Get a Grip - Evidence-Based Conversations for Parents and Educators

In this episode, Professor Anna Tarrant talks with us about the importance and value of grandparents and other kinship carers. Find out about the role grandparents can play in a child's life and the benefits to a child's development of having extended family.

Monique Thoonsen, author of 'Sensory Processing in the Classroom' and 'Making Sense of Your Senses' talks to us about what sensory processing is, why it's so important and how we can best support children who struggle with processing sensory input.

Researcher of the Month, Camille Mori discusses her new paper, which examines the links between exposure to explicit sexual content and problematic sexual behaviours in children and teens. She talks us through the differences between normal and problematic sexual behaviours in children of different ages and outlines what we know about its relationship to exposure to sexual content, both online and in the home. Any interested parent or educator should listen for tips on how to open up conversations about sex and relationships generally and best practice on how to respond effectively if your child is either exhibiting problematic behaviours, or has been impacted by the behaviours of someone else.

PhD student and educational psychologist, Miranda Eadonable talks about how foetal alcohol spectrum disorder can impact on children's learning and behaviour. She tells us about her research, explores how teachers can best support children and young people with FASD and points listeners to numerous useful resources.

In this episode, we learn more about alopecia and how best to support children and young people affected by the condition.

Dr Weston is joined by Becky Vieira, author of 'Enough About the Baby' and the woman behind popular Instagram account, #wittyotter. They chat about the first year of motherhood and all of its challenges and frustrations. Becky's book doesn't shy away from all those common taboos, from managing nosey in-laws and an anxious partner to surviving the first postpartum poo and when to seek out treatment for depression! Tune in for plenty of advice and tips.

Researcher of the Month, Anya Heneghan talks to us about her work which examines the experiences of siblings when they have a brother or sister with an eating disorder. She talks us through what the existing research shows about how consuming eating disorders can be for siblings and provides numerous tips to help parents support all of their children throughout this very challenging situation.

Researcher of the month, Professor Claudia Bernard discusses her recent paper which explores the experiences and perspectives of designated safeguarding leads in fee-paying schools to understand how they engage affluent parents when there are safeguarding and child protection concerns.

In this interview, Professor Johan Korhonen talks with us about math anxiety and its role on math performance. Find out about why math anxiety may develop in children, what are the early signs of math anxiety, and how it may impact future educational aspirations. Professor Korhonen provides a number of insights into strategies both parents and teachers can implement immediately at home and at school to ease math anxiety in children.

Researcher of the month, Professor Beatriz Ilari chats to us about how music has a wide-ranging impact on young people's social and emotional development. We might assume that being 'musical' means playing an instrument, but Professor Ilari stresses the importance of everyday musical experiences and simply of listening to and engaging with our favourite bands or songs. In this interview, we find out more about her fascinating work.