Confessions of a Modern Parent

Has your teenager completely stopped talking to you?! Do you feel that you no longer talk with each other? Does one parent have more of a conversational connection with the kids than the other? How do you keep talking with your kids if your absent parent? Todays podcast is all about how, why and if our teenagers talk with us, and what things prevent them from talking with us. Are we too protective - too nosy - or too judgemental? And should we necessarily talk about everything with our kids anyway?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

If Parenting was an official Job how would you describe it? What are the hours? The remuneration? The perks? Are there any perks? This week we discuss the responsibilities and expectations of what it means to be a Parent. Is it in the Job Description that we are essentially on call 24/7 ? In what ways do we sacrifice our own lives and lives in order to do the best job we can of being a parent. How do you see the responsibilities of the job? Is it about practicalities or about instilling values; is it about being emotionally available or simply being available to deliver on their every whim?! If parenting was written up as a job vacancy what would it include?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Is your teenager ashamed or embarrassed about your excitement and preparations for Xmas? Is your teenager a moody bah humbug throughout the festive period? Could they make more of an effort? Are you missing the pitter patter of tiny feet and just wish your teens would enter into the party spirit?! Join us for a moan a groan and a bemoan of Christmases past when the kids loved the magic of it all!!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

Is it a preferable option for our kids above smoking? Is it fun? OR … is it actually a gateway habit that will lead to nicotine addiction? Does it have an adverse effect on our children's mental health? Are vapes and e-cigarettes actually dangerous? Are they simply another tool for secretly inhaling drugs?! We explore the pros and cons of vaping … and whether we should in fact be as concerned as we would be if our kids were smoking. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

Is CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health services) an effective service for helping children, teenagers & parents to resolve or help alleviate Mental Health Crises? We hear from listeners regarding their principally negative experiences. What can be done? How do we as a society need to change in order to reduce the number of youngsters seeking help. Is there only so much any NHS service can actually do given the size of the problem. This episode is all about YOUR experiences. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

Are we doing our kids a huge disservice by being too soft on them. Do we allow them to feel like they're succeeding even when they're failing. Should we be implementing a lot more TOUGH LOVE in our attempts to help our children prepare for adult life. Is being tough on our kids a threat to their mental health or could it in fact be the one thing that might save them. Are we over-indulging our kids or is being “soft” more about allowing our children to grow and mature in a more holistic fashion? Are YOU too SOFT or too HARD on your kids?

This week we grapple with a topic that is perhaps one of the most distressing for children and young adults alike - especially women and teenage girls. In recent weeks stories have emerged of a new trend to spike young women (and some young men) by injecting them with syringes. We discuss what on Earth can be done to protect our teenage and young adult children from this awful threat. We talk to the newly formed pressure group GIRLS NIGHT IN - who are campaigning for nightclubs and late night drinking venues to up their game when it comes to the safety of their female customers. Where is this hostile attitude to women coming from? How has spiking now become yet another occupational hazard of trying to go out and have a good time. WARNING - this podcast contains some distressing content. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

This episode we go to the heart of how Smart Phones have transformed family life. We aren't looking at the obvious causes for concern such as cyber bullying - we are looking at the ways in which phones interrupt family time - disrupt relationships - cause stress for teenagers and are basically hard to put down. Our resident teens share some surprising philosophical observations about smart phones. Are YOU as bad as your teenagers? Are phones eroding family life? Or are they just a different distraction for this generation? Are YOU a worse phone addict than your kids? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

Telling lies is always considered a bad thing. BUT - there are countless situations in which lying as a parent is often a NECESSITY - and there are often situations when it's not as sinister as you might think when your child lies to you. There's the seasonal characters who pop up in December and Easter - and there are white lies versus serious lies. What are the WORST lies we've told as parents - and do our kids lie to us? LYING is much more complex than you think … honestly … we aren't lying!!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

Nadia & Mark grapple with the best ways in which to help our teenagers through an Anxious World. All too often we hear about Anxious Teens as if the problem sits within THEM. But how doe we help them navigate a world that FEELS and PRESENTS itself to us as more and more anxious everyday. School, Climate, Covid, Social Media, 24 Hour rolling News & an older generation that more often villainises the young rather than applaud them. This is a deep dive into our Anxious World and how best we can hold our teenager's hands through it. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

FIRST week back and how are you feeling - end of the first week and already many of us are at the end of our tether. Who's more BURNT OUT? Us parents or our kids? After so many weeks and months living under the cloud of COVID - and now with relative "normality" coming back - is Back to School Burnout going to happen more quickly. As one of our kids returns to school we share our own experiences of the school run!!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

How does the constant news flow regarding Climate Change leave our kids feeling? How does it leave us parents feeling? If we feel powerless in the face of such an enormous and seemingly impossible dilemma how on Earth can we help our kids through it. We hear from our teens who feel they don't even have the right to protest against things let alone do anything about it. This is a tough subject BUT it is a crucially important subject. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

Have this years A Level and GCSE students had it easy? Or have they actually had it the toughest any generation in post war Britain has ever had before? Is it true that they've been let off lightly, treated favourably, marked up by generous teachers - or perhaps (God forbid) the remote learning / home schooling and more targeted learning has actually been a boost to results? How will the Covid generation of exam takers be treated - will it be “oh, you were the Covid generation - you got it easy “ or will it be “wow - you over and all manner of deprivations and STILL came out on top?!” We read through a LOT of your comments as we explore the ways in which this years exam takers are being treated by the media. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

More specifically our chat revolves around issues of contraception, consent, accidental pregnancy & abortion. The kids felt a bit “weird” about contributing for this one … but we chew over many of your comments and experiences instead. What do you do if your child actively wants to get pregnant? How do you explain consent to a child who puts themselves at risk when they're drunk. What is the best approach to unwanted pregnancies - how does the availability of porn make consent complicated. How do moms and dads differ in their conversations about things such as contraception. It's all awkward stuff!!! INSTAGRAM : @get.the.lowdown Name of the FILM : Never Rarely Sometimes Always Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

How do YOU feel about your teens or children being vaccinated? Is a clear cut YES or do you have worries? Why are youngsters being cast as the villains in the Covid crisis? What about Vaccine Passports? Is it a necessary stick and carrot approach to getting youngsters to take the jab. Is it “SELFISH” for teenagers not to take the jab or are you concerned about the long term effects of a relatively new vaccine ? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley.

After the appalling violence and racism surrounding the EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS - and with a whole range of other issues such as sexual harassment - drugs - climate change etc - what are you most worried about for your kids as they step out into the world? What scares you most in the dead of night - what do you fear for your teenagers' futures. Is the world really a less friendly place - a more stressful place - were things different when we parents were younger. Mark & Nadia here from you listeners about what is worrying you most about the world and future our kids are about to step into. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley0.

It's one of the biggest taboos known to man, woman, father and mother. Do YOU REGRET having become a parent. We can all regret decisions we have made - we may even regret the time or age at which we had kids - but what do you do if you regret the whole decision? Having had one of the most overwhelming responses on social media to any parenting topic we've suggested - we read through LISTENERS comments and share our own REGRETS around being a parent. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley0.

Has STAYCATION become a dirty word?! Given that we've all spent SO much time together in lockdown can we really stomach a holiday together in the UK, with bad weather - all looking at each other for a further week or two?! Mark & Nadia discuss the joys and drawbacks of staycations - the best bits (spending yet more time with your kids) - the worst bits (spending yet more time with your kids) ... holidaying never looked less attractive ... Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

THE SECRET LIFE OF TEENS & THEIR PETS!!! We all want them as kids, but should we necessarily get them? Is a dog or a cat a God given rites of passage for all kids and teenagers? Mark & Nadia reflect on the role a pet can have in a child's emotional and mental development. What experiences do they encourage? Responsibility? Care? Time management? Companionship? Mindfulness? But also - of course mortality. Frozen guinea pigs, cats that leave home & mind-reading dogs; Maddie, Carlitos, Nadia & Mark share in their stories - funny, sad, shocking and genuinely moving - about the highs and lows of letting your kids have pets. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Is it ever tight to invade your kids privacy? Did YOUR parents ever read your diary? Or rummage through your room? When is it right to be concerned for your kids welfare and when are is it a case of being downright nosy? Privacy and Parenting is a minefield. How private CAN anyone be in this modern high-etc age where everyone knows where everyone is every second of the day. We delve into the private thoughts of our teens and whether they think there's ever a moment when us parents are allowed to invade their space - OR their minds!!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Nadia & Mark discuss Nadia’s new Body Confidence Campaign for Loose Women and explore the increasing use of body tuning APPS amongst young women and young boys. In what ways do all these social media APPS and tuning instruments damage our self esteem? Are they all causing Mass Body Dysmorphia ? How would Mark & Nadia have fared in today’s climate? Or is the crisis around fake selfies and touched up photos the same crisis of the 70s and 80s just with a different technology? Maddie and Carlitos discuss the topic from a young woman and a young man's perspective - and Nadia and Mark ask what came first? The Body Dysmoprhia or the technology designed to conceal this Dysmorphia? Is it a storm in a tea cup ? Are these APPS actually quite harmless? Or do they actually profoundly damage the minds AND bodies of our teenage kids?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Mark & Nadia talk about the joys and horrors of loving or loathing your chikldren's boyfriends or girlfriends. Should we as parents actually tell our kids when we sense a partner is a bad egg? What happens when we love them as if they’re our own and then they split up? Is it ever right to maintain contact with your children’s exes? The heartbreak of losing them - the fear of hating them - when is it okay to tell your kids what you really think of their choice in partners? It’s a hornets nest of positives and negatives - a complicated minefield - if you hate them should you keep your enemies close and say nothing? Or do you take the bad uns aside and have a little word in their ears?! Our kids and their partners is today’s thorny subject! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

As a family that lives with Alcoholism & Addiction - teenage drinking is a major cause for concern in Nadia & Mark’s home. Completely banning it is unrealistic ... suggesting it’s the source of all fun is dangerous ... this conversation gets very emotional as they reflect on the challenges and the joys of being a family that lives with Alcoholism and how this trickles down to their daughter’s attitudes towards alcohol and drinking. Do most parents drop the ball when it comes to flagging up the dangers of alcohol - and in what ways can we (or should we) try to help steer our kids away from dangerous drinking?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Do our teens see too much violence on their devices? Is violent material too freely available and what are the consequences for our children’s mental health? Are youngsters numb to acts of extreme violence? Have they all got some level of PTSD from seeing too much? Are youngsters aware of what’s right and what’s wrong violence? When is it important to see violent material (for political reasons) and when does it become counter productive? What controls are there for parents and kids when it comes to preventing easy access to violent material? What are the potential dangers of being exposed to too much violence and is there a difference between real violence and fictionalised violence? Is one better or worse than the other? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

This week is a slightly different podcast in which we hand the conversation over to you listeners and discuss the issues surrounding Eating Disorders that affected you most in Lockdown and during the Pandemic. Has Coronavirus made us ALL eating chaotically - do we live in a culture that necessarily encourages binge eating AND binge dieting ... YOU share with US your thoughts, worries & experiences ... Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

This week we hear from former Emmerdale actress Gemma Oaten who has struggled with Anorexia and Bulimia about what can be learnt from the tragic death of Nikki Grahame who sadly lost her lifelong battle with Anorexia last week. In what ways can we learn from Nikki’s tragic story and better understand how Eating Disorders have been aggravated by a year of lockdowns, social distancing and isolation. Mark & Nadia hear from daughter Maddie about the chaotic eating that has defined many teenagers lives during the pandemic and how our attitudes to food can easily tip into extremely challenging and potentially life threatening mental health crises. Is Nikki Grahame actually another death caused or aggravated indirectly by Coronavirus? And what strategies can we as parents adopt to better help our kids if we sense they may be struggling in their relationship with food, body image and dieting. Gemma’s story is frighteningly similar to Nikki’s, but is defined by hope in the form of her recovery and her charity SEED that she has set up with her parents to help families struggling with Eating Disorders. SEED ( www.seedeatingdisorders.org.uk ) Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Some are calling it THE SUMMER OF LOVE ... but should we be as gung ho about coming out of Lockdown as many youngsters would like us all to be? YES we are all wanting a return to some kind of normal but is there a real danger that our teens could put themselves in harms way by PARTYING TOO HARD and not looking after themselves enough? Are we PARENTS so keen to get out and enjoy life for ourselves that we could be about to sleepwalk into a combined nightmare of too much drink, too much drugs, too much sex and ALL the consequences that often come with a HEDONISTIC “live fast die young” approach to life? Strap yourselves in guys - we could be about to have the most turbulent of summers yet when it comes to TEENAGERS being released from lockdown! Can we blame them? Wouldn’t we (as parents) want to do the same thing?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

It’s been a STRANGE and CHALLENGING year for everyone - but for parents and teenagers the potential for fireworks and conflict has been massive. After all lockdown has been like an enormously LONG episode of BIG BROTHER. We stop to consider the highs and lows of the experience - have we got close to our kids - have they got closer to us? Have we all learnt things about each other and ourselves we didn’t know before the CRISIS? How has a total lack of privacy for us parents impacted on our own relationships - and will we look back on this time as a time of growth or a time to be forgotten?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Many of us parents may not even have heard of the phrase - but to be “cancelled” is to be “called out” on “bad behaviour” or to be frozen out of things socially because you’re opinion is wrong or your actions are unacceptable. But who is doing e deciding? We examine the rights and wrongs of cancel culture. Is it a form of sanctioned trolling between and amongst teenagers - is it this generation’s way to rebel against ideas and attitudes they don’t agree with? Is it a form of vigilantism that essentially results in bullying? Or is it an acceptable modern day form of justice? More often than not it is a tool to weed out racism, sexism and attitudes that are disrespectful - BUT is it also a very blunt tool that causes more harm than good? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

This very harrowing conversation goes to the heart of what Nadia & Mark’s daughters have had to tolerate when it comes to unwanted harassment and attention from men. The majority of those doing the harassing are men in their 30s/40s and 50s. We hear from our eldest Issy and from our 18 year old Maddie about their own experiences of Sexual Harassment and the ways in which the tragic Sarah Everard case has emboldened young women to “reclaim the streets” ... why is there such a problem? What is the potential solution? Are we helpless as parents? Or does the dialogue need to start with our sons at an early age? This is an emotional chat through the realities of what it means to be a young woman in a VERY male world. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

As kids return to school and parents breathe sighs of relief now that Home schooling is done ... NOT everyone is excited about the prospect. For many - going back to school marks the return of worries, fears and anxieties that have been removed for the past year. Bullying, struggling with learning, exams, cramming and trying to catch up with the teaching time that has been “lost” - are we running the risk of RUSHING our kids back into school and running them back into stress and anxiety? Not ALL parents are keen to get rid of their kids ... and not ALL kids are as excited about going back to school as Politicians and Parents think. We take some time to think of those kids and parents for whom a return to school is something to dread, fear or dread. Where are you on the subject of returning to school ? Will you actually miss your kids? Why is it considered strange to say that you actually enjoyed spending more time with your children? Most kids want to see their friends again - they don’t necessarily want to go back to school to do this. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Do your teens threaten to disown you if you take a photo of them? Is it now one of the most heinous crimes to post an image of your child on your social media? Has it always been like this or has the SELFIE (with all of its facilities to be stage managed and technologically altered) essentially KILLED the family photo and the family album?! What will we look at in years to come ? Or will there be a photographic gap in time? More and more teenagers do not want theirs photos taken let alone posted out to the world. Mark and Nadia try to get to the bottom of it - and are taken aback by the emotional strength of their daughter Maddie’s thoughts on the subject. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Has there ever been a point when you’ve wanted to throw in the cards and call it a day? Have you ever REALLY regretted being a parent? We are exploring the taboo that IS Parental Burnout. We accept there can be BURNOUT in work - BURNOUT in play - but BURNOUT as a parent ... what should we do if we’ve had enough?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

How would YOU feel if your child didn’t have the ambition YOU had - or the ambition you FEEL they need to have in order to succeed? Is ambition in your kids about academic success, financial success, or emotional happiness? At what point does AMBITION morph into selfishness and competitiveness and by extension a potential sense of failure! Are PUSHY PARENTS ambitious for their kids or for themselves? Mark & Nadia attack AMBITION from all angles - and also consider whether they’ve perhaps been over-ambitious as parents - and maybe failed! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Were YOU the “smart” one - the “creative” one - the “slow” one ... the “lazy” one? We all do it in some way - but are we (as parents) labeling our kids too early in their lives - at a point when they are still finding out who they are or what they want to be or do? For what reasons do we label our kids or even each other as parents? Is it a way of coping - making sense of the world - or is it an indirect way of actually killing the full potential of our kids and ourselves as parents. In what ways can negative labels continue to reach into grown up life - we hear from our two Young Adults about the pros and cons of labels. NOT fashion labels!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

How much do our teens fear failure / how much do we as parents feel like we have failed them? Should we let our kids fail more - are we reaching them from failure too much ... Do we parent in a society where everything is about success and failure has become the dirtiest and most damaging of words ...? What does failure mean? Is it mostly about academic failure? Once again Nadia d Mark entertain the fact that they have been complete failures as parents Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

In lockdown we are ALL on our phones more - scrolling through Tik Tok and Instagram seeing more and more images of supposedly lives and perfect bodies. We are all talking on ZOOM and FaceTime - meaning we are seeing ourselves (unfiltered) more and more! The self critic is at full throttle (for teenagers and parents alike!) Nadia & Mark talk about trying to help YOUNGSTERS feel POSITIVE about their BODIES ... and the ways in which SOCIAL MEDIA can be both a bad place AND a good place when it comes to stopping negative thinking. With Life in Lockdown resulting in us all losing the impetus to look after ourselves - at what point should we (as parents) POINT out to our teens that they are looking out of shape or not caring for themselves - and at what point could this run the risk of damaging their mental health?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

At the best of times trying to stress the importance of good sleep and exercise to a teenager is difficult - during a pandemic it’s impossible. Mark & Nadia share their fears, abject failures, and their thoughts on how on earth they can lay the groundwork for a healthy life when most teens couldn’t care less about getting fit or sleeping well. Their daughter Maddie shocks them with how futile their task really is. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

It’s got to the point now where our children can see through our well meaning parenting lies, they now know when we are putting a positive gloss on things, they are more plugged into the rules and limitations of lock-down than us parents - so HOW on EARTH do we keep them motivated - how do we guard against them tipping into mental health crises? How can we help ourselves as parents? We talk a LOT about the need for honesty, transparency and a sense of humor in what must surely be our final push towards a return to some kind of normal. We respond to a LOT of listeners comments - many of whom are at their wits end with worry ... Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Is this an accurate description of a generation of youngsters who can’t cope with the world or a bullying phrase used by older people to dismiss youngsters concerns? Mark & Nadia interrogate the ways in which the term is used - how it’s gone from something quite lighthearted to something that can be deeply controlling and misogynistic in some circles. Are we actually creating more of a problem by even using the term? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent.  They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles.  If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Xmas is a difficult time for us parents at the best of times. Being a parent to teenagers at Xmas is even tougher. Doing it all with lock-downs, different tiers, social distancing and family bubbles brings another layer of difficulty. We hear how our teens are feeling about Xmas ... and we remember the nostalgic days of Xmas back when they were toddlers and there was still the excitement of Santa ... we are brought down to Earth with a bump by Maddie... Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Today's chat is about how embarrassing we can be as parents. What is it about being a parent that immediately makes us uncool and essentially irrelevant? Nadia & Mark's daughter MADDIE shares some home truths about just how embarrassing they both are - as does Nadia's friend's son Carlitos. When do TEENS start to feel the cringe? And are we doomed from the outset on our parenting journeys? Plus - who is more embarrassing? Nadia or Mark??!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

A funny AND serious exploration of those elements of parenting we are simply too afraid to admit we don’t like. To suggest you don’t like an aspect of parenting runs the risk of being named and shamed as neglectful - but Mark & Nadia decide to provide ALL parents with a truly confessional hour of revealing what parts of being a parent are boring, tedious, exhausting, and unrewarding. However, the teens can also have a bit of a moan about how embarrassing parents are too!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

A subject that never goes away - and is never always the same - to mark Anti Bullying Week - we explore the reasons behind bullying, whether we SHOULD understand the bully, and how to deal with the more insidious low level (and often more damaging) bullying that can occur below the radar of parents AND teachers. It’s another emotional and heated conversation - as Mark & Nadia are reminded of their own difficult encounters with bullying. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Is it ALWAYS right for teenagers to go into therapy? Do teenagers need therapy and counselling today more than ever or have we got too soft and “namby-pamby” and in fact, youngsters need to just pull their social up and get on with just being teenagers? Is therapy a middle-class phenomenon? When could it be a lifesaver? With all the pressures of lockdown, the increased availability of drugs and alcohol, and continual reports suggesting that mental health issues for youngsters are on the increase - do all teenagers deserve some form of therapy or counselling: a safe space to share their emotions? We hear from teenagers who have had therapy and parents who worry that bad therapists can often trigger even worse reactions in their kids. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

How are we going to get through lockdown 2.0??? How do you even sell this to your teenager when you are finding it a bitter pill to swallow yourself?! How can we even put a silver lining on missing an important year of their lives? A year to be carefree, not stuck at home with boring parents!! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

How to Cope with them and WHATS Going on For them? When is a moody teenager just a moody teenager and when are they struggling with a mental health crisis?! What do TEENAGERS hate most about the term “MOODY TEENAGER”? Are they justified in their MOODYNESS? Or do they need to get a grip?! Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Where is the borderline between being a parent and being a friend. Is it ever inappropriate to try and be BESTIES with your teenage children. Should we simply be strict disciplinarians - or is it actually important to be approachable? It is a difficult balancing act being an approachable parent and Nadia and Mark explore the parenting minefield of whether it's right or wrong to try and be friends with your teenage children. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

As more Covid restrictions loom, Nadia & Mark try to tackle the big TABOO of Teens and Taking Drugs - and the inevitability that this is increasingly the NORM. Have PARENTS already lost the BATTLE? Are Teenagers MORE drawn to DRUGS in the age of COVID than before? Nadia & Mark hear some uncomfortable truths from MADDIE and CARLITOS (the resident teenagers) ... What CAN we do to combat DRUG TAKING amongst our Teenagers? Should we TRY? Should we be MORE strict or LESS STRICT? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

Mark & Nadia delve deep into the psychology of the selfie and explore whether teenagers obsession with looking perfect is in fact a dangerous dance with devil. Are we all falling victim to insidious tech, or is it just harmless fun? Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley

At what age does your "parent sense" tingle when your child wants to have a friend stay over who's the opposite sex? At what point in our child's life do we decide that something that was innocent is now mischievous? And why is it only the opposite sex that concerns us? Mark & Nadia were once kids themselves and remember what they got up to and spoiler sometimes, it wasn't about sex at all. Find out answers to these questions and many more in this episode of Confessions of A Modern Parent. They take questions and suggestions from listeners on their experiences in parenting roles. If you have a parenting question or suggestion for Mark or Nadia, you can get in touch at: Twitter @mark_adderley