Adolescent Mental Health & Parenting - Prof. Harriet Hiscock & Prof. Vicki Anderson

Professor Harriet Hiscock, is a consultant paediatrician and National Health & Medical Research Council Practitioner Fellow. She is the Associate Director, Research at the Centre for Community Child Health, Director of the Royal Children's Hospital Health Services Research Unit and Group Leader, Health Services, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Her research focuses on care and integrated health, social and education services to improve health and wellbeing for children, including those living with family adversity.

Professor Vicki Anderson, is a paediatric neuropsychologist, working across clinical, research and academic sectors.  She is the Director of Psychology at The Royal Children's Hospital and Director, Clinical Sciences Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She is an Australian National Health and Medical Research Senior Practitioner Fellow and a University of Melbourne Professorial Fellow (Psychology & Paediatrics). Her primary research and clinical interest focuses on improving outcomes from early childhood brain disorders. 

In this episode Professor’s Hiscock & Anderson, discuss why slowing down and making time as parents to support our own mental health are helpful strategies to support your child’s wellbeing and why it’s important parents are able to distinguish between regular physical symptoms and a possible underlying mental health issue.

Professors Hiscock and Anderson explain why listening is therapeutical for our children and why we underestimated its value, that knowing your child and being in touch with them is paramount to understanding them as individuals, how irritability is a sign of depression in teenagers, how dads are role models for men for their daughters, that the worst thing we can do it to confront our kids with any concerns as parents.

They also discuss the importance of providing safe spaces for your child to talk, the job of a teenager is to grow apart from their parents and become adults themselves, they offer some great advice for separated parents who share custody of their children and why reflection and self and regulation are critically important for young people.

Finally, Professors Hiscock and Anderson share 3 practical tips for parents to help set boundaries for their children. Support the show: http://pukaup.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.