As your child grows into adolescence it can feel like everything is changing – for them, but also for you as a parent. Why do they care more about what their friends think? When should I give them a phone? How do I deal with bullying? How can I help them manage their emotions?
We asked experts to address some of the big parenting questions and give practical advice, which will help parents navigate their way through this time.
Videos covering: pornography, physiological changes in adolescence, emotional regulation strategies, brain development, mental health, additional needs, friendship – and more.
We have also included some helpful links to other organisations for each section, if you need further information or support.
Our experts
Katharine Hill
Katharine is a Director of Care for the Family. She is a well-known speaker, broadcaster and the author of a number of books including A Mind of Their Own – Building Your Child’s Emotional Wellbeing in a Post-Pandemic World and Left to Their Own Devices? – Confident Parenting in a World of Screens. She is married and has four children and seven grandchildren.
Emma-Jayne Browne
Emma-Jayne is a CAT psychotherapist and parent coach (child anxiety). Her private practice, Nurtured Minds, supports adults and older adolescents through anxiety, depression, trauma and problematic relationships. She also offers a therapeutic coaching programme for parents/carers who are concerned about their child’s anxiety.
Dr Kate Middleton
Kate is a psychologist and a Director of The Mind and Soul Foundation. She is a church leader, speaker and author of several books including Stress: How to De-Stress Without Doing Less. She is married with two children.
Ian Henderson
Ian is the Founder and CEO of Naked Truth Project, a charity working to open eyes and free lives from the damaging impact of porn through awareness, education and recovery programmes.
Nicola Watson-Bird
Nicola is the Additional Needs Support Coordinator at Care for the Family. She has a daughter with additional needs and is passionate about supporting families through their own unique rollercoaster journey.
Video content
Emotional wellbeing and mental health
Our experts share their knowledge on what is happening physiologically and emotionally as children grow into the adolescent years, as well as practical advice to help both parents and children to thrive.
Emotional wellbeing and mental health
What’s happening in a child’s brain during the adolescent years?
Expert: Emma-Jayne Browne
Our experts share their knowledge on what is happening physiologically and emotionally as children grow into the adolescent years, as well as practical advice to help both parents and children to thrive.
How can I nurture good wellbeing through tough times?
Expert: Dr Kate Middleton
Kate shares how to look after ourselves as parents, how to be a good role model to our children in managing emotions and pressures, and how to help our children have inner confidence and security.
Video – How can I help my child be emotionally healthy?
Expert: Katharine Hill
Katharine shares ideas of what we can do as parents to encourage and nurture emotional health in our children. She offers easy-to-apply action points to use in the everyday moments of family life.
How can I help my child to manage their emotions?
Expert: Emma-Jayne Browne
Children aren’t born with the natural ability or skill-set to regulate their emotions. As parents, we help them to do this throughout their childhood through co-regulation. Emma-Jayne shows parents how they can gradually teach children to self-regulate their own emotions.
How can I help my child to manage their anxiety?
Expert: Emma-Jayne Browne
Emma-Jayne helps parents to understand the nature of anxiety and why some children have more anxiety than others, as well as giving practical tools on how to help our children when they do become anxious.
What can I do when my child is in a mental health crisis?
Expert: Emma-Jayne Browne
It can be worrying for us as parents to watch our child’s mental health decline, but there are practical things we can do to create a safe and supportive environment for them, and to get them the help they need.
Ollee
A web app created by Parent Zone designed to be a digital friend for children aged 8 to 11 and to make a difference to their emotional wellbeing.
Barnardo’s – Emotional Wellbeing Support Hub
A range of resources, tools and videos focusing on emotional wellbeing for both parents and children.
Young Minds
Free 24/7 support for young people across the UK who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Help and support for children, parents and professionals concerned about the mental health of children and young people.
MindEd for Families
Advice and information that can help parents understand mental health problems and what they can do to support their family.
Friendship and growing up
We asked our experts to share insight about how our children navigate their formative years; through the various stages of friendship, social development, identity and decision-making.
Friendship and growing up
Why does my child care so much about what their friends think?
Expert: Dr Kate Middleton
As they go into the adolescent years, our children begin to care more about what their friends think than their parents. Kate helps us to understand that this is part of a normal and healthy process that all children go through, and shows that parents still have a vital role to play.
How do I deal with bullying?
Expert: Dr Kate Middleton
It can take time for our children to develop in their friendships, and often they will encounter tricky situations within their friendship circles as they grow up. Kate offers some helpful tools to approach these situations with wisdom and understanding.
How can I help my child to make good choices?
Expert: Katharine Hill
It takes time for our children’s brain to develop the ability to make rational decisions. Our role as parents is to give them a window into how we make good decisions, offer them perspective, and give them time to learn and understand.
How can I help my child build a healthy identity?
Expert: Katharine Hill
Katharine gives practical advice on how we can our children as they go through the natural process of discovering who they are and want to be, during the teenage years. Including how to have conversations with your children on gender-identity, and how to help them to discover their skills, values and personality.
Nurtured Minds
Emma-Jayne Brown’s services, including online Therapeutic Coaching for parents/carers who want to strengthen their relationship with their child and want to support their child’s mental health.
Kidscape
Advice and support for parents, carers and children about bullying, whether that is taking place inside or outside of school, or digitally via their phone and social media platforms.
Family Lives (Parentline Plus)
Information and advice on all aspects of bullying, including a free helpline and live chat.
Mind and Soul Foundation
Resources, articles and teaching combining expertise from psychology, medicine and theology to encourage the church to engage with all issues around mental and emotional wellbeing.
Pornography
We spoke to Ian Henderson about pornography, including subjects such as; the misconceptions about porn use, the effects of porn on our children, practical tips on how to engage in conversations with our kids about porn, and many more!
Pornography
What do parents need to know about porn?
Expert: Ian Henderson
Ian describes what effect porn has on our children, and how porn use effects our children’s ability to form healthy relationships.
What can parents do to protect their children from porn?
Expert: Ian Henderson
Ian talks about helpful ways to start conversations about porn and how we can change our approach as our children mature.
How do we know if our children are engaging with porn?
Expert: Ian Henderson
Ian shares some practical tips on ways to tell if your children may be engaging with porn as well as some technology you can use to protect them. He also shares encouragement for parents who think they may have ‘missed the boat’ on putting protective measures in place.
What can we do if our children are engaging with porn?
Expert: Ian Henderson
Ian talks about the challenges of finding out your child has engaged with porn and the best ways to respond, covering ideas such as, when and how to have positive conversations.
The Naked Truth Project
Offers practical support, resources and workshops to tackle the damaging impact of pornography, including an online guide for parents.
Fight The New Drug
A website suitable for teenagers and adults. Using videos and interactive articles that explain the damage that pornography does to our brains, our hearts and our society.
Fortify App
Find healing and recovery from sexual compulsivity through the Fortify App.
Parenting children with additional needs
Nicola Watson-Bird shares key insights into parenting children with additional needs, and how to help them navigate their own unique challenges as they develop into the teenage years.
Parenting children with additional needs
What if my child with additional needs doesn’t want to go to school?
Expert: Nicola Watson-Bird
Nicola highlights how to recognise signs that your child may be experiencing anxiety around going to school, and gives some practical tips and strategies on how to navigate through this time.
What would you say to parents of children with additional needs who feel judged by others?
Expert: Nicola Watson-Bird
Sharing from her own personal experience, Nicola explains how feeling judged is a common experience among parents of children with additional needs. She offers understanding and an encouragement to keep going on your unique parenting path.
What if my autistic child is struggling to make friends?
Expert: Nicola Watson-Bird
Building friendships can be challenging for autistic children. Nicola discusses the importance of friendship and social interaction as well as how to safely support online friendships. She suggests working with your child to figure out if and when to let their peers know about the social challenges they face, and she suggests ways to build their confidence.
Newbold Hope
A parent-led organisation that works with families and professionals to reduce anxiety-led difficult or dangerous behaviour in children with an additional needs or disability.
IPSEA – Independent Advisor of Special Education Advice
The leading charity in the field of SEND law in England. Helping parents navigate the system and secure the education your child is legally entitled to.
Contact families
Support, help and advice for families with disabled children.
National Autistic Society
Advice and guidance about autism and the challenges autistic people and their families face.
Further support
Care for the Family – Parent support
Care for the Family offers a wide range of support for parents in various formats, ranging from books, leaflets, podcasts and live events, to courses you can run in your school or community.
Parent support organisations
A list of parent support organisations for dads, single parents, parents of adopted children, grandparents and more.
Care for the Family – How to help my teen
In this series of short and practical videos, we tackle tough issues that can affect our teenagers and that we as parents can find complicated and confusing to deal with.
Care for the Family – Parenting podcasts
A list of parenting podcasts from Care for the Family.
