“Strike while the iron is cold”
During those testing moments in family life, the ones that involve teenagers, I try and remember what I was like at that age.
As it was nearly 40 years ago, my brain is very different now, so it was great to have a wonderful lesson this week, on how the teenage brain works.
It came from Dr Russell Woodhead, the founder of Thriving Teen Psychology. Russell is a fabulous guest and the man who introduced to me to one of my now favourite sayings “strike while the iron is cold”.
“We’re never bored when there’s a teenager in the room”
Ha! Russell is so right. He was also full of great advice and suggestions on supporting teenagers with emotional dysregulation. We see it when/if they struggle to control impulsive behaviours and have emotional outbursts.
Most parents have experienced some degree of this – that time when it seems like one seemingly innocent comment or request can cause them to ‘fly off the handle’.
Russell helped to put everything into perspective in terms of what’s going on when a teenager’s emotions are high, and when they might need additional help and support.
It was a really enlightening conversation and, if you missed it, I can’t recommend it highly enough. You can watch Russell HERE.
This week’s tips:
And they come from Russell:
‘A measure of dysregulation is absolutely normal in adolescents and it may even be helpful. It will pass but if it’s ever more than you can safely manage, then there’s no shame in it and it’s fine to reach out and get support.’
A helpful phrase to use after an emotional outburst (and once the situation is calm) is ‘Can you tell me what you want me to do?’
A great way of understanding the way teenagers think and respond is to read The Essence of Adolescence by Dr Dan Siegel
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