This series of Raising Teens looks at issues around safety, drugs and pressure at home. It is broadcast on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey every Monday in February 2022. You can catch up on all episodes on the BBC website, or find links to specific episodes below.
Raising Teens is a warm-hearted and honest round-table discussion about parenting teenagers and teen mental health. First broadcast on BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey, in 2019, the show is hosted by presenter Guy Lloyd and includes teens’ own stories from Make (Good) Trouble’s young reporter Lola Ray, with additional reporting from Xenith Pocknell and Hamzah Ali. Lola’s teen stories are surprising, thought provoking and often delightful. The show aims to bring parents, carers, experts – everyone involved in raising teens – together to dispel myths around teen mental health and offer practical help and tips. This series is supported by Sussex Police.
👉 Looking for Series One, Series Two or Series Three?
Episode 1: Safety in the City
This episode looks at how safe young people feel when they’re out in the city. 86% of young women in the UK have experienced some form of harassment in a public space, according to a recent UN report. Since 2015, hate crimes related to sexual orientation and gender have risen year-on-year. So how do safety, and perceived threats, affect young women, young men & the LGBTQ plus community? What can teens do to feel and stay safe when they’re out? We’ll be discussing what services are available to victims of crimes like sexual assault or mugging. And what parents can do to help their kids stay safe when they’re away from home.
👉 Help and advice: Safety in the City
Guests are: Sergeant Joe Davis from Sussex Police; Sean Older, Senior Youth Worker for Trust for Developing Communities, and part of the Brighton Streets Project; and parent Suzanne Harrington.
Frst broadcast on Monday 7 February 2022 on BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey
🎧 Listen to Raising Teens: Safety in the City on BBC Sounds
Episode 2: County Lines
The Children’s Society describes county lines as “a form of criminal exploitation in which criminals groom and manipulate children into drug dealing. The ‘lines’ refer to the mobile phones that are used to control a young person who is delivering drugs often to homes outside their own county.” Due to its proximity to London, young people in Sussex are particularly vulnerable to being exploited by gangs running county lines. According to the Office of the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, the South East is the most at-risk region in the UK, and the Regional Organised Crime Unit has identified hundreds of county lines and dozens of under 18s involved in Sussex alone.
In this episode we talk about at the effects of county lines on communities, and how parents can spot the warning signs of their child being groomed by a gang, and the support that is available.
Guests are: Lee Tully, Youth Worker; PC Keith Beckley from Sussex Police; and James Houghton, Director of Future Voices, a Training, Development and Consultancy organisation for those working with children who suffer exploitation/extra familial harm.
This episode was first broadcast on Monday 14 February 2022 on BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey
🎧 Listen to Raising Teens: County Lines on BBC Sounds
Episode 3: Cannabis
This episode explores what effect cannabis is having on some young people today and why so many local young people are using it.
We ask what cannabis does to the development of a young person’s brain and what the best way is for a parent to react if their child starts smoking cannabis. We’ll look at whether the use of cannabis increased during lockdown as well as attitudes to cannabis between the generations.
Guests are: Carl Scott, Qualified drug & alcohol support worker, founder of Project Youth; Luci Hammond, Adolescent Health Worker from RU-OK? a young people’s substance misuse & sexual health service for Brighton & Hove; and Sergeant Scott Gosling from Sussex Police
First broadcast on Monday 21 February 2022 on BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey
🎧 Listen to Raising Teens: Cannabis on BBC Sounds
Episode 4: Pressure Cooker Families
This episode looks at the main causes for children running away and how parents can de-escalate a situation before it results in a young person running away from home. We find out who can help when a young person goes missing, and who young people can turn to if they don’t feel safe at home. We talk to experts and young people about their insights into what happens when a young person goes missing, and how that can be prevented.
Guests are: Paul Joseph, Head of Helplines at Missing People; Eli Adie, West Sussex Youth Hub Development Manager from YMCA Downslink Group; and Sergeant Scott Gosling from Sussex Police.
First broadcast on Monday 28 February 2022 on BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey
🎧 Listen to Raising Teens: Pressure Cooker Families on BBC Sounds