Handling emotionally immature parents, raising emotionally mature kids
6/6/202633 min
If you've never had good parenting modelled to you, how do you raise emotionally mature kids?
Clinical psychologist Dr Lindsay Gibson has thoughts. You might remember Lindsay from our extremely popular 2021 episode titled 'The damage done by emotionally immature parents (and how to heal)'. This week, she's back on All in the Mind, talking about the next generation.
From the difference between consequences and punishment, to the questionable/cruel videos some parents post on social media, Lindsay has insights, tips and 'absolutes' — her rules on what to definitely not do, in order to raise emotionally mature kids.
Also, keep an eye out for next week's mailbag episode, where we ask Lindsay your questions!
Guest:
Dr Lindsay GibsonClinical psychologistAuthor, How to Raise an Emotionally Mature Child
Credits:
- Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
- Senior producer: James Bullen
- Producer: Rose Kerr
- Sound engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan
You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAnthony Burke0:00
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Sana Qadar· Host0:36
It's so interesting. Like, before I had a kid, I had a lot of thoughts [laughs] about my parents and their parenting, or one in particular.
Lindsay Gibson· Guest0:45
Mm-hmm.
Sana Qadar· Host0:45
And then I had a kid and I was like, "Oh my God, this is so-" [laughs] "... freaking hard." I have so much more compassion and, uh, forgiveness because, oh, wow. Wow. This is hard.
Lindsay Gibson· Guest0:57
[laughs] Yes. Ab- absolutely. My mother, that was one of her favorite sayings when she got exasperated, was, "Just wait until you have children."
Sana Qadar· Host1:05
Oh my God, my mom too. [laughs] She would say that as well. And I'm like, "Wow, will I end up saying that to my kid one day?" [laughs] [laughs] Possibly. In 2015, clinical psychologist Lindsay Gibson wrote a book called Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents. It didn't make much of a splash at the time, but five years later, during the pandemic, it went viral. And then a few years after that, it hit the New