You have a Spicy One if your child:

• Takes more than you have to give.

• Feels things intensely and express themselves in big emotional outbursts (from rage to joyful screaming)

• Possesses a fierce drive for independence, autonomy and doing it their own way

• Chooses to be completely true to themselves, not others

• Seems unafraid to take up space or disappoint others (but feels outsized shame when corrected)

• Powerfully negotiates with adults until they lose hope and melt down

• Struggles to be consoled physically

• Toggles between exhibiting a zest for life or complaining that they don’t want to live anymore

• Has energy to spare and tend to be moving all the time

• Tests as gifted in some ways but completely inept in others

• Has a deep sense of justice (but are fine if they themselves break the rules)

• Refuses to rest long in contentedness always wondering “what’s next”

• Sometimes hurts folks unintentionally

• Defaults to brutal honesty with powerful words that can wound or delight

• Seems acutely aware of others’ feelings yet misses the social cues that peers are feeling disgruntled

• Learns best through defiance and personally experienced failure (rather than parental guidance)

• Shares a silly subversive sense of humor (and dark misuse of toys)

• Enjoys “poking the bear” or bothering other children in order to get a dramatic reaction and some sensory needs met

• Play so competitively that they meltdown when they lose and/or refuse to play by the rules

• Notices everything from how a chair was moved, to mom waking up in a bad mood

• Prefers to direct the play of peers

• Refuses to say “I love you” until they feel it

• Is a change-maker, free spirit or innovator but rarely a follower

 Moms of Spicy Ones Academy membership gives you instant access to everything below.

The Full Class Library

• CALM Class — tantrums, meltdowns, and nervous system regulation

• KIND Class — power struggles and respectful discipline

• FIRM Class — boundaries that actually hold

• Tweens & Teens Class — shifting your parenting for the adolescent years

• Siblings School — creating peace between your kids

• Just Say No Class — ending the cycle of over-commitment

• Good Enough Parenting — releasing perfectionism for good

Advanced MOSO: The Deep Work

Eight modules of inner work designed to break cycles, quiet your inner critic, and change how you show up.

Three Live Coaching Calls Every Month (optional)

• Kids Call — for parents of children ages 2–10

• Teens Call — for parents ages 11–18

• Deep Work Call — for your triggers and patterns

Can’t make it live? Replays are available for 30 days.

A Private Instagram Community

Weekly pep talks from Mary. Other moms who get it. Zero judgment.

Moms of Spicy Ones Academy will give you the confidence to:

🙃 Stay calm with a kid (or teen) who goes from 0-60 in seconds, especially during violent tantrums and disrespectful defiance

🤯 Set limits without crushing their spirit or becoming a doormat

🥰 Build a lifelong connection with your angry child

😆 Find your playfulness even in the hardest moments

Three calls happen every month. Dates and times rotate so different schedules can be accommodated.

• MOSO Academy: Kids — for parents of children ages 2–10

• MOSO Academy: Teens — for parents of teens ages 11–18

• MOSO Academy: Deep Work — for your triggers and patterns

All calls are optional. Can’t make it live? Replays are available for 30 days.

👉 See the current call schedule here.

All parents can benefit from learning to parent their Spicy One well!

This course is designed for two groups:

Kids: parents of kids aged 2-10 and Teens: parents of kids 11 - 18.

You can chose which group you want to participate with when it comes to coaching calls. Pick the child who takes the most energy to parent right now. Or attend all of the calls.

Worried it’s too late?

C.S. Lewis said it best, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending”

Heck yes. I promise not to give you techniques that assume you have a village supporting you or even someone who can watch your child while you shower!

All material can be consumed a-synchronistically to work with the meager free time you have to learn.

It’s understandable if your partner is suspicious of the effectiveness of gentle parenting, especially if they themselves weren't raised with respect and tenderness. Thankfully, it only takes one person in a family to change their behavior for the impact to be felt by the entire group. This subscription will be your oxygen mask that helps everyone breathe better.

Your partner is welcome to watch all the prerecorded content.

You are invited to watch all the recorded curriculum and recordings of coaching calls with your co-parent.
NOTE: LIVE calls are set aside just for moms.

This subscription is not designed to replace medical assistance or an official diagnosis.

MOSO Academy provides additional support for a family struggling with a difficult-to-parent child or for those also pursuing clinical help. This work primarily serves you as the parent, regardless of your child’s unique challenges.

Nope. While I personally identify as a deconstructing, radically affirming Christian, no religious affiliation is explored or communicated in this course. I believe Moms of Spicy Ones need the benefits that come with opening up to a higher power, but how you define that is up to you.

Lisa Miller wisely says, “Spirituality is a necessary human capacity that exists in every person through which we experience love and connection, unity and sense of guidance from and dialogue with life.”

Access to live calls, pre-recorded curriculum, self-reflection journals, private instagram access and last 30 days of coaching call recordings are yours for as long as you are subscribed. Cancel anytime.

No. MOSO Academy is a monthly subscription, not a one-time course purchase.

When you subscribe, you get immediate access to everything:

• All 8 weeks of MOSO (Moms of Spicy Ones)

• CALM class (tantrums & meltdowns)

• KIND class (power struggles)

• FIRM class (boundaries)

• TWEENS & TEENS class

• SIBLINGS class

• Just Say No class

• Monthly live coaching calls

You can cancel your $47/month subscription anytime. No guilt trips.

Since you get full library access from day one, refunds don't apply.

If you have questions before joining, email me at mary@maryvangeffen.com. I'm happy to help you decide if MOSO Academy is right for your family.

You can easily cancel anytime from your own account settings in Teachable, and you’ll keep access until the end of your current billing cycle.