Show Notes
Is your teen dating? As a parent that's been one of my most confusing stages as a parent - how do you give your teenager privacy when they start dating, but still keep them safe? If you've ever wondered if your child's choice of partner might be unhealthy, this episode is for you.
Liz Merrill is a relationship and mediation expert who specialises in helping people who are in narcissistic and abusive relationships. Liz recently set up a campaign to highlight to young people the red flags they should be aware of if something doesn't feel quite right in their relationship, something which I think we would rather our teens learn sooner rather than later.
In this podcast episode Helen finds out from Liz what dating red flags we should be looking for as parents, and how to discuss these with our children.
You can find more from Liz on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/openspacemediation/], and on her website Openspace Mediation [https://www.openspacemediation.com/].
More teenage parenting tips from Helen Wills:
Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/] a resource for midlife parents of teens.
Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please email [email protected].
There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-do-you-cope-loss-parent-when-youre-teenager-ryan/id1501488455?i=1000495564421], becoming a young carer [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/danielle-on-being-a-young-carer-for-her-alcoholic-mum/id1501488455?i=1000468538022], and being hospitalised with mental health problems [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/emma-bradley-on-being-hospitalised-mental-health-problems/id1501488455?i=1000470008123] - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.
You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.
For information on your data privacy please visit Podcast.co. [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]
Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.
Podcast produced by James Ede at Be Heard [https://www.beheard.org.uk/] production.
He gives some tips on what to look for, when not to worry, and when to get some professional support for your child's sleep problems. He also talks through some sleep tips that might help, and strategies to help your teenager feel better about their sleep and mental health.
More from Teenage Kicks Podcast
Owen Wood suffered from anxiety as a young teenager. He tells me how he coped, what his parents did to support him, and what helped him at school during those years. We talk about how travelling on a budget during Race Across The World taught him to have faith in himself, and how he copes with the nerves of travelling alone now.
Evan Transue started suffering with panic attacks at the age of 5. He had no family history of trauma, and due to his seemingly great life, his panic attacks went misdiagnosed for over 10 years. During this time, he developed other mental health conditions, and eventually turned to substances to numb the pain. Eventually he was diagnosed with panic disorder, and had an aha moment that changed his life.
Parents often worry about the teenage years. The term 'threenager' is frequently used to describe the toddler tantrums that leave parents tearing their hair out. I used it myself, with an eyeroll and a wry smile, but now that I've been through the teenage years I'm apologetic about that. I think it's patronising, and it doesn't help our relationships with our teens.
Today's guest is content creator and copywriter Tom Pinks, who is The number of teenagers saying they don't drink alcohol is 39% [https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/huge-rise-in-low-and-no-alcohol-consumption-among-young-adults-yougov-poll-shows/686689.article#:~:text=Nearly%20four%20in%2010%20(39,from%20drinking%20alcohol%20at%20all.].
My guest today has written a book about how much we underestimate teenage girls, and why we'd do well as parents to listen more to what they have to say. Chelsey Goodan has interviewed dozens of teenage girls about what's going on in their lives, and what they need from adults in order to thrive. We talk about perfectionism and self-esteem, shame around sexuality, and the best way to get teenagers to develop a healthy relationship with their phones and social media – spoiler alert, it doesn't involve banning apps and confiscating their phones.