Dr Kathy Weston

One of our researchers of the month, Professor Amelia Lake, talks to Dr Cassie Rhodes about her newly published study, co-authored with Dr Shelina Visram and other members of the FUSE team. It outlines numerous risks associated with children and young people's consumption of energy drinks, including an increased incidence of mental health problems. Professor Lake talks us through the evidence, outlines her hopes for policy change and provides some useful practical suggestions for parents and schools.

Our Researcher of the Month, PhD student Anda Solea, talks to us about her new paper, ‘Mainstreaming the Blackpill: Understanding the Incel Community on TikTok’. She discusses how misogynistic incel ideology is proliferating on mainstream social media platforms through the use of covert messaging and pseudoscience, and considers what parents and teachers might be able to do to counter these messages and encourage young people to think critically about the things that they see online.

In this interview, Advanced Specialist Eating Disorder Dietitian, Paola Falcoski, helps us get to grips with ARFID; an eating disorder where individuals have a very restricted diet, but are not motivated by body image concerns. We learn about the characteristics of ARFID, the diagnosis process and numerous strategies that can help to expose children and young people to new foods. Paola also fills us in on some excellent free resources that will benefit young people, parents and school staff.

In this interview, we learn all about developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and get some top tips from two experts in the field. We also hear about an exciting research project, which schools might be interested in joining!

Cybercrime expert, Dr Lisa Sugiura explains what the 'manosphere' is and explores the harms of online misogyny and how it might impact on young people. This interview is packed with tips about how to talk to young people about these issues, encouraging cognitive flexibility and critical consumption of what see and read online.

In this interview, Professor Peter Smith and Dr Jennifer St.George talk to us about their fascinating work on rough and tumble play. What is it? How does it differ from play fighting? And how should we respond to this kind of play, both at home and at school?

Our Researcher of the Month, PhD student, Gemma Goldenberg, tells us about her exciting research into the impact of learning outdoors on young children. Tune in for some fascinating findings about how simply being outdoors for a few minutes has a significant positive impact on children's physiological stress levels.

In this episode, Dr Hope Christie speaks with three guests Scott Mair (Fathers Network Scotland), Kieran Anders (Dad Matters) and Professor Anna Tarrant (University of Lincoln), about the importance of father mental health, father inclusive practices and the role of fathers within a family unit.

In this episode, Professor Anna Tarrant talks with us about the importance and value of grandparents and other kinship carers. Find out about the role grandparents can play in a child's life and the benefits to a child's development of having extended family.

Monique Thoonsen, author of 'Sensory Processing in the Classroom' and 'Making Sense of Your Senses' talks to us about what sensory processing is, why it's so important and how we can best support children who struggle with processing sensory input.

Researcher of the Month, Camille Mori discusses her new paper, which examines the links between exposure to explicit sexual content and problematic sexual behaviours in children and teens. She talks us through the differences between normal and problematic sexual behaviours in children of different ages and outlines what we know about its relationship to exposure to sexual content, both online and in the home. Any interested parent or educator should listen for tips on how to open up conversations about sex and relationships generally and best practice on how to respond effectively if your child is either exhibiting problematic behaviours, or has been impacted by the behaviours of someone else.

PhD student and educational psychologist, Miranda Eadonable talks about how foetal alcohol spectrum disorder can impact on children's learning and behaviour. She tells us about her research, explores how teachers can best support children and young people with FASD and points listeners to numerous useful resources.

In this episode, we learn more about alopecia and how best to support children and young people affected by the condition.

Dr Weston is joined by Becky Vieira, author of 'Enough About the Baby' and the woman behind popular Instagram account, #wittyotter. They chat about the first year of motherhood and all of its challenges and frustrations. Becky's book doesn't shy away from all those common taboos, from managing nosey in-laws and an anxious partner to surviving the first postpartum poo and when to seek out treatment for depression! Tune in for plenty of advice and tips.

Researcher of the Month, Anya Heneghan talks to us about her work which examines the experiences of siblings when they have a brother or sister with an eating disorder. She talks us through what the existing research shows about how consuming eating disorders can be for siblings and provides numerous tips to help parents support all of their children throughout this very challenging situation.

Researcher of the month, Professor Claudia Bernard discusses her recent paper which explores the experiences and perspectives of designated safeguarding leads in fee-paying schools to understand how they engage affluent parents when there are safeguarding and child protection concerns.

In this interview, Professor Johan Korhonen talks with us about math anxiety and its role on math performance. Find out about why math anxiety may develop in children, what are the early signs of math anxiety, and how it may impact future educational aspirations. Professor Korhonen provides a number of insights into strategies both parents and teachers can implement immediately at home and at school to ease math anxiety in children.

Researcher of the month, Professor Beatriz Ilari chats to us about how music has a wide-ranging impact on young people's social and emotional development. We might assume that being 'musical' means playing an instrument, but Professor Ilari stresses the importance of everyday musical experiences and simply of listening to and engaging with our favourite bands or songs. In this interview, we find out more about her fascinating work.

In this interview, Professor Courtenay Norbury talks with us about developmental language disorder (DLD), which she describes as a 'chronically understudied' topic. Find out about early signs and what impact it might have on children and young people's development. Professor Norbury provides numerous practical strategies for both parents to use at home and teachers to try in the classroom to help children with DLD have as good outcomes as possible.

Did you know that the ability to regulate our emotions well is connected to better mental health and wellbeing, academic achievement and stronger and more long lasting personal relationships? In this interview, Dr Erika Galea talks us through the most effective strategies for building the vital skill of emotional regulation which can be used in both the classroom and at home with children and young people of all ages.