Children don’t come with an instruction manual, and the reason for this is that not all children are the same. If anyone tries to sell you a notion that there’s one way to parent, there isn’t. Good parenting involves being able to react and respond in a flexible way to the issue that your child is displaying. In light of this complexity, the ‘Asking for a parent’ podcast will describe the most common and complex child rearing challenges and provide better ways for listeners to understand a child's behaviour. One of the best predictors of child behaviour is a parent’s understanding of the meaning behind the behaviour. Therefore the discussions inform parents of why children do what they do, and how best to respond to it. Lots of parenting resources out there heap pressure on parents rather than promote reasonable expectations and understanding. This podcast is conversational, and will not be filled with jargon or unreasonable expectations. The solutions are be ‘real world’ and take into account of parental pressures of time and energy. Topics under discussion will include the severe challenges to the normative developmental issues. Ranging from a teenager who is developing eating disorder behaviours to a 5 year old who is nervous about going to birthday parties. All challenges are relative and the podcast will aim to be as comprehensive as possible. Listeners can send in their own questions or worries about their child or indeed about their own mental health concerns and these will be addressed where possible. About the author / presenter Dr Colman Noctor is a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and has working with families with mental health difficulties for 25 years and has a wealth of international experience. Colman does not describe himself as a ‘parenting expert’ as he believes the concept doesn’t exist. Colman’s advice and suggestions are based on his knowledge of the emotional, psychological and behaviour of children and the learnings he has achieved from working with families for the last 25 years. Graphics by Matchstick Media Ltd https://www.facebook.com/mstickmedia/