Pop Culture Parenting

In this special episode we talk with the phenomenal Dr Tina Payne Bryson, New York Times best-selling author, psychotherapist, researcher and wonderful human. Tina helps us understand how the science can be translated into practical strategies regarding emotional difficulties, attachment, neurodiversity, trauma and so much more. Thank you Tina for your generosity and if you somehow don't know her work please check her out. As you can tell in the beginning of this episode Billy is a HUGE FAN.

In this reflection episode we discuss how we can set our kids up to succeed through their teens, how to spot when something is wrong and what we can do to help. We also chat about how to support teens through bullying, keeping things from us, finding their identity, phones and much more! Thank you to everyone who sent in questions, advice and reflections, we hope this episode honours your story.

Adolescence is an important developmental window during which identity is explored and relationships are strengthened. It can also be a turbulent time during which mental illness spikes and the kids we care about become lost. Luckily there is so much we can do to prepare ourselves and our younger kids for this period. The evidence can also guide us if we are currently supporting a teen even if it all seems hopeless. We hope you like this latest episode and we can't wait for your reflections, questions and advice.

In this reflection episode we hear from PCP listeners who generously share their stories of survival with reflections, questions and advice. It's a vulnerable conversation with an emotional ending but we hope it helps people find the kindness and compassion for themselves that we work on for ourselves. Thank you to everyone who contributed, we feel so lucky to have you in the area with us!

This episode is a little different to our others. PCP aims to guide us all about how we can better support the kids in our lives. Sometimes though the weight of doing better can be too much. In this honest chat we talk about sometimes needing to just survive and how best to do that without feeling like a gladiator constantly fighting in the arena. We hope this helps lighten that burden and we can't wait to hear your reflections, questions and advice.

In our second reflection episode about nurturing neurodiversity we dive into the science of neurodiversity and how it can be used in the real world to support the kids in our lives. We hear from exceptional educators about how to best support neurodivergent students, discuss research about pathological demand avoidance (PDA) and explore mental health and trauma relating to neurodiversity. We end on a message that can help all of us understand the power of inclusion. We hope you like it and thank you to everyone who sent in their stories. It's a privilege to read them and we wish we could share them all.

In this part 1 reflection episode we discuss how the evidence can guide us regarding many of the challenges neurodivergent kids face. We cover questions about masking, rejection sensitive dysphoria, neurodiversity and emotional sensitivity, fitting in, medication and many more. Thank you for the wonderful questions, reflections and advice that the amazing PCP community sent in. We hope you like it and we can't wait to dive into this topic even further in the next reflection episode.

After so many requests from the amazing PCP community we are diving back in to talk about neurodiversity and how we can better support these beautiful kids. We discuss how movies, beliefs and a deficit approach can cause harm and limit potential. We dive into how we can help neurodivergent children and teens feel safe and experience success using the science in the real world. We can not wait to hear your reflections, questions and advice on nurturing neurodiversity as it's our favourite part of the podcast.

In this reflection episode we go deeper into conflict resolution using reflections, questions and advice from the wonderful PCP community. We explore how we can support conflict resolution at different developmental stages from toddlers to teens, what schools can do and how we can work on this within ourselves. Thank you to everyone who sent in their messages and we hope you like the episode.

Dealing with conflict can be a big challenge of life and lead to damage within ourselves, our relationships and the broader community. We first learn how to deal with conflict during childhood and unfortunately often in unhealthy ways. Luckily there is so much we can do to guide kids though these tough times. In this episode Nick & Billy discuss why it's important and how we can better resolve conflicts in a healthy way. We hope you like it and can't wait to read your reflections, questions and advice.

In this episode we blast off into the future fuelled by wonderful reflections, questions and guidance from the beautiful PCP community. We discuss ways to move from anxiety to action, frustration tolerance, worries and neurodiversity, potential pitfalls (good old resilience) and our own fear about the future regarding the kids we care about. Thank you to everyone who sent in messages and questions. You give us so much hope!

Worries about the future are a common source of stress for kids and a tricky topic for those supporting them to navigate. From typical concerns to clinical anxiety it is important that we have tools we can use to help children when these challenges arise. In this episode we discuss how important our beliefs and behaviours about the future are, including in the media, in regards to how worried or hopeful we might be. We also discuss common concerns and one therapeutic approach that can help guide kids when these difficulties emerge. We can't wait to read your questions, reflections and tips. Thank you for making our future brighter too!

In part 3 of our Beautiful Boys topic we honour some of the powerful stories and insights from the amazing PCP community who continue to guide and inspire us. We also cover some important questions, hear about practical advice and end on a the story of beautiful man who provides a north star for those of us trying to find our way.

In the first of two reflections about how we can raise beautiful boys Nick and Billy explore some of the amazing reflections, questions and tips from the PCP community. We cover how we can push back against some of the damage patriarchy inflicts on us, how to guide growing minds towards healthier versions of masculinity and the importance of emotional understanding and expression in young boys. We hope you find this helpful and we look forward to diving even deeper in second reflection episode next week.

Boys and girls learn from a young age that they are different because of how caregivers and our broader society treats them. This inequity is destructive to all of us, especially in regards to mental illness, developmental trauma and intimate partner violence. As heartbreaking as the stories and statistics are there is so much we can do to better guide our growing boys that supports them and all their future relationships. We are really excited to read your reflections, questions and advice to guide a deeper discussion next episode into how we can all do this better.

In this reflection episode we answer questions about connection from how we do it with ourselves, our partners, newborn babies, dysregulated children and reluctant teens. As always we are humbled by the beautiful reflections, inspired by powerful stories and guided by amazing advice. Thank you PCP and we hope you connect with this latest episode.

Connection is an important first step in guiding our kids but one that is often misunderstood or missed entirely. In this episode we discuss why it matters and how we can give ourselves the best chance to connect with the kids we care about to guide them through the tough times. We hope you like it and can't wait to hear your reflections, questions and advice.

We had an amazing evening celebrating our 100th episode and we hope you enjoy it as an episode. You can also watch the entire event on our youtube channel too! We forgot to read out the poll questions so we've included them below with answers. Thank you all for an amazing 100 episodes and episode 101 will be out in early Feb 2025. Check out our Patreon in the mean time as we grow our community there too ❤️ LIVE SHOW POLL 1. Favourite part of PCP? Advice - 1st Friendship & community - 2nd Jokes and fashion - 3rd 2. If they were to remake Legends of the Fall who should be recast for the role of Tristan (photo of Tristan with this question)? Nick - 49% Billy - 51% 3. Do you feel like you have the right knowledge and resources to guide a growing mind? Yes - 80% No - 20% 4. What is your favourite topic & movie combination? Mean Girls & parenting style

Love is in the air in this episode with beautiful reflections, honest questions and overwhelming feedback about love. Please have tissues ready as we both needed them multiple times in this heartfelt journey through a small fraction of the amazing emails and messages that were sent to us on this important topic. Thank you to everyone who has shared this journey with us over the last 3 years. We hope you like this episode and we love being a part of the PCP community.

For the final topic of the year Nick & Billy discuss a subject close to their hearts. Interstellar & love is an adventurous exploration of the science of love and how it can guide us in supporting the children in our lives. Please send in your questions about love, reflections on your own experience and tips to help all of us navigating this space. It's been a wild spaceship ride and we love all of you for sharing it with us.