Incredible Conversation

Bettina introduces a new podcast she is launching called Just One Thing For Parents. In this podcast she will be interviewing experts in the field of child mental health and asking them to share  just one thing they believe to be helpful for parents supporting young minds. Each expert will focus on their area of expertise. The episodes are short (less than 10 minutes), accessible and easy to diges...

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...

(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 nocturna...

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 is...

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...

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...

Here is our fourth real life example of how we or another families have used these incredible conversations to build relationships, strengthen connections and work through difficult times. 

Here is our third real life example of how we or another families have used these incredible conversations to build relationships, strengthen connections and work through difficult times. 

Here is our second real life example of how we or another families have used these incredible conversations to build relationships, strengthen connections and work through difficult times.

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...

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 conve...

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 paren...

At a time when parents are having to tackle the hard conversations, in this episode we do the same, helping parents work out how to walk the often difficult line required to be a parent. A parent struggling with their 12 year old daughter bringing up the conversation of sexual harassment asks for guidance  (1:30) . We discuss how to recover after a child has been caught cheating (14:16), the trick...

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 peo...

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...

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. 

Bettina and Jane talk about the power of mentors to change teenagers' behaviour, getting a reluctant teenager back out into the social world, supporting your teen's passion with a cause like Black Lives Matter and how single parents might have been affected by the period of lockdown.

This episode discusses how to support teens' losses during lockdown, how to prepare them when they see friends for the first time after lockdown, and figuring out the difference between a bored and depressed adolescent.

We tackle sleep and inactive teenagers, screen policy during study time, school problems that follow kids into lockdown and how to help a self-conscious teen during video conference calls.