Parenting Teenagers Untangled for Fearless Parents: I help you fear less and wonder more
Rachel Richards

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Are you tired of yelling at your teen – and hating yourself afterwards?
In this episode of Teenagers Untangled, I talked with parenting and relationship coach Diane Sorensen about how to stay calm with teens, stop power struggles, and set healthy boundaries without becoming a pushover.
If you’re dealing with eye-rolling, “disrespectful” attitudes, shouting matches, and constant tension at home, this conversation will help you:
Understand why you get so triggered by your teen’s behavior
Shift from controlling behavior to nurturing real connection
Use simple emotional regulation tools to pause before you explode
Tell the difference between calm parenting and permissive parenting
Create healthy boundaries that reduce resentment and build trust
Repair after you’ve shouted and show your teen that change is possible
We talk about creating boundaries, unpack practical strategies like the PARR method (Pause, Acknowledge, Respond, Reflect), how to reframe “disrespect” as information, and why owning your triggers is the fastest way to transform your relationship with your teen. If you’ve ever thought, “I promised I wouldn’t parent like this, but I don’t know how to stop,” this episode is for you.
Diane Sorensen
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Please don't hesitate to seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. There's no shame in reaching out for support. When you look after yourself your entire family benefits.
Find all the tips from the episdoe on Substack:
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You can reach Susie at www.amindful-life.co.uk - Ask Rachel anything
If you’ve ever fallen in love with someone who already has children, or tried to blend two families and thought, “Why is this so hard? What’s wrong with me?” – this episode is for you. You are not broken, and you are definitely not alone.
I was joined by Masha Rusanov, coach, writer, and author of Repatterned.
Together we unpack:
Why step‑parenting can feel so emotionally different from parenting your biological children
How to prioritise connection before correction with bonus kids
The idea of “natural parenting” – why step‑parents shouldn’t be the main disciplinarians
What healthy co‑parenting and emotional regulation look like when there are exes, new partners, and multiple households in the mix
Practical, everyday strategies to reduce conflict and build trust over time
Click here for all of the tips from the episode
Whether you’re a step‑parent, a biological parent in a blended family, or you co‑parent across different homes, this conversation will help you feel seen, supported, and better equipped for the long game.
Masha Rusanov
Support the show
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.
Please don't hesitate to seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. There's no shame in reaching out for support. When you look after yourself your entire family benefits.
Find all the tips from the episdoe on Substack:
My email
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact me
Instagram
Facebook
You can reach Susie at www.amindful-life.co.uk - Ask Rachel anything
Are women naturally good at being mothers or is that a cultural myth?
It matters because if we believe women are naturally good at it then they deserve no kudos for the work they do and when we do struggle it lays the blame firmly at our feet, rather than the society we live in.
In this episode, I was joined by historian and postnatal practitioner Alex Bollen, author of Motherdom, to unpack the “good mother” myths shaping our culture—and our guilt.
We challenge the idea that care is “natural,” reveal how shaky science and social media fuel certainty and shame, and show why there’s no single right way to raise teens.
You’ll learn practical tools to lower pressure at home: the weekly myth check, the “misery test” for your to‑do list, stress reframes that build resilience, and village-building strategies that widen support for you and your child. Step away from perfection, toward curiosity and community—and parent your teen with more calm, confidence, and kindness.
Read the episode write-up here
Support the show
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.
Please don't hesitate to seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. There's no shame in reaching out for support. When you look after yourself your entire family benefits.
Find all the tips from the episdoe on Substack:
My email
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact me
Instagram
Facebook
You can reach Susie at www.amindful-life.co.uk - Ask Rachel anything
Welcome to a special mini-series from Teenagers Untangled — seven simple, practical "parenting seeds" to plant over a week, preparing for when your child moves into secondary school or returns from summer.
These are gentle shifts, not rules to perfect: They're designed to help you focus on what really matters, and reduce your stress.
They'll help you to move from fixing problems to mentoring your child, build emotional safety at home, and give your teen the confidence to make good choices.
These are the big picture things I wish I had known much earlier in the teen years.
If you'd like an early release of this information and daily email reminders as the series unfolds, and more support, join me on Substack
Seven seeds:
Changing gears: be explicit about the shift in your parenting from monitoring to mentoring.
Make home safe and predictable: create routines and anchors so home feels stable amid constant change.
Catch them doing good: notice and praise strengths to build a positive identity and reduce fear of mistakes.
Listen until they feel understood (LUFU): use super silence and active listening; summarise and ask before offering advice.
Model what you want to see: especially with technology: demonstrate the habits you want your teen to adopt.
Be curious about yourself: notice triggers, respond with curiosity not criticism, and model emotional regulation.
Talk to your kids before others do: proactively discuss vaping, pornography, nudes, drugs, alcohol and groomers. Role-play responses so they’re prepared before they come under pressure.
Support the show
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.
Please don't hesitate to seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. There's no shame in reaching out for support. When you look after yourself your entire family benefits.
Find all the tips from the episdoe on Substack:
My email
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact me
Instagram
Facebook
You can reach Susie at www.amindful-life.co.uk - Ask Rachel anything
Announcing my summer top tips series where I give you a short episode of tips organised around themes to help you focus on what you and your tween or teen needs to prepare you for the new school year.
Make sure you’re following the show to ensure you don’t miss any and if you want to get them early and have the tips delivered weekly directly to you just click here Send me the free newsletter and enter our email address. You’ll get them straight to your mailbox.
The tips start next week, in the meantime here’s a rerun of the Reading Festival episode because I’ve had so much amazing feedback on it:
Music festivals are a rite of passage for many teens. Whilst some love the music, the lack of restriction and opportunities to mingle in a way that they could have only dreamt of during Covid, others decide to give them a miss or go and positively hate the experience.
I was never a festival kid growing up. I didn't have the money, or the opportunity. As an adult, I've found them to be joyous events, but will always refuse to stay the night.
My girls have now both been to one of the key UK festivals, Reading, so I thought you might be interested to hear more about what to expect if your kids are keen to go, how best to plan ahead, and what the key issues turned out to be.
Support the show
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.
Please don't hesitate to seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. There's no shame in reaching out for support. When you look after yourself your entire family benefits.
Find all the tips from the episdoe on Substack:
My email
My website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact me
Instagram
Facebook
You can reach Susie at www.amindful-life.co.uk
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About Parenting Teenagers Untangled for Fearless Parents: I help you fear less and wonder more
Most parenting advice tells you what to do. I help you see things differently.I'm Rachel Richards, a former BBC correspondent, CNBC Europe World News Anchor, parenting coach, mum of four, and host of the Teenagers Untangled podcast. Every week, I interview world-leading experts, dig into the latest research, and challenge the assumptions that leave so many parents feeling anxious, guilty or stuck.Because I don't believe it's just about having more information. I believe parents need a different lens.Fear tells us our teenager is lazy, rude, addicted or deliberately difficult. Wonder asks, What's really going on? What need, skill or fear might I be missing?When we replace fear with curiosity, we make better decisions, drop our judgement and start connecting, and raise young people who are more resilient, independent and emotionally healthy.If you're tired of parenting through worry, conflict or self-doubt, you're in the right place.Join thousands of parents each week as we learn to Fear Less. Wonder More.The Podcast:A fellow mum begged me to start my podcast because she wanted someone she trusted to help her through the teen years, and I’ll be forever grateful to her because the journey has transformed my own parenting and benefited my family beyond imagination.Here’s the good news, this podcast is free and you can learn everything I learned just by starting at the beginning and going through every episode.If you want to go a bit faster then scroll through and pick subjects that cover what you need right now. If you can’t find what you want then message me and I’ll tell you which one will help you most. If it’s not something I’ve covered then I’m like a dog chasing a stick, so you’ll soon get your answers.My main aim is to help you stop trying to be perfect, or comparing yourself and your kids with others. Your only real job is to focus on getting to know the amazing people you have in your life, loving them unconditionally, and showing them you believe they can do hard things.JOIN ME ON SUBSTACK:For those of you who want more, or who just want to help me feel like the pebbles I have dropped in the ocean of life are making a difference, why not join my paid community? You’ll get one-to-one support and printable PDF’s that give you the top tips from each podcast episode so you have your own little, bespoke manual.ASK ME ANYTHING: I’m very busy behind the scenes reading everything so you don’t have to, and when you subscribe you have the chance to ask me anything. If I don’t know the answer I’ll head out like an eager truffle pig, ready to snuffle out the best for you.COMMUNITY: I’ll be offering regular extras, including tips and thoughts, that help you tune into what matters.All of the community notes, and tips, will remain available to paid subscribers. I want to make this more about fun and less about fear.PDF NOTES: So many listeners say they have rewound the episodes to write down notes, well now there’s no need. Paid subscribers will have a weekly, downloadable, summary of the top tips from each episode, so you don’t have to take notes.Please let me know if there are any old episodes for which you’d like the notes. I’m very happy to supply them.POINTERS: Ask me if there’s something you’re struggling with, I can tell you which episode is most suitable for you, because there are a lot to trawl through.
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