Jay Simmons is a student and a transgender teenager. I met Jay at a TEDx talk, where she delivered a – quite frankly – incredible talk aiming to address those misunderstandings. She said, “if you love transgender people, listen to this talk. If you hate transgender people, also listen to this talk.”  Her motivation to do the TEDx talk and to speak with me on the podcast today, comes from a desire to help people understand and to give other transgender people a way to explain it to their families. 6:30: Feeling different as a child, but not knowing what that was about. Jay explains that pu ..read more

Dr Beth Mosely MBE talks to Helen about feeling different as a teenager, rebelling agains her parents to figure out her own identity, and trying to fit in with her peer group. We talk about what causes anxiety in teenagers, how it manifests, and what we can do as parents to help teens accept themselves in order to manage anxious feelings.  We discuss:  Social media - why it isn't to blame, and what to do about it Why filters in photos might be a good thing Feeling different Why teenagers don't really trust their friends Preparing our children for the reality of growing up in a world ..read more

If your teenager is thinking of travelling over the summer, or taking a Gap year before, or after University, you might be worried about a few things:  How will they finance their student travel? How can they stay safe?  Will a year out have a detrimental effect on their job prospects?  Lee McAteer is the co-founder of Camp New York, a brand new camp in America, where young adults have the opportunity to earn money and gain work experience in a structured and safe environment, before travelling with their earnings. He says student travel is an amazing opportunity, and gives hi ..read more

Does your teenager drink? If they're of legal age, how much do they drink, and do you worry that it's a problem? Is the partying at University becoming more of a regular drinking habit? What is normal drinking at that age, and when should you worry about addiction? Ian Hawkins talks about how his addiction began at university, how it helped him, then got in his way, and how he recovered. He talks about anxiety, using alcohol as a coping mechanism, and to "fit in"socially, and when he realised it was a problem. He has advice for parents who are worried about their teenager's drinking. Who is Ia ..read more

TW: My guest today is Debra Blackman. Debra tells us about sexual abuse that happened to her as a child, so if that’s likely to be difficult for you to hear, please do switch off from this episode. Growing up in a family with an affluent facade, Debra suffered in silence from sexual abuse by a family member until she was 17. Her mother failed to see her plight. When the family moved home, Debra experienced bullying and isolation, and struggled to face the situation she was in. The abuse from her father reached a breaking point when she was 18, and she finally stood up to him, leading to her be ..read more

Do you know what bulking and cutting is? Has your teenager asked you to change what you feed the family, veering between carb-loading and keto-style meal requests? If you're worrying about your sporty teenager's attitude to food, this episode is worth a listen.  My guests are Kate Shilland and Fran Taylor, registered nutritionists who have seen how teenage athletes are influenced by TikTok creators to resort to sometimes extreme measures to get 'the perfect physique'.  We talked about toxic masculinity, self-esteem and body image in young men and teenage boys in last week's episode ..read more

As the mother of both a teenage girl AND boy, I’ve seen how both of them have absorbed the messages in society about toxic masculinity, and I’ve been shocked at how polarising those are. I know the effect of attitudes towards women from my own experiences and my daughter’s; but I’ve also seen how damaging some of the narrative around that can be to boys and young men. Boys and young men across the UK are struggling; research shows a decline in mental health and well-being, increased isolation, a lack of safe spaces and trusted relationships, and a higher risk of engaging in gangs, violence, su ..read more

Climate expert and campaigner Mark Ballabon says that today's teenagers feel under immense pressure, and have a lot of anxiety around the state of our planet. His book, Home, is described as a coming of age story for the Greta Thunberg generation. He talks to me about how teens are feeling, why some of them shut down conversations about the environment, and what we - as parents - can do to help them work out how they feel about climate change and activism.  2:30 - Mark describes his own teenage years as "a bit of a car crash". He was sent to a very academic school and found it very stress ..read more

Young maverick entrepreneur Morgan Boult was a rebel at school and told he would never amount to anything. But at 19 and Managing Director of a successful call centre, already in its 6th year of trading and incorporated when he was aged 13, he is the epitome of proving everyone wrong. But there is more to Morgan Boult's story. Here is someone amazingly unique and earmarked for bigger, greater things. During a difficult time at school, he was a rebel who saw a tough time growing up.  Add to this his mother who was a headmistress and father, a successful actuary, the pressure on him was eno ..read more

Trigger warning: episode deals with suicidal ideation. Suzanne also briefly mentions the impact on her life of being raped.  My guest in this episode is Suzanne Alderson. When Suzanne’s 14 year old daughter Izzy became suicidal, following a period of sustained bullying, Suzanne found herself in a desperate place. While her daughter was immediately wrapped in professional care, Suzanne found that there was no support available to help her or her husband make sense of it all and give their child the best kind of care.  One night on suicide watch, she decided if she ever got through thi ..read more