Parental As Anything – Details, episodes & analysis

By the age of 15 more than 50 per cent of teenagers have looked at porn. For teenage boys, this can quickly become a habit. Research points to a link between porn use and sexual violence, with young men the most likely offenders.  

So how can we help our teens understand that curiosity around sex is normal but the violence and degradation depicted in porn is not? And how can we help set them up to have healthy, respectful relationships? 

The last years of high school can be full of pressure and stress – but what do you do if your teenager just can’t seem to get organised or manage their time? Some teenagers become highly anxious and are weighed down by pressure to get top marks for university – while others just can’t seem to get motivated. 

Youth coach Claire Eaton joins Bec Sparrow to share strategies on getting study ready, planning, how to motivate teens and what to do when the pressure to achieve becomes too much.  

Today's teens are the "anxious generation" and anxiety is on the rise. It impacts their mental health and their ability to cope with school, friendships and everyday tasks.

Throwing a tantrum, being naughty and bawling their eyes out. Kids often react to situations that stress them in a way that's socially unacceptable.

A huge part of growing up though is learning how to regulate emotions. So what can parents do to help their kids spot what's going to tip them over the edge before it happens? Maggie Dent finds out from self-regulation expert, Dr Stuart Shanker.

Anxiety can be crippling for some kids. They can get terrified of the dark, or they don't want to go to school or the thought of exams makes them fall to pieces. And symptoms like a racing heart and negative thoughts can be really scary for little kids as well as teenagers. Maggie Dent talks to psychologist Karen Young from heysigmund.com about how to help your child tackle anxious moments and what you can do if you think your child has anxiety.

And here’s some other places you can find information and help:

Your GPYouth Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636Reach out https://au.reachout.com/Parent help line 1300 30 1300 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800Lifeline 131114

School is about to start for another year in Australia, and many parents will be waving their child off at the school gate for the first time. But how do you know they're ready to go? And what can you do to make their first day as stress and tear-free as possible? Maggie Dent talks to child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr Kaylene Henderson, about how to prepare kids for their first day and how to ease older kids back into the school year. Maggie shares her top tips on a smooth transition to high school.

Australia's favourite parenting expert and author Maggie Dent is back with a new series of Parental As Anything. She'll give you tips and answers to your real-world parenting problems — what to do if your child is anxious, helping kids deal with death and loss, making friends, and (gulp) how to talk to your kids about sex. Over 10 episodes, Maggie will give you a common sense, practical guide on how to raise kids of all ages. The first episode is about starting school and is out January 21.

There are challenges with raising boys that only the parents of sons will understand. Like why they bond using rough play and fart jokes; why your directions need a word limit; and why you can never get them to sit still. In the final episode of the season, Maggie Dent chats to family counsellor Dr Michael Gurian about what boys need, like positive role models, wrestling and classrooms that cater for their excess energy.

Maggie talks with Steve Biddulph — one of Australia's foremost experts on raising girls — about how parents can lead their daughters through childhood and the tumultuous teens to become strong, empowered, kind and self-assured women. No topic is left untouched: the pressure to be sexy in the age of social media; the big increase in anxiety among girls; the importance of dads and strong female role models; and how the internet has changed everything for girls from friendships to foreplay.

You want your kids to be able to handle the unexpected challenges life throws at them. But how do you raise a resilient child when your gut feeling is to protect them from all the bad things? Maggie Dent chats to Lyn Worsley, Director of the Resilience Centre and author of The Resilience Doughnut books, about how letting kids fend for themselves and work out tricky situations on their own, is exactly what they need.