And while we’d love to be able to read their minds or know how they feel, it’s almost impossible to decode the turmoil that only bubbles out when they’re frustrated, excited, or angry.
What we DO know is that the 21st century is perhaps one of the trickiest times to be a teenage girl. Alcohol and drugs, mental health concerns, body image issues, technology and social media, premature or non-consensual intimacy, and friendship troubles are just a handful of the issues they struggle with.
To survive these years and flourish into womanhood, your daughter needs connection. As parents, we want that strong connection too, and we do our best to create it, but we’re often left with a mis-connect. So instead of helping them through this turbulent time, we can even end up pushing them further away.
The Miss-connection Summit is about one thing: taking you into the world of teen girl experience and helping you connect with your daughter in the way she needs you to. Ten people who are experts in different challenges your daughter’s facing - whether it’s drugs, body image, anxiety, or self-perception - will show you how to help your daughter in a safe, positive way.
But most importantly, Miss-connection will show you how to connect with your daughter the way she needs you to.
What’s really going on in the mind of your teenage daughter
How to help her while dealing with the eye-rolls and bad attitude
Strategies to keep her safe and informed without pushing her away
The best ways to support your daughter, no matter what she faces
Over the course of your day at the Summit, you’re going to hear a mountain of advice, ideas, and guidance. It might be a little overwhelming… and it might not be practical for you either. But if you can’t be there for every session, that’s OK.
As part of your registration, you get lifetime access to all the recordings. So, if you have to nip out to look after the kids — or you want to re-watch some of the talks a week later to fully get what they said — you can!
Dr Justin Coulson is one of Australia’s leading parenting and family experts, as well as the founder of Happy Families. As host and keynote speaker, Dr Justin will tackle the key issue of the Summit head-on: how to find true, meaningful connection with your teenage daughter.
In Justin’s live, interactive webinar, he’ll be discussing:
What is really going on in the minds of our teenage daughters
How we can stay connected to our daughters and keep them motivated
How we can keep them safe and informed
How to encourage them to develop strong, healthy relationships and resilience
The best things we can do to support our daughters
Simple tools and techniques to help you guide them
Turia was a mining engineer who got caught in a grassfire during an ultra-marathon. Despite severe burns, 200 medical procedures, and two years in recovery, Turia emerged to rebuild her life.
Since then, she’s walked the Kokoda Track, competed in Ironman Championships, and shared a stage with Tony Robbins. Today, she helps others overcome obstacles like self-doubt or low self-esteem to achieve their goals, no matter what they are.
Turia will be discussing:
What Turia was like as a teenager
How Turia mentally got through her recovery
Helping your daughter develop self confidence
The role of movement and exercise in wellbeing
The power of positive self-talk, connection and helping others
How the mother-daughter relationship evolves over time
Author, Ambassador, and Director of the social-change documentary "Embrace", Taryn is on a crusade to wipe out body dissatisfaction. Her Body Image Movement helps educate individuals and communities to recognise and celebrate bodies of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and abilities.
From her home in Adelaide, Taryn's powerful message has reached over 100 million people through the likes of The Washington Post, Good Morning America, and The Today Show.
You’ll be hearing from Taryn about:
How we were not designed to hate our bodies
Influences that destroy our body image
What does beauty actually mean
How to teach your daughter that her body is not an ornament
The changes that come from embracing your body
How to have fun with your body!
If Ginny’s face looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen it before! She’s a well known doctor who regularly appears on TV with shows like Medicine or Myth and Sunrise.
In addition to being a GP for close to 30 years and starting a cosmeceutical skincare business, Ginny works as a healthcare consultant to private companies, large and small.
You’ll be hearing from Ginny about:
When should you begin the puberty conversation
The things your daughter worries about the most
How to have the hard conversations
How to deal with pimples and acne
Answering the question: am I fat?
Everything your girls need to know about periods
She's been a travel writer, magazine editor, marketing executive, and radio producer. But today, Rebecca Sparrow's purpose is very different: to help teenage girls navigate the tricky path from childhood to adulthood.
Whether it's speaking to girls at high school, answering anonymous questions on her podcast, or writing books, Rebecca is ready to do anything and everything to help teenagers tackle the unique challenges they struggle with.
Exploring the “drama cyclones” your daughter can get caught up in, Rebecca will discuss:
How girls and boys do relationships differently
Why do girls struggle so much in their friendships?
The use of gossip as a bonding tool
The culture of the “best friend” in the schoolyard
How to help your daughter create positive relationships
5 characteristics of a good friendship
How do you successfully leave a friendship group?
Journalist. Author. Speaker. Madonna has built unmatched expertise on tackling the issues teenage girls face. She’s not only written books on the subject, but regularly advises corporations and governments on how to understand teenage girls.
Amongst her many achievements is the best-seller Fathers and Daughters, where Madonna interviewed over 500 girls and fathers to deeply explore both perspectives. Madonna will be sharing her best insights on how fathers can better connect with their daughters.
Madonna will explore:
The good news for dads and daughters
Finding your niche with your daughter
What happens when dad is involved in his daughter's life
Do dads do a lot of 'emotional labour'?
Where dads can do better
How and where can a dad start?
Having lived with anxiety since she was just four years old, Dr Jodi Richardson has spent three decades in study, clinical practice, and elite sport helping others deal with the condition. Using practical, evidence-based insights and strategies, she works to help parents, children, and educators find freedom from anxiety.
Having helped teenagers grapple with depression and anxiety, Jodi will explore how those challenges affect girls growing up, along with ways to help them escape the crippling effects.
In her discussion, Jodi will be talking about:
When does anxiety become a problem?
Symptoms of dysfunctional anxiety
Why are girls more prone to anxiety than boys?
What to do if your child is feeling anxious
How nutrition affects anxiety
Sleep, anxiety, and what to do if your child's struggling to sleep
How to help kids discover what works for them
Michelle has been helping teenage girls for over 20 years, first through her charity Youth Excel, then as a speaker and author. Dubbed the "teenage expert" by the media and sought after grounded advice, Michelle has shared her compassionate, down-to-earth advice on shows like Channel 10 Morning News and the Today Show.
With her charity having focused on harm prevention, Michelle knows all too well the risks teenage girls are exposed to, including self harm.
Taking you through this topic, Michelle will discuss:
Why self harm appeals to children in middle school
The cold, hard stats on teens self harming
Why teens today are struggling more than in the past
How do we even start to talk about self harm?
3 reasons children self harm & the needs they're trying to meet
What to do when our children are really in danger
Strategies to connect with your daughter
Drugs and alcohol are one of the most terrifying risks for teenagers, so it made sense to invite Paul Dillion to speak. Paul is the Director of DARTA (Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia), which provides education and training on these issues.
This is just part of his 25 years experience working in drug education. Paul has also written a best-selling book for parents on the topic, and regularly appears on TV to talk about the challenges parents and teenagers face.
In his discussion, Paul will cover:
The #1 thing you need to get right with alcohol
The "Mediterranean Effect" and why it's flat-out wrong
At what ages do kids begin to drink alcohol?
Why 14-year old teen girls start drinking
How underage kids are being exposed to alcohol and drugs
Conversations parents should have with their tweens and teens
Why you shouldn't ask your teen about their personal use
Technology plays a huge part in our life, and Martine Oglethorpe has dedicated herself to studying how it affects families. As a speaker, writer, and family counsellor, she enjoys discussing with community and corporate groups how they can best support kids in a digital world.
Recently, Martine's looked increasingly at digital wellbeing, especially around how parents can wean children from the extra "screen time" they've had due to the pandemic.
You'll hear from Martine about:
How much screen time is too much?
The difference between screen use in boys and girls
How do our daughters deal with social media pile-ons?
The emotional vortex of social media
How to set up our girls for social media success
The conversation you'll need to have about "screen rules"
Positive ways we can use our devices and social media
(recording also provided after the event)
(recording also provided after the event)
“Thank you. That was exceptional. I need to print some phrases out and put them on the fridge as a quick reference guide!”
FELICITY V.
“Such wonderful, helpful presentations! So many pointers to take away.
Thank you.”
KYLIE W.
“Absolutely beautiful wisdom! One that I will be willing to share with my less “open” husband, because I think it will actually make an impact!”
ANNELIESE G.
The Summit’s coming to your computer on Tuesday, 5 October. It starts at 9am sharp and runs over the course of the day.
The full price is $149, but if you jump on the Early Bird (available until Tuesday, 28 September), the cost is only $99. Happy Families Members receive an additional 20% off.
You will have lifetime access to the summit recordings. Please be aware that Happy Families will be moving to a new platform in October, so your login details may change. You can always get in touch with us if you need help getting access at any stage.
Just like the Happy Families webinars, the Summit will be a 100% online event.
We strongly encourage you to invite your daughter to join you for Taryn's "Embrace Your Body" presentation, and Turia's "You Can Do Hard Things!" presentation. The other presentations are designed more for adults, however some teens may enjoy the content. We invite you to use your best judgement for what will be appropriate for your child.
© Happy Families