If your teen seems distant, angry, or like they’ve shut you out—it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means they’re in a season of growing complexity, and the connection between you is being tested. And let’s be honest: no one taught us how to emotionally connect with a teenager who slams doors, rolls their eyes, or says “leave me alone.” But connection is still possible—even in the hardest moments. As a family therapist with 30+ years of experience, I’ve supported countless fami

Although nothing really prepares you for parenting, it doesn't mean that is it....😂 Let's start from the beginning. 1st, Nobody teaches you about how your child develops or what you need to do to make sure they develop well. Then everybody talks about how tricky it is to parent a teenager, but nobody shows you how to make it easier either. Everyone stumbles along, some families are lucky to have teenagers that don't rebel, some families struggle with their teens to the point

How to keep your teenager safe.. There are a few things here that we need to deliberate on when your teen is self-harming. There are increasing concerns for young people’s mental health and there are just not enough resources out there. There is a long waiting list for Child and Adolescent mental health service if you live in UK I won't go into details as to why teen self harm as every teen's circumstances are different and it would be irresponsible of me to generalise this.

Self-Care: love and nurture yourself You must be thinking how self-care has anything to do with parenting your teens with challenging behaviour. It is a very valid question as most of us struggle to put ourselves first and some may even consider this a selfish behaviour because as parents, we need to put our children first. They need us. It is correct. Our children need us. They need a parent that is patient, caring, understanding, containing, consistent, loving and so on. W

Many of us struggle with self confidence and have low self-esteem, including your teens. There are many contributing factors as to why your teens' behaviour is challenging ( again this is for another post), one thing we can be certain is that your teen is probably struggling with their self-confidence and esteem. Now picturing this going through their minds. Why am I different from my friends? My parents are arguing because of me, I am the problem I don't understand anything

If you have a teen that you are struggling with because of their challenging behaviour, I see you and feel your pain. It felt like everything you have tried is either worked for a fleeting moment or not worked at all, or it could be both. It is truly soul destroying and exhausting. However, before you really want to try any parenting strategies, you really need to better understand your unique family blueprint ( this is for some other time), and what it means by positive pare