Bringing Up Britain

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Factual: Families & Relationships

Helping families make sense of one big parenting question.

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Bringing Up Britain: Series 16: Friend or Parent

Friend or Parent

Series 16

BBC Radio 4 - Bringing Up Britain, Series 16, Friend or Parent

Should I be a parent or a friend to my child?

The line between being a parent and a friend is becoming increasingly blurred. Will being a friend to my child make parenting easier? Angela Mutanda presents.

With the emergence of different parenting styles like attachment parenting and free-range parenting, the line between being a parent and a friend is becoming increasingly blurred. 

Some parents think being a friend to their child will make parenting easier, that the child is more likely to do what they want because they are friends. Others believe this strategy will confuse the child and that children need firm boundaries. 

Angela Mutanda explores some key questions: how do I find the right balance between parenting and friendship when it comes to my child? Will being a friend to my child make parenting easier? What are the dangers of being a friend to my child rather than a parent? 

She meets a mum-of-two, a 14-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son, who is struggling to find the best way to parent each one and looking for advice from the experts.

The Guests:
Catherine Hallissey, chartered psychologist based in Ireland
Jennifer Symonds, Associate Professor of Education, University College Dublin
Alun Ebenezer, founding headmaster of Fulham Boys School, London
Jenny Warwick, BACP registered counsellor in Sussex. 


Producer: Mohini Patel

Bringing Up Britain: Series 16

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Anjula Mutanda helps families make sense of one big parenting question.

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Bringing Up Britain

Series 16

Friend or Parent

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