Let’s be honest. We’ve all had plenty of angry outbursts in our time. At our friends, at our partners, at ourselves and DEFINITELY at the person who just cut us off in traffic. With each new “rage session”, though, we learn more about how to keep our anger in check. But for our teens, under the influence of raging hormones, angry outbursts can become more frequent and harder to control. So how do we help them tame the beast within? This week, Mads and Angela are back to answer that very question. This week, they take a deep dive into. ·        Why our teens get angrier ·        Techniques to defuse an angry teen ·        Signs that it might be time to seek clinical help. NEXT WEEK  How can I cut down teen’s screen time? CREDITS: Host: Madeline West. Co-Host: Angela Murray. Editor: Lachie Flannigan. GET IN TOUCH: Follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast Got a meanager question you’d like answered on the show? Leave a message on SpeakPipe here Meanagers is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. You can find more shows here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do I talk to my teen about Sex? In all likelihood, the idea of a sex conversation with your teen probably makes you squirm a little just reading it. Chances are, your teen would probably feel the same way! So, to ease your sense of dread about sex discussion, Madeline and Angela are back this week to chat through the key tools to fostering an open and comfortable sex discourse, including: -        Why having “the sex talk” doesn’t work -        How honest should we be about our own sexual experiences? -        When’s the right time to discuss contraception? NEXT WEEK  How do I help my teen control their anger issues? CREDITS: Host: Madeline West. Co-Host: Angela Murray. Editor: Lachie Flannigan. GET IN TOUCH: Follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast. Got a meanager question you’d like answered on the show? Leave a message on SpeakPipe here. Meanagers is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. You can find more of our shows here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ah parties, they’re often a highlight of “the teen experience” – but we're not sure parents necessarily feel the same! Fun though they can be, parties will often be the stage where our teens will have their first encounters with alcohol, drugs and all those other things that make parents think twice about letting their child go in the first place. So, in this episode, Mads & Angela are here with the ultimate guide on getting your teen through the party years, complete with tips on: -       Setting clear boundaries around drinking -       Making sure our teens feel comfortable in turning to us when/if things go wrong -       Planning pick-ups and a party “escape plan” -       Ensuring your teen balances their drinking with food & a whole lot more! Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Have a question for Mads & Angela? You can record a message for them here, for your chance to be featured on the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don’t get it twisted. We all love our teens. But some days, when they’re at their most difficult, we don’t actually *like* them. It’s a scary thing to admit, but the thought will likely cross every parent's mind at some point. So when that feeling does arise, what does it mean? Have we failed as parents? Are our kids a lost cause? Fortunately, Mads and Angela, who would both admit to “not liking” their teens now and again, are here to to help. In this week's episode, they'll guide you through how to process that feeling and use it to develop greater empathy for both ourselves and our teen in tense moments. Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Have a question for Mads & Angela? You can record a message for them here, for your chance to be featured on the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas It's sold to us as "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and while there's certainly joy to be found in sharing gifts and spending time with our loved ones, it's a period that some of us approach with trepidation. The reality is that the Festive Season often sees a rise in the rates of alcoholism, domestic violence and suicide. While most adults may be accustomed to dealing with these challenges, the same can't necessarily be said for our teens. With this in mind, Mads and Angela are here to discuss how we can help our teens manage these issues, deal with difficult relatives, handle the anxiety that can come with big Christmas gatherings, balance their time between separated parents and still find time to enjoy the "magic" of Christmas. Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Have a question for Mads & Angela? You can record a message for them here, for your chance to be featured on the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good, bad or otherwise, we all have a strongly developed of what our own bodies look like. Often, this representation isn't necessarily accurate and can be difficult to shift - no matter what we try. Fortunately, as we enter parenthood, we get a lot better at learning at accepting our bodies "quirks", but what about our teens? For them, the experience of puberty - figuratively and literally - reshapes their body. And for many, those shifts can be really hard to deal with - especially when comparing themselves not only to their peer group, but to the heavily filtered world of social media. This week, Mads and Angela about how we can manage our teen's relationships with their changing bodies, how our own body image can influence our teens and some of the warning signs that may suggest our teens are in need of professional help. Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Have a question for Mads & Angela? You can record a message for them here, for your chance to be featured on the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exams. Chances are, each one of you reading these show notes has sat one before. Maybe some of you fared better than others, but that's beside the point. Now, those same exams that you once loved, loathed, or feared are now being taken on by your teen. But these days, students are under immense pressure to study hard, pursue perfect results and above all else, achieve the ultimate ATAR. Sometimes, this messaging can come into a student's life as early as Year 7. It's a level of duress that could unsettle even the steadiest of teens. In this episode, Madeline & Angela examine what role we can play in helping our teens through the exam period, how to strike a balance between a detached approach and an overzealous one, and what strategies we can recommend for helping them in making the most of their study time. Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

P-O-R-N. That four-letter word no parent wants to think about when it comes to their teen. But, let’s face it: for any teen with raging hormones and a smartphone, pornography is just a few clicks away. In fact, studies show that 97% of teens will have seen pornographic material by the age of 15 (and some of the left over 3% might even be lying). As much as we might like to, we can’t stop our kids from watching porn. So, what can we do? Luckily for you, dear listener, Madeline and Angela are back to guide you through cultivating an open and comfortable discourse with your teen about porn, masturbation, sex and all those other topics that’ll make them mortified.  Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Try not to stress out, but we have to tell you a harsh truth about anxiety. As much as you might not want them to, the scientific reality is that your teen, along with all the others, is going to experience the feeling of anxiety at some point in their life. And, believe it or not, that's a good thing! Anxiety is one of our eight core emotions. It wards us from potential danger and if we didn't have it at all, we'd probably be dead. But ironically, for a genetic response designed to keep us alive, sometimes anxiety can stop us from truly living. That's especially true if you're a teen grappling with a heap of new physical, mental and personal changes. In this episode, Madeline and Angela chat about how we can support our teens through periods of heightened anxiety. They also cover some of the common mistakes well-intentioned parents can make when trying to help their stressed-out children, that can actually run the risk of increasing their anxieties! Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't get it twisted, we all love our teens. Unconditionally, wholeheartedly, every day of the year. But sometimes, they can be mean. Like, REALLY bloody mean. And volatile. And aggressive. And all those other things that make you want to tear your hair out. If you've ever raised a teen, none of that will come as any surprise. But what's the reason for it all? Why do our teenagers turn into Mean-Agers? That's the question that mum of six Madeline West and Child Psychologist Angela Murray are trying to answer in the debut episode of Mean-Agers: the handbook on parenting teens that you've always wanted, but could never get your hands on. Thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the acknowledgment of country. For more tips and tricks for taking care of your teenagers, be sure to follow the show on Instagram @meanagerspodcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.