare framework Barb uses daily
• Why big families often produce invisible kids — and what that costs them
• How to apologize to your child without becoming a doormat
• What "letting go" of a difficult parent actually looks like
• Why your parents were "raised by cavemen" — and why that context changes everything

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