What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover?

What really shapes who we become — nature, nurture, or something more hidden? In The Family Dynamic, award-winning journalist Susan Dominus dives deep into the invisible forces that shape families and how those forces ripple through generations.

In this episode, Susan joins me to talk about sibling bonds, overcoming adversity, and what happens when bold parents fill their kids with belief in their ability to change things.

If you’ve ever questioned how important your parenting really is, the impact of siblings on your child's life, the role of community, or whether our kids should do chores, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

THE BOOK:

The Family Dynamic by Susan Dominus

CONTACT DETAILS:

• Website: Susan P Dominus at susanpdominus.com
• Instagram: @Sue Dominus
• Blue Sky: Susan Dominus
• Facebook: She remains active and friendly on Facebook
• Additionally, the New York Times Magazine.

SIBLINGS:

One fascinating area we explored was the underestimated power of sibling relationships in a child's development and success, particularly in creating a supportive and motivational family environment.

Spillover Effect

• In lower-income families, the success of one sibling can positively impact younger siblings. When one child achieves, it creates a pathway and belief system for other siblings.

Motivational Influence

• Siblings can inspire and push each other to achieve more. Children are more likely to listen to and be inspired by siblings than parental suggestions

Knowledge Transfer

• Siblings share practical advice about schools, guidance counselors, and educational opportunities
• They can provide vision and perspective that parents might not have

Support the show

Thank you so much for your support.

Please hit the follow button if you like the podcast, and share it with anyone who might benefit. You can review us on Apple podcasts by going to the show page, scrolling down to the bottom where you can click on a star then you can leave your message.

I don't have medical training so please seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping.

My email is teenagersuntangled@gmail.com
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact us:
www.teenagersuntangled.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenagersuntangled/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/teenagersuntangled/

Susie is available for a free 15 minute consultation, and has a great blog:
www.amindful-life.co.uk

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover?

When I asked listeners for their questions one stood out as a worthy of almost an entire episode:

'What does it take to respect people around you, especially your parents?'

There's so much that could be said on this topic that it think I might give it a deeper dive at some point, but the insight from my teens was very interesting nonetheless.

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in the news, but what I don't see is a coherent approach across education. Again, it's an area that the sector is struggling to grasp, without clear leadership from the top. I thought it worth getting a snapshot of what's it's like from a teen point of view.

Finally, a comment on LinkedIn by Liam McGuire made me stop and think about the concept of Toxic Femininitiy, and why we aren't labelling and discussing certain behaviour by females in the same way that we do when it comes to men.

The upsurge in girls being obsessed with skin care routines, and content from Only Fans leaching into general social media, should surely give us cause to stop and ask why the people peddling this stuff are getting away without being questioned and shamed for their behaviour.

If you'd like support in creating rules and consequences that are based on respect,and that actually work, here's a link to the episode and my blog on the topic:

EPISODE:

https://www.teenagersuntangled.com/videos/32-consequences-and-the-teen-who-doesnt-seem-to-care/

BLOG: https://www.teenagersuntangled.com/blog/whats-going-on-when-our-boundaries-and-consequences-dont-seem-to-work/

I'd LOVE to know what you think about the topics we discuss in this episode, or any other questions and topics you would like us to cover. Please email your thoughts to me, Rachel, at teenagersuntangled@gmail.com

Support the show

Thank you so much for your support.

Please hit the follow button if you like the podcast, and share it with anyone who might benefit. You can review us on Apple podcasts by going to the show page, scrolling down to the bottom where you can click on a star then you can leave your message.

I don't have medical training so please seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping.

My email is teenagersuntangled@gmail.com
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact us:
www.teenagersuntangled.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenagersuntangled/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/teenagersuntangled/

Susie is available for a free 15 minute consultation, and has a great blog:
www.amindful-life.co.uk

What do you think of this episode? Do you have any topics you'd like me to cover?

In this episode my teens, Phoebe and Amelia, joined me in the studio to help answer some questions emailed in by listeners, and sent to me on social media.

We kick off by chatting about exploring their identity and what they think is the key to gettting them out of their bedrooms.

*So sorry about the quality of the audio on their microphones. I do everything on my own so I haven't yet perfected having to manage the sound on two people, and don't yet have the editing skills to fix the issues in post-production.

QUESTIONS:

1: My 14 year old is such a lovely, talented and kind girl. She had lovely friends, and she's very sweet and kind towards them all the time. Exclamation mark, now when she is in a foul mood, I'm the first and only person she takes out her anger and frustration on. Can you shed some light on this scenario for me?

2: I have a 13 year old girl who belongs to one of those large friend groups you discussed on one of the podcasts. Many times she feels left out if she does not get invited to something, I try my best speaking with her and letting her make her own choices on how she handles her feelings. Sometimes I really have the urge to call the other mum who is hosting a group of girls and ask her for help, tell her what's going on. How it sucks to feel left out. I've never called anyone because I want to teach my daughter than life, there were, will be many times like this, and you have to learn to deal with those feelings. And I don't want to be a helicopter mom. Am I doing the right thing?

3: Could you talk about starting secondary school? Can you remember what it was like?

Support the show

Thank you so much for your support.

Please hit the follow button if you like the podcast, and share it with anyone who might benefit. You can review us on Apple podcasts by going to the show page, scrolling down to the bottom where you can click on a star then you can leave your message.

I don't have medical training so please seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping.

My email is teenagersuntangled@gmail.com
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact us:
www.teenagersuntangled.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenagersuntangled/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/teenagersuntangled/

Susie is available for a free 15 minute consultation, and has a great blog:
www.amindful-life.co.uk