This week I’m reflecting on the last 10 weeks and what it has meant for me and my daughter. I’m all about giving Mums and teens simple self-help tools so they can live their lives as calmly as possible, but I’ve actually been dropping my own self-help tools. What I’ve learnt is if we are aware of dropping those balls then we know how to pick them back up again…

In this week’s podcast episode, I explain how working with our teens is similar to dog training. Now before you ask what the hell? Bear with me and listen in to find out more….

In this week’s episode, I talk about why waiting for change on the outside doesn’t help us put ourselves first, only we can make that decision…

In this week’s episode, I’m here to remind you that all you need is 5 or 10 minutes of time within your day to do something for yourself, and by building it into something that you are already doing it makes it so much more achievable.

In this week’s episode, I’m talking about the topic of anger and aggression in our teens. What it all means and it’s not what society thinks.

If your teen is struggling it has a ripple effect on you and the whole family. If our teens can help themselves, this means we can actually take steps to look after ourselves. So in this episode, I discuss why our teen’s health is paramount to our own wellbeing.

In this episode, I bring you 3 simple and actionable ways to stop juggling, start living and gift yourself some time and space in your busy life.

In this episode, I introduce myself - who I am and why I do the job that I do, my background working in the NHS and what it feels like to be a Mum of a daughter with a chronic health condition.

In this episode, I discuss how it’s important to connect with yourself and your body, give yourself some headspace and create that little bit of time for yourself, even when you don’t have the energy.

In this episode, I introduce you to my new podcast just for mums that are juggling life. As a parent carer myself to my 16-year-old teen daughter, I’m here to share my experiences and support you as a parent carer. I also cover what you can expect from this podcast.

Life isn’t about being successful, it’s about communicating with those people who love you to your very core.

Looking after ourselves isn’t selfish as it’s when we put ourselves first, we give ourselves a lifeline so we can do the other things that we need or want to do. Our bodies are subtle and if we’re not giving ourselves that time, will give us little clues like increasing tiredness, headaches, not sleeping, eating or overeating, lots of infections, feeling low etc. It’s not normally because something else is going on, it’s simply because you don’t take the time for yourself.

Having the right support network around our teens helps us as Mums, as we are able to back off and begin to give them responsibility for their own lives. If you are a Mum of a teen with chronic ill health, do not despair, there are wonderfully supportive people out there who will go out of their way to ensure our teens get the support they so rightly deserve that they can achieve whatever they put their mind to!

Parenting a teen with chronic ill-health whether that’s physical, emotional or mental is hard, very very hard. Unfortunately, there is no way of getting away from that fact until society changes its view. However, even within these limitations, there are ways that you can find space for yourself and make time for your needs and I’m here to show you how.

Life with a teen sucks at times, especially one who’s got extra needs through whatever reason, whether that is behaviour, emotional, ill-health etc. All behaviours are caused by an emotion or a feeling so they are reacting to that feeling. I’m sharing my experience as a stressed-out mum with an anxious teen so you don’t need to feel alone.

Being holed up in their room is a safe zone, for your teenage daughter. They don’t have space to think about anything including self-care, looking after themselves or joining in with family activities. In this blog post, I explain 4 ways to reconnect with your teen even if she’s always on her phone or stays in her room all day.

The truth about being a Mum with a teen daughter, how life isn’t perfect and why it’s important to look after yourself first.

Why are you not putting yourself first? If you put yourself first then your teen will learn to put themselves first. It’s like the ripple effect – to throw a stone into a flat piece of water like a lake, then as that stone drops it creates air around it that then makes ripples gong out and out as far as the eye can see and that’s what self-care does to you, it literally has a ripple effect on those around you.