Parental As Anything

Ever tried to tie a shoelace, wipe a bum or fasten a seat belt only to hear “NO! MUMMY DO IT!”? Why do kids prefer one parent over the other? And how can you get them to accept help from both of you? If you’re parent number two in the eyes of your child, but you’re desperate to do just as much as your partner does, parenting author Maggie Dent has some tips for you. The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional. Host: Maggie Dent Producer: Josie Sargent Consulting Producer: Carmen Myler Executive Producer: Kim Lester Sound design: Simon Branthwaite Field recordings: Rebecca McLaren

With more and more kids getting into vaping - even in primary school - what can you do if your tween or teen is busted with a vape? And should you talk to younger kids about vaping?Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia joins parenting author Maggie Dent to talk about the risks of vaping and why a growing number of kids are doing it. Plus, what to do if your child gets hooked on these addictive, lolly-flavoured devices and how parents can help them quit. The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional. Host: Maggie Dent Producer: Josie Sargent Consulting Producer: Carmen Myler Executive Producer: Kim Lester Sound design: Simon Branthwaite Field recordings: Rebecca McLaren

Maggie Dent, the queen of common sense parenting, is back to tackle your modern family dilemmas, like vaping, starting high school, parental burnout and how to talk to kids about your family’s finances. Plus a new bite-sized Help Me, Maggie episodes to answer your questions about your child’s toxic friend, if you should give a tween their own phone, or whether it’s okay for your kid to walk to school alone. The first episode lands March 28, so subscribe or follow in the ABC listen app or wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Maggie Dent Producer: Josie Sargent Consulting Producer: Carmen Myler Executive Producer: Kim Lester Sound design: Simon Branthwaite Field recordings: Rebecca McLaren

Remember family dinners growing up, sitting around the dinner table talking about your day while secretly feeding the dog pumpkin under the table? Eating together is an important family bonding experience, but what should you do when you can't even get your child off their device and to the dining table? Maggie Dent gives us a dinner-time reality check.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Technology can be captivating, but what happens when the real world dulls in comparison? A mum is desperate to understand and connect with her tween who seems disinterested in anything outside of screens. Maggie Dent has some ideas on where to begin.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does no take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Wild. Defiant. Intense. LOUD. Spirited kids are called lots of things and when you meet one, you know it. Their superhuman levels of perseverance and need to win every argument means parenting them can be exhausting.But handled the right way, these kids could well be tomorrow's leaders and change the world. Psychologist Angela Pruess has two spirited kids and she joins Maggie Dent to guide us through the intensity of these children, and how to parent these constantly challenging kids.

Staying up late, whispering secrets, and eating too much sugar with your best mates. What's not to love about sleepovers? But how do we protect our kids from potential threats, and how do you know who to trust? Maggie Dent talks this worried mum through the need-to-knows of sleepovers.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.Child safety resources Maggie mentioned in this episode are the book Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept, by Jayneen Sanders and website Safe4Kids.

Losing your cool and yelling at your kids feels awful. Everyone feels awful, particularly you. And you swear you will never do it again. And then you do. A mum going through one of the most stressful times ever, separation, finds herself desperate to find another way.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does no take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

It's painful, difficult and one of the biggest things that will ever happen to your kids. But although Divorce and separation is tough, it doesn't have to damage our kids in the long term. Maggie Dent talks to child psychologist Vincent Papaleo about what divorcing parents must do — and not — if you want to shield your kids from the fallout.

Does your kid clam up and hide behind your legs when people try to talk to them? Is your teen too shy to socialize? Shyness can be really stressful and hard to understand if especially if you aren't shy! Maggie Dent tells how we can help our kids find their bravery in a gentle way.Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

How can you stop your kids fighting over every little thing and turn down the volume at home? Maggie Dent shares what to do when your kids are running amok and you just want to go hide in a quiet place. When do you step in and when do you step away, and how can you keep your cool in the process?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Is your house covered in reward charts for good behaviour? Are they working? While this quick-fix parenting hack can work for a while, it can actually cause more problems than it solves. And can make your child less, not more motivated to do the right thing. So if rewards (or on the flipside, punishments) are off the table, how can we motivate our kids to be better, act nicer, wee in the toilet, and clean up after themselves?Maggie Dent gets the hard truths from parenting and human behaviour expert Alfie Kohn, and practical advice from social psychologist Helen Street.

The day after childcare is politely known in parenting circles as an utter sh*tshow. There are tears, tantrums, and tearing up the house. A mother-of-three seeks out advice on how to help reset her children, and get the week back on track!Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Resilience is a good attribute to encourage in our kids. But what if your child is a perfectionist who gives up at the slightest hint of failure? A laidback dad seeks out advice on his son's perfectionist tendencies. How can we teach our kids to fail, and fail often?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

School refusal is a big issue, especially in the wake of the pandemic. While most kids will complain about school at some point along the way, what happens when it escalates into outright school refusal? Maggie Dent talks to education consultant and former Principal Adam Voight about how to tackle it head on. From the best ways to advocate for your child, to how to find support, plus the families who went through it and came out the other side. And we ask the big question; should you just change schools?For Rose's full story, listen on the ABC listen app.

All kids lie. At first, their tiny pre-school attempts at manipulation and dishonesty are amusing. So, when does it start to tip over into concerning? And what can you do about it? A concerned mum-of-three is searching for the truth and wondering if it's actually karma….Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

There are many stereotypes around only children; that they're too adult, too spoilt, and lonely. One mother is on a mission to rail against it and raise a happy, well-adjusted child. The only question is: how?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Remember sleep? Long, uninterrupted sleep, in your own bed? If you ping-pong around from room to room, hear the pitter patter of toddler feet at night, or wake up with a toe up your nose, you're not alone.So, what can you do to save your sanity? And with so much conflicting advice, what is the best approach to get your little ones into their bed….and help them stay there? Because the knock-on effects can at this age can be huge; developmental, emotional, and mental.Maggie Dent talks to sleep whisperer Dr Chris Seton, sleep researcher Dr Fallon Cook, gets advice from Carly Grubb from The Beyond Sleep Training Project, and learns a trick or two from the formerly very sleep deprived actor Noni Hazlehurst.More info: Noni Hazlehurst reads Go the F*ck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, 2011, Akashic Books.This episode contains some strong language.

When parenting styles clash, it's hard. Throw in a mother-in-law, and things get that little bit more complicated. With a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at her fingertips, today's caller is choosing to hand over a large part of parenting to her mother-in-law. Only, her parenting style is very different. Suggestions on how to parent differently have fallen on deaf ears, so what's next?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Party, party, party! A desperate call for help about an out-of-control teenager. She's sneaking out, drinking, and disappearing from where she's meant to be. What's normal, what's not…and what's a parent to do? It's the first question in this new special series Help Me Maggie — where Maggie turns parenting agony aunt.(For great, balanced information to give to your teenager about drug and alcohol use, Maggie recommends DARTA, Reach Out, The Brave Program and headspace). Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to [email protected]; and include your name and contact number. The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

How long did it take for you to say (or shout) the worst thing your parents said to you? The thing you SWORE you'd never say to your own kids? Despite our best intentions one of the biggest influences on our parenting style, is the way we were raised.Clinical psychologist and New York Times best-selling author Dr Shefali Tsabary walks us through conscious parenting, which focuses on transforming ourselves AND empowering our children. But she warns, it's not easy and it's not quick.Dr Shefali Tsabary will be touring Australia in April and May 2022, talking about her conscious parenting philosophy. Details at https://www.flourishandco.com.au/And Maggie’s reading was from Shefali’s book Out of Control: Why Disciplining Your Child Won’t Work and What Will.

Do your kids hate school? Never sleep? Refuse to do anything without a reward? The queen of common-sense — Maggie Dent – is back. And she has more answers to your modern parenting dilemmas. Whether it's toddlers, or teens, join Maggie as she tracks down the world's experts and uncovers their advice. The first episode starts March 22nd, so subscribe, or follow, wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Got a burning question about parenting that you need answered? Looking for some calm, common sense solutions?Maggie Dent is coming back to answer your sticky, tricky and everyday parenting dilemmas!Take a deep breath, find a quiet spot, and record a voice memo. Then email it to us: [email protected]

Soon, parents across Australia will be waving their child off at the school gate, many for the first time. So, we’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes – how to get your kids to school without the stress.

Is your child fidgety, impulsive or finds it hard to stay focused? Have you ever found yourself asking 'do they have ADHD?' or 'what exactly is ADHD?' Special education teacher Christina Keeble works with children who have ADHD — and she's a neurodivergent mother to two kids with ADHD. She talks to Maggie Dent about how we can turn their symptoms into superpowers. To hear Maggie's top tips on parenting children with ADHD, scroll to 17:14.

One in 70 people in Australia is autistic, so chances are you've had an experience with Autism. As a spectrum, it's not a straight line — and no two children with Autism have the same characteristics. Autistic music therapist Allison Davies tells Maggie Dent the world can be challenging for autistic kids, but better understanding their panorama of strengths and aspirations will allow them to flourish.To hear Maggie's top tips on parenting children with Autism, scroll to 16:44.

Miscarriage remains a taboo topic, with many women delaying the announcement of their pregnancy. So what impact does this so-called '12-week rule' have on parents and their kids if a pregnancy does end? Maggie Dent wants to get you comfortable with discussing miscarriage with your child. She talks to Amanda Bowles — CEO of pregnancy loss support organisation Bears of Hope — about how to do it in an open and honest way.To hear Maggie's top tips on how to talk to kids about miscarriage, scroll to 20:05.For miscarriage, stillbirth and newborn death support, contact bearsofhope.org.au or sands.org.au.

Maggie Dent is the queen of common-sense parenting — and her podcast is essential listening for all parents. She's now turned Parental As Anything into a book, a no-nonsense guide to raising happy, healthy kids — and it's as indispensable as the podcast.

Teenagers love their phones. All day. Every day. Even at night. And while there are lots of really great things about smartphones, there are so many pitfalls — strangers, bullying, porn, sexting. How do you guide your teenager's digital life? Find out when Maggie Dent talks with Dr Ginni Mansberg, GP and co-author of The New Teen Age, a book which looks at what teenagers are up against on their devices.

With bad news available 24/7, if it's hard for adults to stay optimistic, how are kids meant to do it? Is there ever a good time to watch the news with your children? And if you've got teenagers, how do you stop them getting down and stressed about the world? Maggie Dent talks to psychologist and stress reduction practitioner (yes, that's a thing!) Sean Panambalana about the dangers of 'doom scrolling' and how to help your child engage meaningfully in the news cycle.To hear Maggie's top tips on how to talk to kids about news, scroll to 14:30.

Warning: this episode discusses suicide. Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australian young people — and there is no simple solution to this heartbreaking reality. As a problem that thrives in silence, Maggie Dent wants to get you okay with discussing suicide and suicidal tendencies. She talks to Celina, a woman from her community whose son died by suicide, adolescent psychiatrist Mat Coleman, and Dr Claire Kelly from Mental Health First Aid Australia.If you or your child needs help, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.For youth mental health support contact headspace.org.au or reachout.com.

If your child told you they felt more like a boy than a girl, or more like a girl than a boy, would you know what to say or how to support them? When the parents of today were kids, very little was widely understood about gender identity and gender dysphoria. In this episode you’ll learn about gender and what it’s like to be a trans kid. Maggie Dent speaks with teenager Olivia Stewart who began transitioning at age 13 and Dr Vic Rawlings, whose research focuses on LGBTQ young people. If you need support for you or your child head to these websites: https://transcendaus.org/, https://www.pgdc.org.au/.There’s a good general explainer pitched at young people here: https://kidshelpline.com.au/young-adults/issues/gender-identity

Getting up in the dead of night to change wet sheets — only for them to be wet again — can be frustrating and worrying. But having a child who regularly wets the bed is way more common than you think. Paediatric specialist Dr Megan Yap talks to Maggie Dent about ways to work through this passing phase.

Sibling rivalry — situation normal, right? But how much is too much, and what can you change in your family dynamic to take the pressure down? Maggie Dent talks to psychologist and mum Michelle Chiang about when to call a truce on these daily battles and when to stay out of them.

Teenage girls — it can be a tricky time when you're not sure if your daughter likes or loathes you. But here's the thing, she needs you now more than ever. Join Maggie Dent as she gives you great tips on how to make the ride smoother. She talks to educator and parenting author Michelle Mitchell about what girls most need from their parents to thrive in the teen years.

One minute your son is laughing about farts and driving you mad because he can't sit still. The next minute he's grumpy and never wants to leave his room. Adolescence can seem to come in an instant, so how do you prepare for it and help your son survive and thrive? Maggie Dent talks to adolescent expert and former ER Doctor Arne Rubinstein about the positive influences that can help shape a boy's journey to manhood.

Have you ever Googled 'how to be a good parent'? You're not alone — it's the most Googled question parents have each year. We all put too much pressure on ourselves to be the best possible parents, but the truth is, all you need to be is good enough. Author and educator Dr Susie O'Brien tells Maggie Dent that it's OK for modern parents to lower their standards and let their kids — not to mention themselves — make a few mistakes.

The queen of common-sense parenting, Maggie Dent, is back with more tips and tricks on how you can nail this parenting caper. In this season of Parental As Anything Maggie will cover everything from bed wetting and sibling rivalry to how to cope with raising a surly teenager. The first episode is out March 16. Subscribe so you don't miss out.

In the next week or so parents across Australia will be waving their child off at the school gate, many for the first time. So, we're revisiting one of the most popular episodes of 2020 — how to get your kids to school without the stress and tears. Maggie Dent and child and adolescent psychologist, Dr Kaylene Henderson, give you all the tips you need to help you and your child nail those first days and weeks at school. Maggie is back with all new episodes in March.

Do you hate your thighs? Your skin? Your post-baby body? Around 80 per cent of women within the normal body mass index range are dissatisfied with their bodies and those rates are increasing in men too. So how can we make sure our kids don’t develop the same negative body image we have? Maggie talks to Natasha Devon, a Body Image Campaigner, about how you can help your child love themselves just the way they are.

Is your child kind of obnoxious... always wanting to be the centre of attention? Or are they so sensitive they're missing out on opportunities to shine?These traits are part of a temperament spectrum that Maggie calls the Rooster and Lamb Continuum. She talks to parents about how to identify a rooster or a lamb, how to manage their most extreme traits like anxiousness or arrogance, and how to gently nudge them towards the middle of the continuum.

Sometimes the hardest part about raising a child is the disagreements you have with your partner, or ex, about how to do it. Whether you're sharing custody, navigating the politics of a blended family or simply co-parenting in a stable relationship with your child's other parent, getting on the same page can be HARD. Maggie chats to author and family therapist Susan Stiffelman about how to keep the peace with a co-parent.

Around 14 per cent of Australian families have a sole parent. Some parents planned it that way, while others never imagined they'd cope without a co-parent until they had to. Maggie chats with a solo mum with three children and a solo dad with one daughter, about their unexpected journeys to sole parenthood, their tips for survival and what they wish everyone else understood about raising kids alone.

Scary fact: kids learn their money habits at home. So how do you help them avoid the mistakes you made? What's the going rate for pocket money, and how do you bring in ideas about spending and saving? Maggie dusts off a classic episode of The Pineapple Project money season, in which presenter Claire Hooper finds out how to use glass jars to send subliminal money messages to her kids, and learns the one thing every teenager needs to tick off their money education list.

"How many times do I have to ask you to...?" Sound familiar? There are lots of reasons why parents don't make their kids do chores. Children can be bad at cleaning and the nagging to get them to do it is like torture. So why bother? Author of How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims, and Maggie Dent make the case for why you should persist and give you great tips on how to get them to do it (without the nagging!)

Telling a child someone they love has died will be one of the toughest things you'll ever have to do. Grief counsellor Karen Ferry explains why talking to kids honestly about death and helping them navigate their feelings will mean way more to them than putting on a happy face and pretending everything is fine. And you'll meet Maddie Cross, a mum who had to support her children while coping with her own unimaginable grief after her youngest son died.This episode includes a discussion about how to talk to children about suicide. For support contact Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or visit https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

Online gaming is massive and if your child loves playing them, you'll know the struggle to get them to do anything else is real. Maggie talks to Good Game Spawn Point host Rad Yeo about how gaming isn't all bad. And she taps into the brain of addiction specialist Brad Marshall on how to find the right balance, and what to do if you think your kid has a gaming problem.

We get it dads. You're sick of people who say you're 'babysitting' when you look after your own kids; you feel like a fish out of water when you join parent groups full of mothers; and it's still too hard to find a change table in a men's bathroom. Apart from that, there's never been a better time to be a dad! Maggie Dent talks to TV presenter Osher Gunsberg, comedian Peter Helliar, musician Tim Rogers and parenting educator Clark Wight, about finding their feet, how they show their love, and what it's like being a dad in the 21st Century.

The queen of common sense — aka parenting educator and author Maggie Dent — is back with series three of Parental As Anything. She has more practical tips and answers to your parenting dilemmas — promoting positive body image in the age of selfies, helping kids deal with death and loss, avoiding problematic video gaming habits and why making kids do chores is worth the hassle. Over eight episodes, Maggie will give you practical advice to help raise kids of all ages. The first episode is about being a dad and is out on August 18.

If you don't talk to your children about sex, it won't be long before someone else does. But how honest should you be, when should you start explaining it and how much should you tell them? Maggie Dent talks to GP Dr Cindy Pan and sex educator Cath Hakanson about what to say and how to say it when it comes to sex, relationships, consent, pleasure, bodies and porn.