Show Notes
How do we raise children in a world increasingly dominated by smartphones and social media? And what happens to family relationships when parents separate, siblings fall out, or boys struggle to understand what masculinity means?
Dr Richard Hogan is a family psychotherapist, author, Irish Examiner columnist and media contributor.
In this conversation with Fender Jackson, Richard discusses parenting teenagers in the smartphone age, setting boundaries around technology, keeping phones out of bedrooms, sleep, boys and masculinity, positive male role models, single parenting, divorce and co-parenting, and the complicated relationships we have with our siblings. Richard also reflects on growing up with dyslexia and separated parents, while a shared fascination with John Lennon leads to a discussion about childhood, creativity and the experiences that shape us. Among the questions explored:
What does a healthy relationship with smartphones look like for teenagers? Should children be allowed phones in their bedrooms? How can parents reclaim boundaries once they've been lost? Are the ways we talk about masculinity helping or alienating boys? What do children actually need when their parents separate? Does divorce necessarily have to be traumatic? Why can sibling relationships be so difficult — and can they be repaired?
Richard is the author of Parenting the Screenager and has a new book, Friends, Enemies and Lovers, due in January.
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