In this episode Bettina and Jane talk through dilemmas for parents and young people as they leave school for work of college. A parent is concerned about their diabetic son starting University, with all the self-care and orgnisation required of independent living. Letting go, particularly in the context of a medical condition is hard, so what should a parent do (1 min). How can a parent set their high-achieving daughter up to cope with the prospect of not being the top of the class, without...

(1 min) We discuss how to manage screen time during the holidays. Does more leisure time always mean more screen time? (11:20 mins) We talk about how parents can support a student about to start GCSEs who wants to see her friends but her mum thinks she needs catch up on the school work she missed during the Covid period. (22:46 mins)  We consider the options if your teen becomes virtually nocturnal during the holidays. (32:13 mins)  We think about the best response for a teen with ADHD...

Jane and Bettina answer questions from parents about safety dilemmas with their children. An 11 year old girl told her parents she noticed a man behind her on the new bus route to school and the parent wonders whether she should drive her to school instead (0:40). We consider how to respond to a young boy sending nude pictures online, while exploring his sexuality (8:45). We consider the tricky issue of a boy gaming with many strangers online and whether a parent should stop him gaming...

Our instagram has been hacked and it is unlikely we will be able to access it again. This episode is to let you know that, and also that the next topic will be “Staying safe online and in the real world". Please do send us any questions you have by DM to @drjanegilmour or @bettinahohnen on instagram.

At this time in the calendar year many families are supporting their young people through exams and studying and revision are a major feature of family life. In this episode we help parents think through some typical scenarios and consider the ways to have incredible conversations with their children. We cover ways to support a disengaged teenager who has important exams coming up (1:28), a young person who, despite her best efforts struggles to organise her work (22:30), as well as a young...

In this special episode we talk about how to manage discussions on news headlines and world events in your family. We ask.. Should you bring it up at all ? How can I answer their questions without making them feel anxious ? What should I do if my child is consuming news excessively and is becoming really anxious. How do I manage my teenager getting their news from social media?

Episode 11 is for adults supporting young people through friendship difficulties. We discuss a question from a parent whose daughter is not able to separate from her and go on playdates she previously managed well (1:25). We consider ways to manage secondary school transition for a young person with a tic disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (8:34). A regular question from parents is how to cope with a child who keeps falling out with friends (16:53) and we end with tips and ideas...

We do something different this episode to our usual format because we want to introduce you to our new book How To Have Incredible Conversations With Your Child. In this next four short episodes we use real life examples to illustrate how we and other families have used these incredible conversations to build relationships, strengthen connections and work through difficult times. This is episode 1 of 4.

In the week that Jane and Bettina launch their new book How To Have Incredible Conversations With Your Child, this podcast hones in on what to do when communication breaks down. They start by describing (1:10) a model from a book by Sheila Heen and colleagues which highlights three layers of difficult conversations; the ‘what happened’ conversation, the feelings conversation and the identity conversation. They discuss a question from a parent whose son shuts his parents out of conversation...

We are all dealing with disappointments as covid continues to impact on our lives. In episode 8 we take on this topic, answering questions from parents and teachers about how to help their young people cope with different situations. We discuss ways to help the whole family manage a cancelled holiday (1:10) and how to respond to an angry 7 year old who has to cancel their own party despite a parent having promised it will happen (7:00). We think about the upsetting news for an 11 year old...

This week we have submitted the draft of our next book Incredible Conversations which is a resource for anyone supporting pre-teens, a place to have conversations and strengthen relationships. In line with that theme, we cover questions in the podcast from a group of teachers wanting to know top tips for preparing young people for the teenage years and how teachers and parents can help young people feel safe when there is so much uncertainty around in the Covid pandemic. We consider how to...

Episode 5 includes a discussion of why teens may be vulnerable to extreme views on the internet (1:42), why toxic stress may be particularly harmful in adolescence but day to day stresses are beneficial (12:25). We figure out why teenagers who were managing their health condition well before puberty, suddenly seem to forget it all (19:42) and why living through COVID is a masterclass in tolerating uncertainty which will have advantages as well as losses (29:40).

Questions in this episode focus on learning.  The discussion includes the impact of screen time on sleep, finding the Goldilocks spot with tech use, how we might support teenagers facing uncertainty in education prospects, and using the positives and negatives of lockdown to inform success in the new academic year. 

Welcome to The Incredible Conversation Podcast. This is for adults supporting teenagers. Listen here to Bettina and Jane in conversation about topical issues relating to how to parent, teach and support teenagers, drawing on neuroscience and psychological research.