Gabby Logan and her daughter Lois have joined forces with Boots and P&G for the second year of the #TeenTalk campaign which provides parents with the tips and tools to have the #TeenTalk with confidence. We caught up with her to talk about the ins and outs of this important conversation.
The #TeenTalk campaign provides parents and teens with the knowledge, support and tools to have the all-important #TeenTalk in confidence. From the 10th May, the #TeenTalk guide will be available from Boots stores nationwide as well as special offers of trusted P&G brands like Always, Venus and Tampax. This guide will arm parents with tips and advice to tackle the tough teen years, helping them to educate their teens about the changes they’re experiencing and the new products available to them.
I am not sure what the actual psychological reason for children changing is but it's clear that their hormones and brain development must affect how they communicate. They go from being very care free and easy going and enthusiastic and asking loads of questions and wanting to tell you everything to being a bit more surly and introspective. They must also feel quite confused as to why they are changing and why their moods are variable. To keep the lines of communication open is a challenge and we need to adapt how we do that as parents. Asking them questions in a different way and starting conversations at different times. With my son for example, when I pick him up from school he can be quite grumpy but if I ask him what he had for lunch it seems to open up the day. My daughter wants to talk about her friends and what went on with them and if there have been any disputes.
I think it is seen as a right of passage as it’s almost like the relationship you had with your child is one thing and what comes after the teenage years is the relationship you will have for the rest of your life. So you feel the weight of pressure to navigate those teenage years well. You as a parent are being forced to accept that they need freedom, they need responsibility and they need to make decisions that might end in disappointment but that’s tough as your job so far has been to protect them.
I don’t think I had a conversation as such with my parents. I remember snippets and bits of conversation but I was so much more awkward and embarrassed than my daughter and son have been. I honestly don’t think I knew what my menstrual cycle was when my period started. I didn't know what ovulation was and why I was feeling moody. If you have an idea about what is happening to your body I think it must help you to get through that period better. I wasted far too much time worrying about puberty, I wish hadn’t.
I think the puberty conversation is so important because if your child feels you are being honest and open they will hopefully feel that they can ask you anything after that. And I think the next big topic to come will be the ‘sex’ chat which naturally follows on. It is almost like you are building a big house and the foundations are the puberty chat, get that right and things will be much more straightforward and easer later in building a solid relationship built on love trust and honesty.
I don’t think you can say that the repercussions will be definitely this or that but I think you can have a much more positive outcome if you have a good puberty conversation than if you leave it to someone else to talk to your children or for them to find things out from their friends or the internet.
I am not nervous about chatting to my kids about puberty as we have already had conversations, we have a good honest and open relationship, I want to make them feel empowered about their bodies and what is happening to them.
I live with my children and together with their Dad, my husband, we are the people they trust most in the world. I want them to feel that they can ask my anything. I don’t expect that they are only going to talk to me, I don’t want them to just chat to me, but I want them to know I am there always.
I agree with Expert Teenologist, Sarah Newton, who has the following advice for parents when it comes to approaching the #TeenTalk:
I have a really lovely summer of athletics coming up with the world championships in London back at the Olympic stadium I think it’s going to be very exciting.
Gabby Logan and her daughter Lois have joined forces with Boots and P&G for the second year of the #TeenTalk campaign which provides parents with the tips and tools to have the #TeenTalk with confidence. As part of this, Boots is also offering great offers on the purchase of relevant products such as Venus, Always and Tampax products from the 10th May – 8th June and a free gift with purchase. For further information visit www.boots.com/teen-talk