Episode 39 - Parenting Challenges and Honest Conversations with Young Adults

**Episode 39 - Parenting Challenges and Honest Conversations with Young Adults** How do you stay connected to your young adult when conversations begin to feel more difficult? In this special episode of **Dare to Speak: Difficult Conversations That Can Change Everything**, Eve Stanway shares a reading from her new book, **Dare to Listen: Navigating Life’s Difficult Conversations with Young Adults Aged 16 to 28**. Drawing on 25 years of clinical experience, her own parenting journey and the complicated relationship she had with her father, Eve explores what happens when love is present, but understanding becomes harder. She reflects on the conversations she never had with her father, the mistakes she has made as a parent, and the profound shift that takes place when our children move from childhood into young adulthood. This episode explores: - Why conversations with young adults can suddenly become more difficult - What may sit beneath anger, withdrawal, silence or defensiveness - How our own childhood experiences can shape the way we parent - Why emotional regulation matters during difficult conversations - The difference between loving someone and helping them feel understood - Why advice is not always what a young adult needs - How rupture and repair can strengthen relationships - Why parents may need to move from being the **map** to becoming the **lighthouse** - How to keep the door open when your young adult is making choices you find difficult or frightening Eve also shares the moving story of a chance conversation with Aileen, a mother travelling to collect her adult son from prison, and reflects on the hidden complexity carried inside so many families. At the heart of this episode is one important idea: **If your young adult is to understand you, they first need to feel understood by you.** Parenting young adults is not about getting every conversation right. It is about remaining curious, managing our own fear and anxiety, listening more deeply and being willing to return and repair when things go wrong. As Eve writes in *Dare to Listen*, we may no longer be the map directing our children through life. We can become the lighthouse: steady, visible and present, offering safety without demanding that they follow our route. Buy Dare to Listen **Dare to Listen: Navigating Life’s Difficult Conversations with Young Adults Aged 16 to 28** by Eve Stanway is available now. **Buy your copy** here**:** https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dare-Listen-Navigating-Difficult-Conversations-ebook/dp/1918123373/ If you enjoy the book, please consider leaving an Amazon or Goodreads review. Reviews help other parents, carers and professionals discover the book. Please also share this episode with anyone who loves, raises or works alongside a young adult and is trying to keep communication open through the difficult moments. Thank you for listening. If you would like to comment or share a difficult conversation topic for a future podcast, please message me.🫶✨️ Connect with Eve Stanway If this episode resonated with you, find out more about working with Eve or book a free 20-minute confidential chat to talk about what is happening, what support you need and whether working together feels right. **Website:** www.evestanway.co.uk **Email:** [eve@evestanway.co.uk](mailto:eve@evestanway.co.uk) **Join the Dare to Speak Community** for thoughtful, non-judgemental support away from social media. Access Eve’s courses, expert interviews, monthly webinars and live Power Hour Q&As: https://join.evestanway.co.uk/ **Connect:** Instagram, YouTube & TikTok: @evestanway Facebook, LinkedIn & Substack: Eve Stanway Eve Stanway is a Difficult Conversations Expert, psychotherapist, coach, author and creator of the Listen, Speak, Lead Framework. **Books:** *Dare to Speak: Navigate Difficult Conversations with Confidence and Clarity* — www.evestanway.co.uk **Out now:** *Dare to Listen: Navigating Life’s Difficult Conversations with Young Adults Aged 16 to 28* https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dare-Listen-Navigating-Difficult-Conversations-ebook/dp/1918123373/