Teenagers Untangled has been picked by The Times UK as one of the top podcasts for parents

Episodes

Jan. 21, 2025

126: Momguilt: reducing the overwhelming mental load to decrease stress. An interview with Sam Kelly

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Stress can be a major problem for parents who're constantly juggling tasks and responsibilities. The mental load can feel overwhelming at times and the list literally never ending. So when I discovered Sam Kelly has a brilliant way to: ✅Avoid burnout. ✅Have a happier home life. ✅Help our kids to be successful in life. ✅Avoid nagging. ✅Break the old stereotypes cycle. I had to get her on the show. A mo…

Listen to the Episode

Jan. 14, 2025

125: How to motivate our teens to love learning and why parents are the missing piece of the puzzle.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? We parents are deluding ourselves about how much our kids enjoy school, according to research for the book The Disengaged Teen. In survey responses 65% of parents thought their 10th grade kid loved school, whilst only 26% of 10th graders actually said they did. A lot of educators admit that things go wrong in the teen years, and many fine minds are trying to work on ways to tackle the problem. In the meant…

Listen to the Episode

Jan. 7, 2025

124: Enduring sibling relationships: Why some last and others fall apart, and how we parents can help

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? There are siblings who love spending time with each other as often as possible, some tolerate it once or twice a year, and there are others who would rather eat glass than have to speak to each other. Why? What happens to their relationship? Is there something we parents can be doing to set our kids to be the ones who love and support each other as we age and after we die. When one listener asked for a dee…

Listen to the Episode

Dec. 31, 2024

123: New Year 2025: resolutions, stress, being more fun, most interesting books, and most downloaded.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? MAKING RESOLUTIONS: https://www.teenagersuntangled.com/70-new-years-resolutions-love-them-or-loathe-them-the-question-is-how-can-we-make-them-work-for-u/ https://www.teenagersuntangled.com/blog/Be-the-person-you-want-to-be-not-the-person-others-think-you-should-be/ PARENTING STRESS: https://www.teenagersuntangled.com/109-parenting-stress-is-now-a-major-health-issue TOO MANY CHOICES: https://www.teenagersun…

Listen to the Episode

Dec. 23, 2024

122: Family gatherings without the fireworks, and staying connected with your young teen

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Connection is at the root of human happiness, but staying connected through the turbulent teens and keeping family traditions and gatherings positive can be a challenge. In this episode we help Helen with her question about how to stay connected with her daughter who's on the brink of becoming a teenager. We also talk about hosting gatherings, drawing on advice from the expert, Priya Parker. How to pu…

Listen to the Episode

Dec. 17, 2024

121: Suicide: How to talk about it with teens, and offer proper support.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? In a recent column in The Times, Caitlin Moran wrote about how five young men in her social circle have taken their lives in the past 18 months. She's not alone. My daughter has experienced this, as has Benedicte's son, the listener who contacted me to suggest I cover it in an episode. In the UK, the leading cause of death for men under the age of 50 is suicide, and the statistics in the US are e…

Listen to the Episode

Dec. 10, 2024

120: Support: It takes a village to raise a child... as long they do it my way.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? So many of us bemoan the loss of a village, but do we really know what we mean by that? Being in a village or community requires us to give as well as take; often not on our own terms. It also means that we have to brush shoulders with people who might have radically different viewpoints from us on things like politics or religion. Many of us have got used to our busy, overscheduled lives, and don...

Listen to the Episode

Dec. 3, 2024

119: Girls: Sexism, beauty standards, entitlement and misogyny an interview with Jo-Ann Finkelstein

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Encouraging our kids to make the most of themselves is a vital job for parents, but how do we talk with girls about the barriers they face? From the subtle expectation that girls and women be humble to the not so subtle focus on their worth based on body parts and beauty, we parents are left with a tricky path to tread. We want to encourage our girls to be bold, and try to achieve their dreams, but how do …

Listen to the Episode

Nov. 26, 2024

118: Cancel culture. Bullying or bravery?

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? The suicide of a young man at Oxford University has prompted a warning letter to the UK Government about 'cancel culture' on campus. The review into his death 'identified evidence of a concerning practice of social ostracism among students, often referred to as a cancel culture,' according the coroner. '[The review's] evidence was that this behaviour, where individuals are iso…

Listen to the Episode

Nov. 19, 2024

117: Friendships, frenemies and banter. What to expect and why.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Friendships, and fitting, in are everything to teenagers. You could argue that understanding the dynamics, and supporting our kids through the turmoil of the teen years, is one of the best things we parents can do. Former Headteacher of 18 years, Andrew Hampton FRSA, is no stranger to the issue. He's not only raised two girls he's also had to deal with the fall-out in school when friendships go w…

Listen to the Episode

Nov. 12, 2024

116: The damage of an emotionally immature parent

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? If we genuinely think about how many of us are emotionally mature before we become parents the number is probably pretty low. The act of caring for someone else, and having to manage our own feelings, can be incredibly challenging, particularly when we were raised by parents who were immature themselves. Being able to spot the difference between being emotionally immature, and the normal pressures of paren…

Listen to the Episode

Nov. 5, 2024

115: Masculinity and image: the Looksmaxxing hashtag that boys follow but parents don't see

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? What we see on TikTok often starts on message boards in fringe groups then spills over into the mainstream. This is true of the Looksmaxxing social media trend that's been gaining more and more currency among teen boys. The goal of looksmaxxing is to meet a set of criteria for physical attractiveness, with a focus on the eyes, jawline, and physique and the ultimate currency is SMV, or Sexual Market Va…

Listen to the Episode

Oct. 30, 2024

114: Boundaries: How to set them and why they’re so important.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Boundaries exist, regardless of whether we're conscious of them or not. The first place we experience them is in our own home, and the way they are created, managed and enforced can set us up for a lifetime of healthy relationships, or difficulty coping with other humans. In this episode Susie and I discuss what a boundary is, how we uncover our own boundaries and create and uphold healthy ones within…

Listen to the Episode

Oct. 22, 2024

113: Motivation: How to motivate your teenager. An interview with eminent Psychologist David Yeager

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? When kids hit puberty they become driven by a core motivation that many of us adults don't fully appreciate. It's not simply fun, or sex; they're looking for experiences that give them social status and respect. According to David Yeager, author of 10-25: The Science of How to Motivate Young People, a societal belief that teens and young adults are lazy and incompetent causes us to misunders…

Listen to the Episode

Oct. 15, 2024

112: Stress - the major health issue for parents in our 'culture of comparison'.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Over the last decade, parents have been consistently more likely to report experiencing high levels of stress compared to other adults, according to a report issued by the US Surgeon General, Dr Vivek Murthy. According to the advisory, 'When stress is severe or prolonged, it can have a harmful effect on the mental health of parents and caregivers, which in turn also affects the well- being of the chil…

Listen to the Episode

Oct. 8, 2024

111: How to parent complex kids with ADHD or other differences

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? How to parent kids who struggle with ADHD, anxiety and life Nobody wants their child to struggle, but it's inevitable at some point. Many of the problems our kids face will be part of a well-worn path through the teenage years. But some kids have more complex needs. Parenting them can be far more challenging, and require a far great draw on our own resources, which is why I've been looking out fo…

Listen to the Episode

Oct. 1, 2024

110: The hardest part of parenting a teen? We discuss the 18-22 year stage.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? A recent Tweet focused my mind on something I've only really glimpsed with a side-eye. We hear so much about the challenges of the early teen years that it's easy to forget young adults have their own issues. As the Tweeter said, when our kids are 18-22 they're dealing with adult emotions, disappointing experiences and us parents have zero control; making it terrible to witness. The response…

Listen to the Episode

Sept. 24, 2024

109: Therapy. Should all teens get it? Also, do boys actually need male role models?

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? When an anonymous listener posted this question we thought it would be a great topic to discuss; one that many of our listeners could be wondering about. The listener said, Hello, I absolutely love your podcast. And here’s the question. Do you think all teens should go to therapy, just so they have a space to talk that isn’t a parent, family member or friend. I’ve been pondering this lately and trying to .…

Listen to the Episode

Sept. 17, 2024

108: How grades harm school students and what we parents can do about it and nterview with Josh Eyler

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Grades are used in education the world over, but why? With the growing mental health crisis in teenagers I've been exploring how experts are asking whether perhaps it's time we looked again at the role grades play in helping or hindering the learning of our children. In my interview with Josh Eyler, author of Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do about It we discuss the…

Listen to the Episode

Sept. 10, 2024

107: Teen weight and body image: Mother and daughter explore the issues.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? As your child turns from a tween to a teen it's obvious to everyone that their body and mind are undergoing massive changes. It's destablising for our kids and can be very uncomfortable for us parents watching as the changes take place. Some of our discomfort can come from our own fears about how to guide them through the changes and what sort of person will come out the other side of the transfo…

Listen to the Episode

Sept. 3, 2024

106: Reading Festival tips - straight from the mouths of teenagers.

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Music festivals are a rite of passage for many teens. Whilst some love the music, the lack of restriction and opportunities to mingle in a way that they could have only dreamt of during Covid, others decide to give them a miss or go and positively hate the experience. I was never a festival kid growing up. I didn't have the money, or the opportunity. As an adult, I've found them to be joyous even…

Listen to the Episode

Aug. 27, 2024

105: Grades. Our obsession with them fails everyone. An interview with Exam Nation author Sammy Wright

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? What is school for, and are exam grades a good measure of a human? Does someone's grades tell us what we should know, or are we being misled? Do grades help children grow and engage with learning, or do they simply destroy interest and entrench social divisions? These are the sort of questions that perplex many of us who are parenting teenagers. It’s coming to the end of summer in the UK which means t…

Listen to the Episode

Aug. 20, 2024

104: Driving lessons - Top tips for a smooth road ahead

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? Whether your teen is currently learning to drive, or those days are in the future, it helps to prepare ahead. Both Rachel and Susie have teens learning, so it's a great time for Rachel to go through all of the tips and data to help us all think ahead about what is involved and how to make their life behind the wheel as safe and smooth as possible. The free RISK ANTICIPATION driving course: https://www…

Listen to the Episode

Aug. 14, 2024

100: Rachel's top ten lessons to celebrate 100 episodes!

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover? It doesn't matter how much we know, and how much we work at it, we'll all struggle to parent well at times; it's just part of being human. To mark the 100th episode of the podcast I decided to give you a top ten of the best lessons I've learned, and continue to mess up. In case you can't be bothered to listen, you're bored by me waffling, or you just want the list, here goes: …

Listen to the Episode