Parenting

Teenage Kicks: How Gina Coped When Her Brother Died Suddenly in Their Teens

Death of a brother at 17

  “My brother died suddenly when I was 17”   Gina Lee Lyons had a perfectly normal childhood until her Dad left her Mum when she was 12. That started a chain of events including the family losing their home, and her older brother spending time in a category A prison. When she was 17, Gina’s brother was killed suddenly in a car accident.   How trauma shapes lives We talk about how Gina’s mum gradually became an alcoholic, and how Gina herself “got through” those years, without really dealing with her own despair, or processing any of the ordeals …

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Teenage Kicks: How Ryan Coped With Losing a Parent as a Teenager

Coping with the death of a parent as a teenager

Losing his Dad as a teenager was a shock for Ryan   Losing a parent as a child is always a difficult experience, but for Ryan Gallagher, a firefighter from Burlington in Canada, it was a huge shock. When he was just 16, Ryan’s father died as Ryan himself was performing CPR. Ryan talks to me about how he never really ‘coped’ with what happened, just getting on with his teenage life, doing his usual things.   Using unhealthy coping strategies As a teenager, grieving the loss of his father was just something Ryan compartmentalised so he could cope. It …

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Teenage Kicks: Coping With a Stammer in Your Teens

Growing up with a stammer

How Callum overcame teenage stammering At 18 I said my own name for the first time without stammering Callum Schofield said his own name for the first time at the age of 18 without stuttering. He spent his childhood and teenage years without a voice, and he says his teenage stammering had a massive impact on his mental health. Callum is now a podcast host, motivational speaker and stammering activist raising awareness of the needs of children (and adults) with a stammer. He also advocates for male mental health on his blog and YouTube channel. As a parent it was …

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Teen Mental Health – How to Get Your Teen to Open Up and Talk

It's hard to talk to moody teens about mental health

Advertorial:  I have been paid for my time in creating this post for Compass Fostering. All writing is my own Have you ever tried to get your child to talk to you about something that’s worrying them? It’s like a bizzare (and much less enjoyable) game of 20 Questions, isn’t it? Try it with a teenager and you won’t even get Yes/No answers; you’re more likely to be on the receiving end of a couple of grunts, followed by a growl (or shriek) of outrage, and a door in your face. Am I right?  During the pandemic I think teenagers …

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Should you get private tutoring for your child when schools go back?

Working with a private tutor can help after lockdown

How are you feeling about your kids’ schoolwork right now? I don’t mind admitting that – despite friends telling me not to worry, that Covid 19 lockdown is unprecedented, that just surviving and staying happy is the most important thing – I have spent a little bit of time wondering how my children will fare when they go back to school. Have they done enough schoolwork to keep on track for their GCSE’s?   I have teenagers, so you can imagine how well it would go down if I offered to sit next to them at their desks and have …

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8 TV shows that are helping teenagers to understand racial injustice

Black Lives Matter posters

  When you’re living with a teenager there’s a lot of debate. That’s a good thing. Young people in 2020 are massively well-informed, and for the most part pretty thoughtful about what’s going on in the world. When you talk current events with them, you will get hugely impassioned conversations – sometimes rants – from your young person, but if you persist, and hold your frustrations sometimes, it’s so worth it. Teenagers can be idealistic, but these conversations are a wonderful opportunity for them to explore what they really think, understand their parents as adults rather than Mum and Dad, …

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