Just One Thing for Parents with Dr Bettina Hohnen

What can you do when you've tried everything to help your child at school and nothing seems to be working?

In this episode, I'm joined by Julianne Miller, a SEND and neurodiversity consultant and specialist teacher with twenty years' experience supporting neurodivergent children, their families and their schools.

Julianne explains how schools decide what support to offer and why that support can stall, even when there's a detailed assessment report available. She shares the questions parents can ask to check whether an intervention is really working, and why the answer is often to look more closely at what's already in place before pushing for more.

We also talk about how to keep the partnership with school steady when trust starts to wear thin, what an EHCP can and can't offer, and Julianne's advice for families whose child has had years of extra help without the progress they hoped for.

You can find out more about Julianne Miller here: juliannemiller.co.uk

What should you say when your child comes to you convinced something is wrong with their body?

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Lynette Ewart, a GP of 20 years. Many of you will know her from her social media, where she shares her work as a doctor alongside her strength training content as a personal trainer.

Lynette has seen worry about ordinary bodily sensations grow in her consulting room over recent years. We talk about where that pressure on families comes from, starting with comments at the school gates and continuing through to social media, online searches and AI. We also discuss why a parent's reaction matters so much when a child or teenager comes to them with a symptom, and how health anxiety can turn into a cycle that's hard to break.

Lynette shares some really grounding ideas for what to do instead. These include how to take a worry seriously without rushing to act on it, why keeping a note of symptoms over time can help, and what Professor Steve Peters' Chimp Model can teach us about the anxious part of the mind. The approach she recommends might sound simple, and she explains why it can make such a difference.

You can find out more about Lynette here: https://www.prescriptionstrength.co.uk/

What makes a young person more likely to reach out for support? In this episode, I'm joined by Kyle Morrison, a youth leader and an outreach and resilience worker in a substance support service for under 25s.

Kyle brings both his professional work and his own experience of growing up to this conversation. He describes how he didn't recognise at the time that he needed support, and how the adults who eventually made the difference were the ones who had built a real relationship with him first. He also talks about why the vulnerability of the adult so often has to come before a young person feels able to share anything at all.

We go on to talk about what young people are really looking for when they turn to drugs or alcohol, why so many of them believe things have to get bad enough before they deserve help, and the balance parents have to hold between stepping in and standing back. We finish with the one thing he would say to any parent who wants their child to come to them.

You can find out more about Kyle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamkylemorrison/

What's just one thing you can do when you feel like you just can't get through to your child?

Dr Russell Woodhead is a clinical psychologist whose therapeutic work is built around exactly this problem: how to reach young people who don't want to be reached. In this episode, he introduces the concept of epistemic trust, our built-in filter for deciding whose knowledge and guidance we're willing to take on board, and explains why this can be hardest to earn in the teenage years, though the same trust has to be built at every age.

Russell walks through why rushing in to fix things or offer advice too soon can actually close a child off further, and what to do instead: getting curious about the facts of their world before their feelings, resisting the urge to jump to your own perspective, and showing your child that you genuinely understand how things look from where they're standing. It's an idea that many parents will recognise straightaway, with real, practical steps attached.

You can find more from Dr Russell here: https://www.drrussellwoodhead.co.uk/

What if the most calming thing you could put on a screen for your kids was also the most alive? In this episode, Bettina talks to Tucker Malarkey, creator of the Migration Project — a live-streaming platform broadcasting real wildlife migrations in real time. No narration, no AI, no editing. Just nature, unfolding as it happens. Tucker shares the unexpected moment that started it all, why this kind of screen time affects the brain so differently from anything else your child watches, and the emerging science that's now catching up to what parents are already noticing. Her one thing for parents is surprisingly simple — and you can try it tonight.

🎥 Watch live at livemigrations.com or search Live Migrations on YouTube.

What's just one thing parents can do to help their child switch off before bed? This week I'm joined by Mark Westmoquette, an astrophysicist turned Zen meditation and yoga teacher, whose work brings together the science of the night sky and the practice of mindfulness. He's the author of Look Up at Bedtime, a book of five-minute mindful activities and stories to help families share the wonder of the universe.

Bedtime can be one of the most stressful moments of a parent's day; full of separation, fear of the dark, and the hope that they'll just go to sleep on time for once. In this conversation, Mark offers a gentle shift in perspective: instead of a battle to be won, bedtime can become a shared moment of curiosity. He explains how looking up at the stars, or even noticing the sounds and air of the night, can broaden a child's perspective, soothe anxiety, and strengthen your connection at the same time.

We talk about why mindfulness comes so naturally to children, why not knowing the answers together can be a gift rather than a worry, and how a sense of awe and wonder can lift both parent and child out of the busyness of the day.

You can find out more about Mark Westmoquette here: https://markwestmoquette.co.uk/

What's just one thing parents can do to help a child who is restricting what they eat? In this episode of Just One Thing for Parents, I'm joined by Yaara Shimshoni, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine. Yaara has extensive experience training, supervising and treating families using SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), and she has recently adapted this approach to ARFID, or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. Together, we explore why mealtimes can become such a battleground, and why the instinct to keep the peace can, over time, make things harder rather than easier.

Yaara explains the difference between the normal fussy eating that so many toddlers go through and the more significant restriction that starts to affect a child's growth, health or daily life. We talk about all the things parents understandably do to help a child feel less distress in the moment, from making separate meals to buying one particular brand, and why these short-term fixes can reinforce a child's fears in the long run.

For any parent who dreads mealtimes or worries they are getting it wrong, this episode offers a compassionate, science-based way to step back, ease the pressure, and focus on what is genuinely within your control.

You can find out more about Yaara Shimshoni's book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/breaking-free-of-picky-eating-9780197769447

What happens when life throws your family a curveball?

In this special long-form episode, I'm joined by Dr Rebecca Chilvers and Dr David Trickey, both Consultant Clinical Psychologists who specialise in supporting families through trauma, loss, uncertainty, and unexpected challenges.

Together, we explore what happens when the future you imagined for your child or family suddenly changes. We discuss guilt, shame, grief, uncertainty, and the stories we tell ourselves when difficult things happen.

We also talk about why parents often feel pressure to fix things, why compassion matters more than certainty, and how relationships can help us navigate even the hardest experiences.

This is a thoughtful conversation about parenting through the unexpected and finding a way forward when life doesn't go to plan.

What's one supportive sentence you can say to an anxious or OCD child that helps them feel both understood and capable?

When children are caught in anxiety or OCD, parents often feel desperate to fix it, reassure them, or make the distress stop. But in this episode, psychotherapists Demetra Brege and Will Sessions explain why some of these very natural responses can accidentally keep anxiety going.

Together, they introduce a simple but powerful idea from the SPACE parenting framework (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions): the "mac and cheese" response. A two-part statement that combines validation with confidence.

We explore why anxiety works like a smoke alarm, how children look to parents to understand whether they are safe, and why parents do not cause their child's anxiety — even though their responses can make a meaningful difference over time.

Demetra and Will explain the difference between validating distress and agreeing with danger, and why children need to hear both: "I know this feels hard" and "I believe you can handle it." We also discuss the SPACE approach developed by Eli Lebowitz and his book Breaking Free of Childhood Anxiety and OCD.

This episode is full of compassionate, practical guidance for parents supporting children with anxiety, OCD, school worries, separation anxiety, and overwhelming fears.

What's at the heart of all good rules and boundaries in the home? If you've ever found yourself in a stand-off with your child over screens, curfews, or simply getting out the door on time, this episode is for you.

Boundaries are one of the most common – and most challenging – parts of parenting, especially as children move into the teenage years. In this episode, I'm joined by Rachel Richards, former BBC journalist and host of the Untangling Teenagers podcast. Rachel brings together science, lived experience, and deep curiosity about family life to help parents rethink how boundaries really work.

Together, we explore a change in how we think about boundaries – from control and towards connection. Rachel explains why unconditional love and respect sit at the heart of effective boundaries and how teenagers interpret our words through a lens of status and respect, so what we intend as guidance can often be heard as judgement.

We talk about the importance of curiosity over judgement, and why asking "why?" opens up more meaningful conversations than jumping straight to consequences, especially when children push back or make mistakes. We also look at the difference between natural consequences and imposed punishments, and why the latter so often backfire in the heat of the moment.

This is a thoughtful and reassuring conversation for any parent trying to find that balance between being understanding and holding firm boundaries, without losing the relationship along the way.