In this final episode of my 8th season of Teenage Kicks, we hear from Betty and James Mukherjee, of Race Across The World fame. Watching the show we saw the brother and sister relationship develop as they completed challenges together, but they say it wasn't always like this - they fell out like typical siblings when they were growing up.  They talk about how they handled their feelings during the harder times on the trip around Southeast Asia (remember when they lost their passports?) and...

It can be very isolating when your child is diagnosed with a new and scary condition. It always helps to hear from someone who's been through it beforehand, and today's guest has experienced ADHD with bells on in her family and with her teenager. Claire Quigley West tells us about how her teenage years were affected by undiagnosed ADHD. She goes on to explain her son's diagnosis, and how she is finding the challenge of parenting now she has a teenager with ADHD. Read the full transcript...

Today's guest had an unusual childhood, with a modelling career as a child, and winning Miss Spain at the age of 17. She grew up in the limelight and with a hectic professional schedule. She also attended boarding school in a different country to her family.  I talk to Lorena  about how a life in the limelight from a young age has influenced her parenting styles and what she teaches her kids about achieving your goals and the reality of success.  Who is Lorena Bernal? Born in Argentina,...

Today's guest speaks of horrific emotional bullying at school as a teenager. She struggled to make friends after she was accepted to a selective school, and her self-esteem suffered. Her parents had sacrificed to get her into the school, so Angela didn't feel she could complain to them. Instead, she felt guilty for having attracted the abuse. This is all too common for children who are bullied - the feeling that something must be wrong with them.  Angela tells me how this impacted her...

This is a podcast that will change how you look at the problems you're going through. Carrie's voice is full of wisdom, and she knows what she's talking about, because she's been there too.  Carrie Grant, MBE, is a TV presenter, vocal coach, activist, and World Vision ambassador who has worked with the charity for over 10 years. She was awarded an MBE in 2020 "for services to music, to media and to charity". She partners with World Vision on the podcast series Raising Changemakers...

The big question in this episode is whether or not to give your child a smartphone, and what's the right age for your teenager to have a smartphones.  Ofcom research in the UK in April 2024 claims that nearly a quarter of 5-7 year olds have their own smartphones, with 65% using WhatsApp and other messaging services. Hannah Oertel is the Founder and CEO of Delay Smartphones [https://delaysmartphones.org.uk/about/], a pioneering initiative dedicated to protecting children from the dangers of...

Think of this podcast as a reframe on your teenager's risky behaviour. By the end of the episode, you'll be able to put your teen's risk-taking into context, and you'll feel much more relaxed as you go through the rollercoaster with them.  Who is Daphne Adler? Daphne Adler has been described as "a mother rooting for all mothers." And I think we all need one of those in our camps when it comes to the teenage years.  Daphne has used her analytical and consulting skills to support parents in...

We've talked a lot about anxiety [https://zencastr.com/z/aRNrH8k7] on the podcast. In this episode, Marneta Viegas talks about how "crippling" self-esteem got the better of her as a teenager. If this is you - or your child - have a listen, and find out what can be done to help teenagers relax.  Marneta tells me about her father's sudden death when she was a teenager, and how that filled her with guilt - another self-esteem thief.  19:20 - Strategies for improving self-esteem and helping...

"Loneliness is a condition that's just as bad for you as cancer", says Dr Richard Pile, a GP and specialist in loneliness. He goes on to say that the age bracket most affected by loneliness is young adults aged 16-24.  Loneliness at a young age can leave mental health 'scars' in the same way that physical injuries stay with us for the rest of our lives. So it's important to help our teenagers identify when they're lonely, and learn what to do about it.  What can we do to prevent loneliness...

In this episode, we talk about academic pressure and the anxiety it can create for our teenagers. But more than that, we talk about FAILURE. Fear of failure, what failure really means, and how to help our teenagers when they think they've failed.  Amelie Moore is a former language teacher who thinks it's vital that kids learn to fail. Amelie says teenagers need to know that failure is not the end of the road, and that offering a safe, non-judgmental space for them to make mistakes and...

TW: Self-harm My guest  for this episode goes by the name of That Hoarder. As a compulsive hoarder, she says she struggles with many aspects of hoarding behaviours, which she talks about on her own podcast That Hoarder - the first ever podcast by somebody who actually hoards rather than by a professional. She started her podcast to keep herself accountable and to help others with this stigmatised and hidden condition, as well as to raise awareness of hoarding disorder. She says that very...

"The only person who can help you is you" Harriet Barnsley survived a serious road traffic collision in 2014 when she was 21. She was hit, as a pedestrian, by a car travelling at 101miles per hour. She woke from a month-long coma to learn that her best friend had been killed at the scene. Harriet lives with a long list of injuries and is physically disabled. She suffered a traumatic brain injury in the collision, and went on to develop bipolar as a result. 2:00 - Being bullied at school...

Human trafficking isn't just something that happens far away from the UK, to naive people in desperate situations. It could happen much closer to home than you think; it could even happen to your teenager.   In this episode I talk to Ruth Dearnley about what modern day slavery looks like and how your teenager could fall into a trap without realising what's happening.    Ruth says human trafficking is a "global, organised, criminal business" that doesn't look anything like the Taken films, as...

In this episode we talk to Bharti Lim, who is determined that young women should have as many opportunities to work - and claim senior roles - in tech. She says the reason girls often don't consider careers in tech is because they don't see women like them in the industry. She wants to change that, and joins me on the podcast to tell me how she thinks parents can help.  7:00 - Parents will be reassured to know that Bharti's teenage years weren't full of perfect moments, yet she still has a...

Ad: This episode is sponsored by tutoring organisation Explore Learning [https://www.explorelearning.co.uk/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=podcast&utm_content=tk&utm_campaign=b2s].  If you have a teenager, it's pretty much inevitable that you're going to come up against exam stress [https://actuallymummy.co.uk/teenage-kicks-how-to-cope-with-exam-stress/] and GCSE results at some point, and it's quite possible you've considered getting a tutor for your child. Carey Ann Dodah from...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...