What do Parents Know?

Amit Singh Kalley talks to David Breakspear, somebody who was expelled from school and had various stints in prison. David was sexually abused as a child and displayed challenging behaviour at school. Rather than those around him trying to understand the whole child, David was labelled as a difficult kid and expelled from school. We discuss how his life spiraled out of control and how he now uses...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Parven Kaur, founder of Kids n Clicks, about how young people can keep safe online and how parents can keep their children safe online. We discuss the many benefits of the internet, but also the dangers and we delve into issues such as online grooming, pornography and social media. We also discuss how parents knowing their childs' digital world is the best way to en...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Brian Dow, CEO of Mental Health UK and Deputy CEO of Rethink Mental Illness, about the impact that COVID has had on the mental health of young people. We discuss how going in and out of lockdowns has affected social interactions and how it has increased anxiety and withdrawal in young people. The conversation then moves onto removing the stigma of mental health in school...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Natalie Queiroz, survivor of a horrific knife attack. Natalie shares her story, remembering every last detail about the day she was stabbed 24 times, and how, at eight months pregnant, both she and her baby survived. Natalie now works tirelessly to get knives off our streets and works works particular with young people to show them the dangers of knife crime. Natalie and...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to David Linton-Smith, counsellor, trainee psychotherapist and avid gamer, about the world of online gaming. We discuss all the jargon, such as skins and microtransactions, and we go through the risks that exist when teenagers game online. David also provides advice, guidance and information about how the online gaming world works, so that parents can better understand it a...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Holly Archer and Scarlett Jones, from the Holly Project, about Child Sexual Exploitation. Both guests talk with brutal honesty about going through CSE themselves and how they eventually managed to escape from the awful places they were in. We discuss how so many signs were missed and how easily they went from children to victims. We also discuss what signs parents should...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Liam Hackett, CEO of Ditch the Label, about identity and how young people today explore their identity so much more. We discuss Liam's own experience with being a victim of bullying which led him to start Ditch the Label, an organisation that now helps thousands of young people worldwide. Liam and I discuss how parents can be allies if their teenage children might b...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Michael Thorpe, Educator and Mental Health Consultant, about exam anxiety and why so many teenagers suffer from it. We talk about Michael's own struggles with anxiety and how it led to him being a school refuser and then move onto what parents can do if they notice exam anxiety in their child. Given the uncertainty in the COVID era, more teenagers than ever are suff...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Paul Hannaford about his experience as a drug addict and gang leader. We talk about Paul's story right from being an innocent primary school child into a fully blown drug addict by his early twenties. Paul talks with brutal honesty as he discusses the choices he made in his life and how a near death experience at the age of 37 finally gave him the strength he needed...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Dr Tamasine Preece, educator and researcher, about social media and the role it plays in sexual identity. We talk about how social media can be used as a good tool for sexual identity exploration, but also how homophobic bullying has increased because of social media. We also discuss the all important issue of consent and when young people should know if consent to sexua...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of Kidscape, about bullying and cyberbullying. We discuss how bullying and cyberbullying have, sadly, increased in recent years and the way in which young people are impacted. Lauren provides advice for parents who have teenagers that are being bullied and teenagers that are also doing the bullying. We also discuss the way in which social media a...

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Jonny Benjamin MBE and Zac Newman about teenage mental health. Jonny shares his own journey with mental health struggles, including the events that led to a suicide attempt. We talk about how teenagers can take care of their mental health and what parents can do to support them. 

Amit Singh Kalley talks to Patrick Foster, a former cricketer who was living with a thirteen year gambling addiction. Patrick discusses his own addiction, including the terrible things he did which led to a suicide attempt. He provides advice and guidance for parents who are worried about their teenage children having a gambling problem and he also discusses the signs to look out for that might su...