How Do We Manage?

Teaching your kids about sex can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be. And in today’s world, where young children are increasingly at risk of being exposed to explicit images online, it’s never been more important. Toltu Tufa is a psychologist and sex educator based in Australia, whose career has taken her from assessing convicted sex offenders in prisons, to designing sex education programmes in classrooms. She now runs sex education masterclasses for parents. Today, Toltu gives us tips for how to have age-appropriate conversations about sex with children without invoking feelings of embarrassment or shame, how to answer tricky questions, and tells us why it’s not just what you say - but how you react - that’s important. Resources & Links  Find out more about Toltu’s work at the Healthy Connections Institute Follow Toltu on Instagram Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Toltu Tufa Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

These days parents are presented with a minefield of conflicting information about fad diets, portion control, fussy eaters and weaning woes. So how do we feed our children in a way that feels manageable and healthy, even when they’re either refusing dinner or are seemingly never full? Charlotte Stirling-Reed is one of the UK’s leading child nutritionists. She runs SR Nutrition and has written plenty of books on how to feed your children. Charlotte is passionate about making nutrition simple, practical and evidence-based, particularly when it comes to pregnancy, babies, children and family life. In this episode, Charlotte joins Stephanie to cut through some of the confusion around what our children should be eating, when we should start weaning, how we can build healthy habits around food from a young age and how to feed a fussy eater. Resources & Links  Find out more about SR Nutrition and Charlotte’s work here Follow Charlotte on Instagram Buy Charlotte’s books on weaning and family nutrition here Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Charlotte Stirling-Reed Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

Have you ever been described as ‘too much’? Ever felt like your reaction was bigger than it should have been? Many of us feel emotions more deeply than others - but what if this isn’t something to suppress, but something to understand? This is the premise of a new book called ‘Too Sensitive’ by Dr Sasha Hamdani, a board-certified psychiatrist and ADHD Expert. The book explores RSD - rejection sensitive dysphoria - an extreme form of emotional sensitivity. In this episode of ‘How Do We Manage’ Stephanie asks Dr Hamdani how we can identify emotional sensitivity in ourselves and our children, and about its links to conditions such as ADHD. Resources & Links  Buy Sasha’s book, ‘Too Sensitive’ Follow Dr Sasha Hamdani on Instagram Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Dr Sasha Hamdani Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

Parenting has never come with more advice than it does today. Social media is full of people claiming that their style of raising a child is the right one, commenting on everything from discipline to nutrition to education. So how do you work out what to listen to? Dr Aliza Pressman is a developmental psychologist, podcast host and author of the book, ‘The 5 Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans’. In this episode Dr Pressman joins Stephanie to talk about how we overcome parenting mistakes, the five principles of parenting that lead to resilient kids, and setting good boundaries. Resources & Links  Buy Dr Aliza Pressman’s book ‘The 5 Principles of Parenting’ Follow Dr Aliza Pressman on Instagram Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Dr Aliza Pressman Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

Navigating the online world for ourselves is hard enough, but trying to keep it safe for our children feels near impossible. We’ve talked a lot on the show lately about the dangers of posting pictures of our families, how children as young as three are using social media, and the sort of content that is being fed to our kids online. One thing that keeps coming up over and over is: how do we keep it under control? ‘Smartphone Nation: Why We’re All Addicted to Screens and What Your Family Can Do About It’ is a new book by Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, associate professor at UCL. It’s a toolkit for families to become more savvy about the ways that they use online technology. Dr Regehr is a world-leading expert on the cultural impacts of social media and is working on the guidelines accompanying the UK Government’s new social media ban for under 16s. In this episode Dr Kaitlyn Regehr joins Stephanie in the studio to give us tips on activities we can do with our children to become more intentional about algorithms, and how we can navigate the online world with our kids in a way that feels less overwhelming. Resources & Links  Buy ‘Smartphone Nation’ by Dr Kaitlyn Regehr Follow Dr Kaitlyn Regehr on Instagram Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Dr Kaitlyn Regehr Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

The term ‘sharenting’ describes the act of posting photos of your children on social media, something that many of us do today. In fact, it’s predicted that by 2030 two thirds of online fraud in young people will be caused by what their parents have uploaded about them. In a world where sharing images of your child to your social media account to celebrate a milestone, birthday or family holiday has become so normal, how do we challenge ourselves to really consider the longterm dangers of sharing these moments on the internet? Today’s guest is Tatiana Kotlyarenko, an international human rights expert who specialises in human trafficking and gender-based violence. She answers questions such as: what sort of risks are we putting our children in by ‘sharenting’? Is it ok to post on a private profile? What about sending pictures on WhatsApp? Plus, she tells us what information you’re giving the world when you post a picture of your child’s birthday; and whether there is a safe way to share family moments online with friends and loved ones. Resources & Links  If you think your pictures have been misused online use trusted removal services such as NCMEC's Take It Down and the UK's Report Remove, which help remove or prevent the sharing of sexual images of children online. (iwf.org.uk). Do not repeatedly search for the image, as this can unintentionally increase exposure and may be distressing for families. Contact the police if necessary. Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Tatiana Kotlyarenko Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

Across Europe it’s estimated that around 10% of children live with a step parent. But the step-family journey can be a rocky one — what if your partner’s child rejects you? What if you have a tricky relationship with their ex? How do you make peace with the fact that as a step parent you may have to make more compromises than anyone else in the family? When Katie South became a stepmum she realised it wasn’t going to be an easy journey. Looking for support she found that there wasn’t much for women in her position. Her experience prompted her to found Stepmum Space, an organisation that runs support programmes for women and their partners going through the stepfamily process.  Today she joins Stephanie to give us tips on how to navigate the stepfamily journey: what fathers need to do to help stepmothers; respecting the ex-partner; parenting your own kids alongside theirs, and having different sets of rules in different houses; and acknowledging the tricky feelings that come with integrating into another family. Resources & Links  Find out more about Stepmum Space Follow Stepmum Space on social media Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Katie South Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

According to the World Health Organisation, one in seven adolescents globally experiences a mental health disorder. Depression and anxiety are some of the leading causes of illness in teenagers. But what can we do as parents to help? Dr Beth Mosley is a consultant clinical psychologist who works with children, young adults and their families everyday. Her book ‘Happy Families’ is a guide to supporting your child’s mental health. She joins Stephanie on this week’s episode to tell us how we can support a child through anxiety; how to communicate with teenagers to help them feel confident; and how to set boundaries. Resources & Links  Buy Beth’s book ‘Happy Families: How To Protect And Support Your Child’s Mental Health’ If you are concerned about your child’s mental health it is always best to contact your GP. You can also seek guidance through charities such as YoungMinds and Barnardos (UK) and Child Mind Institute (US). Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Dr Beth Mosley Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

Childbirth is something that many women will experience, and yet if you speak to them you’ll find their experiences vary wildly, from stories of pure elation to ones that are far more traumatic. Women are told to plan for the birth they want and yet they rarely get to have it. So what are we getting wrong? Megan Rossiter is the founder of Birth Ed - an antenatal programme that is designed to help women have more agency in the birthing process. Her recent book, ‘Birth Power’ is a guide to what happens in your body during pregnancy and childbirth; the maternity healthcare system; and how to think critically about the care you are offered. She doesn’t advocate for a particular type of birth, but rather that women should be able to have the birth that they want. In this episode Megan explains the history of maternity care and why it’s getting worse, and she helps us understand how we can have power in the birthing process by being confident in knowing what our bodies need, and how to navigate when things don’t go to plan. Resources & Links  The Birth Ed Method: https://birth-ed.co.uk/ Buy Megan’s book ‘Birth Power’ Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Megan Rossiter Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios

Did you know that, according to a study by the University of Liverpool, as many as 16.5% of hospital admissions in the UK are caused by adverse reactions to medication? Or that most prescription drugs work for less than half the population? We can be very willing to take the medicines that are prescribed for us, but how much do we really know about what we are ingesting? Dr Nick Barber is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacy at UCL, and the author of a new book called, ‘How To Take Drugs: A New Approach to Medication for Better Results and Fewer Side Effects’, in which he looks at the flaws in the prescription system and how you, as a patient, can have the utmost agency to decide which drugs are right for you to take. Today he joins Stephanie in the studio to tell us about the efficacy of prescription drugs; the systems we can use to determine if what we’re taking is working for us; when we should be worried about the side effects; and whether the expensive painkillers really do any better than the cheap ones. Resources & Links  If you are taking prescription drugs and have any queries about what you are taking, it is important that you seek out professional medical help from your doctor. Buy ‘How To Take Drugs’ by Dr Nick Barber here Host: Stephanie von Bismarck  Guest: Dr Nick Barber Producer: Holly Fisher Production Manager: Angela Crago  Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino  The series was recorded and edited at PodShop studios