In this episode of Untidy, Matty and Hannah talk to the ‘queen of common sense’ parenting educator, Maggie Dent. Maggie is a celebrated author, podcaster, and speaker with a background in teaching, counselling, palliative care, and suicide prevention. Maggie draws from her deep knowledge of neuroscience and her rich experience as a high school teacher and mother of four boys, to share her refreshing, reassuring, and candid perspective on navigating the challenges of parenting through adolescence.

(Trigger warning: In this episode, there is some discussion of self-harm, suicide, sexual assault and exploitation, bullying and cyber-bullying. Please listen with care.)

Maggie’s latest book, ‘Help Me Help My Teen’, is a guide for parents to help their teens when they're struggling with the challenges and increased pressures today’s teens are facing, i.e. vaping, anxiety, sexuality, school grades, self-harm and sexual harassment. 

The conversation touches on how to really work alongside your teen through those tumultuous adolescent years. Maggie provides invaluable advice on managing conflict and disappointment without damaging the parent-child relationship. She advocates for maintaining a strong emotional connection as a teen’s ‘safe place’, even in the face of disagreements, to ensure that teenagers always feel supported and understood as they navigate this period of both enormous potential and also enormous risk.

Maggie's insights are not only practical and grounded in reality, but deeply compassionate, to empower listeners to be able to guide their children through these critical years with love, patience, and understanding. This episode is a must-listen!

Follow Maggie Dent on Instagram @maggiedentauthor, register for her popular full-day Calming Today's Anxious Kids conference in Auckland on 14th September, find much more at her website maggiedent.com, and by her books at Mighty Ape, Paper Plus or in audiobook format. You'll be wanting more of Maggie, so luckily, she is also the host of The Good Enough Dad podcast and has hosted six seasons of the award-winning ABC podcast, Parental As Anything.

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Untidy is made for you – the people right at the heart of this steaming hot mess we call parenthood! Follow the show and DM us on Instagram @untidypodcast or email [email protected]. Your stories and ideas to help us shape the show! Find us online at Untidy podcast. Find Matilda at @matootles and get your copy of The Feel Good Guide. Find Hannah at @hannahedavison and her My Big Moments children’s books at @mybigmoments. Enter code UNTIDY at checkout for 10% off your order.

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