Parents Navigating the Teen Years

As parents we all want to see our kids grow into capable, strong, individuals who can lead themselves and others with purpose. In this podcast, we explore actionable steps that parents can take to nurture the leader within their teen.

Joining us today is Alan E. Nelson, Ed.D. who is a leadership development specialist, trainer, speaker, and Lecturer of Management at the Naval Postgraduate School (www.nps.edu). He previously taught at USC, UCI, LMU, and Pepperdine. Dr. Nelson founded KidLead Academy, the world’s first online course to train parents how to develop their child’s leadership potential (www.kidlead.com). He also founded LeadYoung Training Systems, designing organizational leadership curricula for 3-23-year-olds (www.LeadYoungTraining.com). He is the author of 40 books and over 200 articles on personal growth and leadership and the founder of KidLead Inc., a nonprofit focusing on young leader development.

Alan has a doctorate (Ed.D.) in leadership from the University of San Diego. During the first half of his life, he was an entrepreneurial leader in the social sector. In midlife, he concluded that leadership development could have a better return on investment by focusing on leaders while they’re moldable, not moldy. Since 2008, Alan’s been a pioneer in young leader development, designing age-n-stage curricula for 3-23-year-olds. Dr. Nelson has traveled to a variety of countries to train people with his curricula, along with interacting with 1000s of preteens and teens, as part of his research.

• What can parents do to develop their child’s leadership potential?
• What are early indicators of leadership aptitude?
• Alan talks about key leadership qualities: persuasive, propelled, planner, power.
• Is a person born as a natural leader or can they develop into a leader?
• What are the benefits of developing your child’s leadership potential?
• How do parents inadvertently shut down their child’s leadership ability?

Sponsored by EdGerety.com

Resources

• Website: https://www.kidlead.com/
• Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanenelson/
• Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidLeadAcademy/
• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC280RZ3neguOVOPHNLmVq2Q

A very special 100th episode! Thank you to all of you, our amazing listeners. Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning in 2020, or you’re just tuning in now, you’ve helped make our podcast the success it has grown to be. I am grateful for your continued support of our programming!

I can’t think of a better guest today than the person I’m about to introduce. She has been by my side on this parenting journey, my incredible wife, Suzanne. In addition to being an amazing mom, she is the Director of Customer Experience & Channel Marketing at Revolution a REV UP BRANDS Company; a leading B2B organization that serves dance studios and educators world-wide.

She has a passion for leading growth, innovation, and change. Suzanne has been published in over 100 business articles for Dance Teacher Magazine’s "Ask the Experts" as a contributing columnist for over a decade. She regularly speaks and presents workshops at leading dance industry conferences and events.

Suzanne earned her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Child Development from Colby-Sawyer College. She has an MBA from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in Growth & Innovation. She is also a Certified Change Management Professional, CCMP.

This past July, we celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary!

• Each child is so different and the way we communicate with them needs to be too.
• How we open up the dialogue with them to communicate can be done in a variety of ways.
• Keeping family values in the forefront is essential in building a foundation for communication.
• Asking open-ended questions, then listening to what they share, can help you know how to support them.
• Are you giving advice, coaching them, or just listening?
• Every child’s stage of development is at their own pace.
• There is no “finding balance” as a parent, it’s about going with the ebb and flow of activity, seasons, sports, interests, and hobbies of each child.
• How to recalibrate when your teen gets too involved.
• There’s no one way to parent, we’ll make mistakes, we’ll learn. It takes a village.
• It’s important to apologize to your teen if you’ve not been at your best.
• Help them leverage with what they’re great at!
• There is so much we can learn from our teen’s.

Sponsored by EdGerety.com

Resources

• Book: How To Raise An Adult
• Book: The 5 Love Language’s

Tim Moore is a Master Hypnotherapist and Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner who has helped people throughout the world break free from issues and limitations that prevent them from living their best, most fulfilling lives. In addition to his work in private practice as a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner, Tim is also an author, speaker, and trainer of hypnotherapy through his Hypno-Mastery practitioner accreditation program.

In this podcast for parents of teens, we delve into understanding and nurturing the subconscious mind to help address common challenges faced during adolescence. We'll explore how to identify and overcome limiting beliefs, combat negative self-image, and develop resilience against bullying, as well as how the subconscious mind can help them reach their academic goals and future potential. The goal is to equip you with the tools to support your teen's mental and emotional well-being, empowering them to build a positive self-image and lead a more fulfilling life. Join us as we uncover the power of the subconscious mind in transforming the teenage experience.

• How the mind changes the way it receives and stores information as we grow
• Through our actions and best intentions, we often limit our teen's personal growth
• The impact of what you say and how it can create limiting beliefs in your child/teen
• How the root cause of a limiting belief can be transformed into a positive experience
• The subconscious mind, the conscious mind, and willpower
• The effects of social media and technology in shaping beliefs
• Misconceptions of hypnosis and how it can transform your reality in profound ways
• How hypnotherapy is one of the most powerful tools to making change, but also one of the most misunderstood.

Sponsored by EdGerety.com

Resources

• Website: https://www.mindoverthebody.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Free access to my mini course “Remove Self Doubt” (which would be good for both parents and teens): https://empowerment.mindoverthebody.com

Michael Dansinger, MD, is a weight loss and nutrition expert who advised NBC’s inspirational reality show “The Biggest Loser” for 10 years. He shares his insights and opinions about the global obesity epidemic, popular weight loss diets, weight loss and regain in Biggest Loser participants, and how to teach good eating habits to your teens when they can eat anything they want without consequences for their age.

Key Takeaways

• Dr. Michael shares why he believes the American diet is so unhealthy.
• Teenagers are getting a ton of mixed messages on how to eat.
• When it comes to healthy food, there isn’t a simple answer.
• It’s very easy for parents to be too extreme on both the unhealthy and healthy food spectrum.
• It’s okay to eat treats, but it has to be purposeful and not ‘accidental’ or because you have no choice/other options.
• Your home has to be a place that has mostly healthy foods.
• How do you teach your teen in a way that’s helpful?
• Parents need to negotiate with their teens and get buy-in with their teen on this process.
• Dr. Michael understands that parenting is not always so black and white.
• It’s good to have a consistent eating strategy in your household.
• If your teens get addicted to unhealthy food during these development years, it affects them throughout their adulthood.
• You can get your blood tested, which will provide you with a customized nutrition plan based on your type.

Sponsored by Lessons in Leadership online program: Edgerety.com

Resources

Michaeldansingermd.com/biggest-loser

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-dansinger-md-8788373/

Bostonheartdiagnostics.com

Quotes:

“For over 50 years, the American diet has been increasingly unhealthy, and this is because we allow food companies to advertise and promote unhealthy foods.”

“It’s all about navigating the ‘gray’ zone (of healthy and unhealthy), which is hard!”

“When a parent eats unhealthy food, it undermines their ability to do what I say, not what I do.”

Dr. Elizabeth Englander is a professor of Psychology and the Founder and Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State University, a Center which delivers programs, resources, and research for the state of Massachusetts and nationwide. She is a nationally recognized researcher and expert in the area of bullying and cyberbullying, childhood causes of aggression and abuse, and children’s use of technology. Dr. Elizabeth dives into how parents can set their teenagers up to win and develop a healthy technology routine in this week’s episode.

Key Takeaways

• About Dr. Elizabeth.
• How do we help our teens transition post-pandemic?
• A year isolated and away from your friends is a long time for teens.
• It’s important to acknowledge your teens feelings. This is way more distressing than we might realize.
• It might seem silly, but roleplaying helps wonders!
• Ask some open-ended questions on how your teen is feeling.
• Teens have lost some of their self-confidence, what can we do to best support them?
• A study that Dr. Elizabeth conducted has shown that teens are more anxious and depressed this year than ever before.
• How do you monitor what your teen is watching on social media?
• Most teen’s do not have terrible things happening to them online. It’s important not to catastrophize the situation.
• A sign of good parenting means they’ve helped their teen develop good judgement.
• We don’t have to be overwhelmed with anxiety when it comes to our teens social media use.
• Take technology out of the bedroom, especially if it’s disrupting your teens sleep.
• With older kids, it’s important to include them in finding a solution to their problem.
• Is your teen a victim of bullying? How can you help?
• 86% of teen’s were struggling with anxiety and depression this year.
• Don’t worry about the stigma. If your teen needs help, get them help.
• Is your teen just going through a phase?
• Keep talking to your kids, even if it might feel like it’s falling on deaf ears.

Sponsored by:

www.vsac.org

Resources

Englanderelizabeth.com

Quotes:

“This has been a big stressor for everybody. There is nothing wrong with having these feelings when you go through something like this.”

“When children get old enough, you want to mostly rely on their judgement. That means you want to talk to them.”

“Your children will make mistakes, and it won’t cost them their life. I promise.”