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We’ve spent the last few weeks listening to teens and it’s been an eye-opening, sometimes shocking, sometimes heart-warming experience. They’ve spoken to us about anger, home life, alcohol, self-harm, eating disorders, grief… their experiences in part shape who they are, as do the reactions and support of those around them.

Raising Teens, our radio show for BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey, starts back tonight and is on every Monday at 8pm up until Christmas. This series we’ve invited more experts and parents to join host Guy Lloyd to talk about how we can support teenagers, parents and everyone who works with, lives with, cares for and interacts with young people.

And whilst we’re dealing with difficult subjects in this series, the feeling we’re left with after listening to the teens, who’ve given up their time to share their stories, is one of hope. It is also one of immense gratitude. These young people really want to help their peers. They want to give them an insight into how to deal with difficult emotions, how to be more resilient and how to support each other.

Do join us Monday nights at 8pm from now ’til Christmas on BBC Sussex, BBC Surrey and online.

Catch up on series one here.

Raising Teens radio show


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How do parents cope when their teens kick off? Anger is a powerful emotion and the teenage years can see an explosion of strong feelings.

Raising Teens is back for a second series on Monday 4 November 2019. Episode one covers anger in teenagers. Our young reporter, Lola, interviewed teens to discover how they feel when the red mist descends.

“I just kind of feel explosive and just like I want everyone to shut up and listen and just… I dunno… I just feel really frustrated.”

“I can feel it tingling… like bubbling in my stomach. And it’s like, oh, not a nice feeling but it’s nice to get it out.”

Raising Teens host Guy Lloyd discusses why teens get angry, and what parents can do when it all kicks off, with four guests: Donna Peters-Lamb, psychotherapist at Make Sense Psychotherapy, PC Joe Davies, from Sussex Police Youth Prevention Team, Carl Scott, Reboot (early youth intervention programme) coach, and Ed Hallwood, Room to Rant tutor from Audio Active.

Join us at 8pm on Monday 4 November on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey and online.

If you need help with teenage anger, here are some great resources:

NHS advice on teen aggression and arguments 

Young Minds’ advice for teens on anger 

Young Minds’ advice for parents on anger

Young Minds’ Parents Helpline: 0808 802 5544 (Monday to Friday 9.30am – 4pm, free for mobiles and landlines) 

Audio Active’s Room to Rant: A space for young men to be themselves, talking and exploring their struggles and life experiences through spoken word, rap and hip hop.

Make Sense Psychotherapy: Donna Peters-Lamb’s private practice in the Brighton and Hove and East Sussex area

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We think every day should be World Mental Health Day. Because more needs to be done to help those who need it. We’re working with teens to highlight their wellbeing and to give them a voice. We’re also giving parents support in our brand new series of Raising Teens, starting on Monday 4 November on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey. This series we’re looking at teen anger, alcohol, grief, self-harm, family breakdowns, eating disorders, loneliness and the teenage brain. Each episode includes the voices of teens, interviewed by our teen reporter Lola, and advice from parents and experts. 

Raising Teens radio show promotional image

On World Mental Health Day, we’re calling for more should be invested in our young people – from a better education system – one that feeds our children’s minds and creativity and doesn’t exclude those who don’t fit – youth clubs and out of school support, all of which has seen a huge cut in funding over the past decade. The number of teenage suicides has risen 67% between 2010 and 2017 in England and Wales according to the Office for National Statistics. We think there should also be more support for parents and carers, teachers and health workers dealing with the rise in young people with mental health issues.

You can catch up on all of series 1 of Raising Teens which covers social media, school stress, sleep, resilience, body image, relationships, the teen brain and teen language. 

Plus, here are a ton of really useful links that we’ve collected along the way from all the amazing experts we spoke to.  If we’ve missed any really good organisations from our list, let us know in the comments below. Thank you!

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We’ve just signed up to Natasha Devon’s brilliant initiative, the Mental Health Media Charter. Launched in 2017, it is a set of seven guidelines for reporting and talking about mental health in the media and online.

Mental Health Media Charter badge

You can read the guidelines in full here – they’re not just good standards for the media, but for anyone talking about mental health.

Signing up to the charter means that we will do our best to talk responsibly about mental health – for example recognising the difference between mental health (which we all have) and mental ill health.

If you haven’t come across Natasha Devon before, she’s a campaigner for better awareness of issues around mental health, body image and gender and social inequality. Her book: A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental is a great read and full of insights and tips on everything “from Anxiety to Zero f***s given”.

We’re delighted to announce that Natasha will be a guest on our upcoming series of Raising Teens, due to air on BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey this autumn.

⭐️ Find out more about the Mental Health Media Charter

⭐️ Find out more about Natasha Devon

⭐️ Listen to series 1 of Raising Teens