Teenage Kicks Podcast Helen Wills

If your teenager is thinking of travelling over the summer, or taking a Gap year before, or after University, you might be worried about a few things: 

* How will they finance their student travel?
* How can they stay safe? 
* Will a year out have a detrimental effect on their job prospects? 

Lee McAteer is the co-founder of Camp New York, a brand new camp in America, where young adults have the opportunity to earn money and gain work experience in a structured and safe environment, before travelling with their earnings. He says student travel is an amazing opportunity, and gives his tips on how to make sure it adds to students' CVs too.

Who is Lee McAteer?

Known as 'Britain's Best Boss', entrepreneur and student travel expert, Lee McAteer, has announced his much-anticipated come back in the student travel sector.

McAteer, co-owner of the largest independent wrestling company in Europe, PROGRESS Wrestling [https://progresswrestling.com/about-us/], has teamed up with USA visa sponsor IENA, the world leaders in cultural exchange programmes, to launch a new travel experience in summer camp cultural exchange.

Camp New York will offer participants an experience of a lifetime to work at a USA summer camp in the New York tri-state region. All participants will receive a fantastic salary with all food and accommodation costs covered as part of their package.

Lee McAteer, co-founder of Camp New York [https://www.campnewyork.org/] said: "I'm so excited to announce my travel come back project with the launch of Camp New York."

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please email teenagekickspodcast@gmail.com.

There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-do-you-cope-loss-parent-when-youre-teenager-ryan/id1501488455?i=1000495564421], becoming a young carer [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/danielle-on-being-a-young-carer-for-her-alcoholic-mum/id1501488455?i=1000468538022], and being hospitalised with mental health problems [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/emma-bradley-on-being-hospitalised-mental-health-problems/id1501488455?i=1000470008123] - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Podcast.co. [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Does your teenager drink? If they're of legal age, how much do they drink, and do you worry that it's a problem? Is the partying at University becoming more of a regular drinking habit? What is normal drinking at that age, and when should you worry about addiction?

Ian Hawkins talks about how his addiction began at university, how it helped him, then got in his way, and how he recovered. He talks about anxiety, using alcohol as a coping mechanism, and to "fit in"socially, and when he realised it was a problem. He has advice for parents who are worried about their teenager's drinking.

Who is Ian Hawkins?

Ian Hawkins [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianrhawkins/] is a keynote speaker and business journalist who has risen to the top of his game – in spite of a lot of physical and mental challenges. Born with congenital heart disease in the 1970s, the odds were stacked against him. At the age of 6, he fell seriously ill, resulting in a 3 month hospital stay. Surviving this ordeal, he had to endure further challenges, including a traumatic struggle with alcohol addiction. But Ian says it's adversity that has driven him to fight and become the success that he is today, working with some of the best known performers and on some of the best TV programmes in the UK.

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please email teenagekickspodcast@gmail.com.

There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-do-you-cope-loss-parent-when-youre-teenager-ryan/id1501488455?i=1000495564421], becoming a young carer [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/danielle-on-being-a-young-carer-for-her-alcoholic-mum/id1501488455?i=1000468538022], and being hospitalised with mental health problems [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/emma-bradley-on-being-hospitalised-mental-health-problems/id1501488455?i=1000470008123] - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Podcast.co. [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

This episode is produced by Michael Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-cunningham-245586266/].

TW: My guest today is Debra Blackman. Debra tells us about sexual abuse that happened to her as a child, so if that's likely to be difficult for you to hear, please do switch off from this episode.

Growing up in a family with an affluent facade, Debra suffered in silence from sexual abuse by a family member until she was 17. Her mother failed to see her plight. When the family moved home, Debra experienced bullying and isolation, and struggled to face the situation she was in. The abuse from her father reached a breaking point when she was 18, and she finally stood up to him, leading to her being kicked out of her own home with just £5 to her name.

It's not surprising that this difficult start took Debra down a toxic path in her relationships over the next few years, but today she is a top flight banker and CEO, providing an example of how it's possible to overcome even the worst kind of experiences and build a life you can love.

Debra tells us how her behaviour reflected what was happening to her, how therapy changed her mindset about her life, and how she hasn't allowed the abuse to define her. She also says how hard it was to walk away from the abuse when she was very young, and acknowledges that she wasn't ready to tackle her trauma until the time was right. 

Who is Debra Blackman? 

Debra is the owner of Viessentially [https://viessentially.com/], an exectuive PA service. 

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please email teenagekickspodcast@gmail.com.

There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-do-you-cope-loss-parent-when-youre-teenager-ryan/id1501488455?i=1000495564421], becoming a young carer [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/danielle-on-being-a-young-carer-for-her-alcoholic-mum/id1501488455?i=1000468538022], and being hospitalised with mental health problems [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/emma-bradley-on-being-hospitalised-mental-health-problems/id1501488455?i=1000470008123] - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Podcast.co. [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Podcast produced by James Ede at Be Heard [https://www.beheard.org.uk/] production.

Do you know what bulking and cutting is? Has your teenager asked you to change what you feed the family, veering between carb-loading and keto-style meal requests? If you're worrying about your sporty teenager's attitude to food, this episode is worth a listen. 

My guests are Kate Shilland and Fran Taylor, registered nutritionists who have seen how teenage athletes are influenced by TikTok creators to resort to sometimes extreme measures to get 'the perfect physique'. 

We talked about toxic masculinity, self-esteem and body image [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/toxic-masculinity-and-how-to-raise-teenage-boys/id1501488455?i=1000633217258] in young men and teenage boys in last week's episode, and this is the perfect follow up conversation for anyone who's 14 year old is asking for a gym membership and scrutinising their diet. 

Kate and Fran explain how good nutrition will help boys as well as girls build the muscle they need for strong athletic performance, without the need for special powders and supplements. 

Who are Kate and Fran? 

Kate & Fran are Registered Sports & Public Health Nutritionists with over 15 years' experience in helping people understand how to fuel their bodies better in order to perform better.  They work with teen athletes and their parents, and have teenage athletes of their own; they say the consistent thing they see is that there's a lack of good sports nutrition advice for young people, and an overload of terrible information, especially on social media, that can be challenging to navigate.

That's why they started Performance Canteen [https://www.performancecanteen.co.uk/], a go-to resource of easy to follow, science-backed facts on sports nutrition and practical recipes and tips on how to make healthier choices. The aim is always to make the healthy option the easy option, to arm young athletes and their parents with the knowledge and skills needed to build the best versions of themselves, whatever the goals may be.

Their recommendations and resources are based on feedback from teens, parents, teachers & coaches, with the aim of providing everyone with the same good information. 

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens. Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast or want to hear more on parenting teenagers contact me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Z [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]encastr.

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Podcast produced by James Ede at Be Heard [https://www.beheard.org.uk/] production.

As the mother of both a teenage girl AND boy, I've seen how both of them have absorbed the messages in society about toxic masculinity, and I've been shocked at how polarising those are. I know the effect of attitudes towards women from my own experiences and my daughter's; but I've also seen how damaging some of the narrative around that can be to boys and young men.

Boys and young men across the UK are struggling; research shows a decline in mental health and well-being, increased isolation, a lack of safe spaces and trusted relationships, and a higher risk of engaging in gangs, violence, substance misuse, and weapon-carrying amongst boys since Covid.

This is a hugely sensitive issue, so I'm going to say straight up, if anything we discuss in this episode feels difficult for you, please do raise it with me – I really think this is a conversation that needs to be opened up much more widely.

Instead of toxic masculinity, Hayley talks about healthy masculinities. She says it's an area of civil society that is often misunderstood.

What is Toxic Masculinity?

I think Toxic masculinity is a phrase that's thrown around without too much thought, and with a certain amount of anger. I get why, and it's hugely important that the issue of attitudes towards women and girls is continuously raised - as the mother of a teenage girl it feels really scary sometimes. But we also need to consider the impact on boys. 

Hayley Roffey is a mum who has been working with children and young people for 2 decades, through the Global Fund for Children [https://globalfundforchildren.org/] – she instigated their healthy masculinities initiative when she realised that there was an alarming suicide trend amongst boys and young men. Hayley tells us about the Healthy Masculinities programme and how it aims to change the messages boys are getting so that they can take responsibility for themselves in a way which supports them to be authentic. 

We also talk about bullying at school, acceptance versus challenge as a parent, and the joy of having really ugly braces as a teenager. 

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens. Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast or want to hear more on parenting teenagers contact me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Z [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]encastr.

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Podcast produced by James Ede at Be Heard [https://www.beheard.org.uk/] production.

Climate expert and campaigner Mark Ballabon says that today's teenagers feel under immense pressure, and have a lot of anxiety around the state of our planet. His book, Home, is described as a coming of age story for the Greta Thunberg generation. He talks to me about how teens are feeling, why some of them shut down conversations about the environment, and what we - as parents - can do to help them work out how they feel about climate change and activism. 

2:30 - Mark describes his own teenage years as "a bit of a car crash". He was sent to a very academic school and found it very stressful. Mark talks about academic pressure and how it made him very introspective and self-conscious. He says it was this that eventually made him stop caring what other people thought, and start questioning the bigger issues of life. 

7:15 - Mark talks about how we all compare ourselves to others, especially in the world of social media. He says "every single relationship that you will ever form in your life depends upon your relationship with yourself."

10:00 - Why empathy is so important for authenticity, and how important it is to understand each other. It's why Mark used young editors from all over the world to help him write his book. 

14:00 - Why we must never - as parents - use the same slang that our kids use. 

16:30 - How to listen well so we can empathise with our teenagers, and how to show up with our own authentic feelings and model emotional maturity. 

25:45 - "We don't understand people because we're always assuming that we do." A brilliant quote about what stops us communicating effectively and understanding our kids. 

28:20 - How should we cope with our teenagers' fears over climate change.

34:00 - Are some forms of climate activism detrimental to the cause?

40:00 - What more can we do individually to save the planet?

Find out more about Mark Ballabon

* Read Mark's book Home [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/home-my-life-in-the-universe-mark-ballabon/6378185?ean=9780955948770]

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens. Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast or want to hear more on parenting teenagers contact me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Z [https://www.podcast.co/privacy]encastr.

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Podcast produced by James Ede at Be Heard [https://www.beheard.org.uk/] production.