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Ep. 1: Teenage Kicks the Trailer image

Ep. 1: Teenage Kicks the Trailer

S1 E1 · Teenage Kicks Podcast
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About the Teenage Kicks podcast 

Welcome to the Teenage Kicks podcast, where we take the fear out of parenting - or becoming - a teenager. The internet is full of parenting advice, from when you feel those first baby kicks, until they reach secondary school. And then it stops. No one is talking about teen parenting problems; so we’re going to.

Essential listening for teenagers and their parents, as well as those who work with young adults; Teenage Kicks has teen mental health at its core, and each episode will empower young people to tackle their own problems, and give parents the guidance to know how to help them.

Each week Helen speaks to real individuals who've experienced the issues that young people are dealing with now, and they don't sugar-coat it. From exam nerves and career worries to issues around sexuality and consent, we get tips and advice from expert guests who understand what it’s like to be a teenager today.

Helen will also be chatting about tough teenage problems like cyberbullying and self-harm, drugs, alcohol and teenage pregnancy, all with a heavy dose of reality from someone who's been there and made it through to the other side.

Teenage Kicks for Parents:

As parents, we understand some of our kids’ struggles, but let’s face it, it’s been a while, and things have moved on since we last panicked over a detention! Teenage choices today can seem alien to their parents because teenage life has changed so dramatically since we were young. Teenage Kicks helps you unravel topics like social media, sexting and teen self-esteem so that you can figure out what your child needs support with, and what’s just normal teenage behaviour. 

Teenage Kicks for Teens:

Teenagers and parents come at things from different angles, we know. But teenage life can be challenging, and the support of your parents can make navigating tricky dilemmas easier. Teenage Kicks guests aren’t adults who’ve read a textbook; nor are they heavily invested in your day-to-day safety, like your mum and dad. They are real people who’ve been through what you’re dealing with, and they have the inspiration and advice you need to handle it yourself.

Join Helen each week as she chats to a different guest about topics affecting teenagers in 2020, and helps parents and teens to open up a dialogue that will make life easier to navigate on all sides. 

You'll also find Helen chatting about parenting teens here:

Useful Websites for teenagers:

  • The Mix - support for under 25's
  • Shout - for anyone feeling anxious or depressed

This season of the Teenage Kicks podcast is sponsored by Blue Microphones, who gave me the brilliant Yeticaster for the recording of the podcast.

For information on your data privacy please visit Podcast.co.

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Transcript

Introduction to Teenage Kicks Podcast

00:00:06
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Teenage Kicks podcast, where we take the fear out of parenting or becoming a teenager. I'm Helen Wills, a mum of teens who's always turned to other parents for advice. When I've met parenting dilemmas I've found difficult to sort out. The internet's filled with good advice on parenting babies and toddlers and even school-aged children, but when you get to the teenagers there's literally nothing.
00:00:34
Speaker
seriously parenting teenagers is like being on an empty stage with the spotlights on you but there's no autocue so you just get situations where you just don't know what to do and there's not very much advice out there

Challenges in Finding Positive Parenting Advice

00:00:49
Speaker
If you google parenting teenagers, the top search results are all about problems with behaviour, worries about alcohol or drugs or online grooming and now county lines. It's basically all bad news. I've been sharing stories of parenting on my blog for nine years now and the conversations around teenagers are always dominated by one emotion.
00:01:13
Speaker
fear. And I get it, I did it myself. I remember saying that if this was how my daughter pushed boundaries at the age of seven, how scary was she going to be at 14? I had visions of her climbing out of her bedroom window to go to the local nightclub. But the reality hasn't been that at all. Raising teens is hard like any other stage of parenting, but it can also be the most rewarding part of the parenting journey, I think.
00:01:40
Speaker
and watching your kids become adults is totally fascinating. They're brilliant. I don't want people to fear that.

Real Stories vs Expert Opinions

00:01:48
Speaker
Going back to the Google searches, the answers on the internet all come from trained experts in parenting, people with degrees and qualifications, not people who've been there themselves and have a perspective to offer and examples of what they've done.
00:02:03
Speaker
Search teenage mental health and you'll only find information from the official medical bodies. All the personal stories and the bits of advice we used to get from each other on our blog posts and Facebook posts is gone. Because once our kids and more importantly their friends can see what you're writing, no one wants to share the personal issues that they're going through. Which is why I'm starting the Teenage Kicks podcast.
00:02:31
Speaker
Teenagers have a lot on their plates. I think it's one of the most difficult stages of life. And the challenges to teenage mental health are pretty big.
00:02:40
Speaker
From exam stress and friendship issues to bigger stuff like cyberbullying and sexuality our teens have a lot to think about and they and their parents need help and advice really to cope with it all. Sadly some young people will have incredibly difficult experiences to deal with and there's very little anecdotal advice out there to inform how they handle it. So with teenage kicks

Guests Share Teenage Experiences

00:03:07
Speaker
I talk to people who can explain those kind of situations from a teenager's point of view because it happened to them when they were young. Each episode deals with a real life experience with insight from my guest about how it feels to be going through that as a teenager. And as adults now, many of them parents themselves, my guests can give a unique perspective on how they felt at the time.
00:03:34
Speaker
and how they think parents can support their own child if they're going through something similar. But I accept it as part of my story and you can get to that place and actually
00:03:43
Speaker
You know, we learn a lot more about ourselves from the darkest parts of our stories than we do the happy times. In my first episode I chat with Shan, who was expelled from school at the age of 14, about how that shaped her life and how she achieved in spite of it. It was a brilliant chat and I was just so impressed by Shan's attitude to life and I think you will be too when you hear it.
00:04:10
Speaker
I've also had an incredible conversation with Rosie who's self-harmed from the age of 14. That was tough but really lovely to listen to how she turned things around having been bullied at school.
00:04:26
Speaker
And now, I mean, meeting her was just lovely. She has an amazing confidence in herself and in her life since that time. It was always about self-hatred. It was always when I felt like I'd been stupid or, you know, I'd said something wrong at a party or, you know, I'd messed up in some way.
00:04:47
Speaker
And I talked to Becky about how she managed to get through her A-levels with the grades she wanted all whilst her dad was going through court proceedings and being sentenced to three years in prison. I really hope that whatever you're dealing with personally, my guests will offer insight and help to both teenagers and their parents on how to support their mental health during what can be a very stressful life stage.

Engaging with the Podcast Community

00:05:12
Speaker
If this sounds like the kind of conversation you'd like to overhear, do press subscribe on the Teenage Kicks podcast.
00:05:19
Speaker
And if you like the episodes, I'd love it if you leave a review or a rating. It all helps other families to find the conversations that they might find useful too. If there's something in particular that you'd like to see covered, drop me an email at teenagekickspodcast.com or message me on Instagram at I am Helen Wills. I'm always there every day. You'll also find more of me chatting about parenting teens on my blog, Actually Mummy.
00:05:48
Speaker
I'll leave the link in the show notes and in the Teenage Kicks Facebook group. That's the group I've set up for parents of teenagers to just come and chew the fat if you like around how they're coping with their teenagers, how best to support them and good news too. Do feel free to post in there if you have things to share that might help other parents to open up a dialogue with their own teenagers.
00:06:17
Speaker
I'm looking forward to it. See you on the next episode.