Do you have expectations? Who do they go to? How do they impact the relationships in your life? Who has them on you? In this episode youth advocate, teen expert and mother of three teenagers – Lucy Dahill – presents what expectations are, the flavour of fear teenagers have of disappointing their parents in the face of expectations, and how parents should understand the source of expectations so as to avoid unnecessary disappointment. Lucy talks about the three key areas that expectations appear in our lives as parents: expectations on ourselves, expectations on others, and expectations for our ..read more

It is vital to look after yourself if you want to be able to nurture your relationships, but what does that look like on a practical basis? How do you fit 'you' into an already busy day? In this episode, youth advocate, teen expert, and mother of three teenagers, Lucy Dahill, discusses the importance of self-care for parents - including the consequences on the family due to lack of self-care, and the ways that parents can incorporate self-care WITHOUT having to add anything into their already busy schedules. Lucy explores the interesting concept of time vs. space, and how allowing ourselves ti ..read more

Are there skills we could and should be sharing with our teens that would ensure they felt more equipped to deal with what was in front of them? In this episode youth advocate, teen expert and mother of three teenagers – Lucy Dahill – looks at some of the key skills to share with your teen in order to help them become independent young adults who have the ability to handle whatever life throws at them. Life skills, also termed as psycho-social competence, is the ability to show adaptive and positive behaviour that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. Lucy ..read more

Relationships between parents and teens change considerably in the teen years. The good news is, this is a positive - “it’s supposed to change”. So why does it not feel or sound so great at the time? What does a healthy relationship with your teens look like? Why is it important to support your teen with understanding how they relate to tension? How do you rebuild trust between you and your teen if the relationship hasn’t been what you’d like it to be? In episode 7 of the Teen Clinic Podcast youth advocate, teen expert and mother of three teenagers – Lucy Dahill – discusses the changing relati ..read more

We build our teens up for 13 years to prepare for the HSC or their final exams and then cannot understand why we see such high rates of anxiety. How do we help our teens keep exams in perspective from the start? In this episode of the Teen Clinic Podcast youth advocate, teen expert, and mother of three teenagers - Lucy Dahill from Why Be You - discusses the pressure teens feel from impending exams and how parents can help them cope with their desire to succeed and fear of failure. Lucy explores the sources of exam stress including teachers, parents, peer-pressure, self-expectations, and societ ..read more

Have we lost a generation to gaming? How is it changing the brain? How do I encourage my teen to be a discerning gamer? In episode five of the Teen Clinic Podcast youth advocate, teen expert, and mother of three Lucy Dahill from Why Be You explores the prevalence of gaming in the life of teenagers and how parents can support their teens to engage in gaming in a safe and responsible way. Lucy discusses cyberbullying through online gaming, setting boundaries with your teenager in relation to gaming, and teaching them skills that can help them become a discerning gamer – which they can also use i ..read more

It seems to dominate our lives. How do we support teens to be discerning social media users? In the fourth episode of the Teen Clinic Podcast, youth advocate, teen expert and mother of three Lucy Dahill from Why Be You discusses parent's roles and responsibilities when it comes to their teen's social media usage. Lucy reinforces the age old wisdom of 'walking the talk' in terms of setting a good example of social media use for teens. She also points out that where parents would use other methods, teens use social media as a way to fulfil their need for connection and also as a way to self-soot ..read more

They don’t talk and then when they do talk they are rude. How does communication change in the teenage years? In Episode 3 of the Teen Clinic Podcast, youth advocate, teen expert and mother of three Lucy Dahill from Why Be You tackles hot topics such as respect, trust, and how to effectively get talking with your teen. As Lucy always says, all behaviour is a form of communication. Teens are working with a brain that is rejigging to deal with upcoming independence and more complex relationships, and it's always better to work on a health and balance model than to try and fix situations that hav ..read more

They want to grow up, we want to keep them safe, how do we find a balance? In the second episode of the Teen Clinic Podcast, youth advocate, teen expert and mother of 3 Lucy Dahill from Why Be You answers your questions about how to set fair, manageable boundaries. Lucy says as a parent, being “consistent, predictable and reliable” will be your keys to successful boundaries and communication with your teen ..read more

We have had a bit of time to settle into the New Year now – are the cracks starting to show? In our first episode of the Teen Clinic Podcast youth advocate, teen expert and mother of 3 Lucy Dahill from Why Be You answers some common questions from parents of teenagers. It’s a jam packed episode for parents that includes: “how do we deal with parties”, “how do I support my teenager to do homework?”, “why isn’t my son eating at school?”, “what if I don’t like my kids friends or think they are a good influence?”, and “what about wearing make up to school ..read more