Welcome to another thought-provoking episode of the Big Drink Rethink. Today we're dialling into one of the difficult aspects of modern parenting: how to talk to your teens about alcohol.

Listen in as host, Anna Donaghey, talks to Anita Cleare, an acclaimed parenting expert. Anita’s insights help us understand the teenage brain and together, they discuss the pros and cons of sharing our drinking experiences with our adolescent children.

As a parent, you may question whether to take a liberal stance or keep a tight rein. With alarming statistics revealing early alcohol experimentation among Europe's youth, Anita's wisdom and our host Anna Donaghey's personal reflections, provide a much-needed perspective on guiding teens through curiosity, peer pressure and their first experiences with alcohol. 

This episode promises to equip you with strategies for open and honest conversations, balancing independence with safety, and fostering trust during these crucial years. So tune in, reflect on your relationship with alcohol, and gain some new tools for navigating the tumultuous teen years. Don't forget to follow and leave your feedback—it's the fuel that keeps our conversations going. Ready for a big drink rethink? Let's dive in.

Here are the highlights:

00:01 Debate on teenage alcohol: limits, guidance, repercussions.

06:36 The teen's emotional and rational brain.

09:43 Parents face challenges as teens seek independence.

12:42 Adolescents feel social pain more intensely.

15:16 Supporting teenagers in making good decisions is crucial.

17:45 Parents' discussions with kids can prevent risky behaviour.

22:02 Be non-judgmental and supportive with teenagers.

27:12 Parent sharing has pros and cons.

29:48 Teenagers must learn from their own experiences.

31:16 Factual approach to teen substance use issues.

34:48 Alcohol linked to risky behaviours in teenagers.

43:55 Parental influence is crucial in shaping teenagers' behaviour.

51:13 Teens need support, not judgement, from parents.

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebeliefscoach.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Anita Cleare:

Anita Cleare is a parenting speaker, writer and coach who supports working parents to balance successful careers with being a parent. 

With an academic background in developmental psychology, Anita has a talent for helping parents to step back and reflect on parent-child dynamics and implement small changes that make a huge difference. She founded the Positive Parenting Project in 2012 with the aim of helping parents cut through the fads and fashions of parenting advice and focus on evidence-based approaches that work.

Anita’s award-nominated parenting blog ‘Thinking Parenting’ has been listed in the Sunday Times Magazine as a must-read for parents. Her book The Work/Parent Switch (UK) / The Working Parent’s Survival Guide (USA) outlines how working parents can use the bits of time left over when work is done to parent smartly and be the parent their child needs. (International editions are also available in German, Chinese, Romanian and Polish).

Anita’s second book, How to Get Your Teenager Out of Their Bedroom comes out in the UK and USA in September 2024.

Connect with Anita:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anitacleare_parenting/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePositiveParentingProject/

X: https://twitter.com/thinking_parent

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-cleare-b8a15465/

Mentioned in this episode:

To pre-order my book, What Are You Thirsty For on Amazon select here: https://amzn.eu/d/3v3T6Mq