TEA WITH JULES There Is No Perfect Parent - Maggie Dent On Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids and the Realities of Parenting
Feb 24, 2026
Maggie Dent, Australian parenting educator and bestselling author, offers practical, compassionate advice for raising emotionally healthy kids. She tackles phones and social media, pornography and awkward sex talks, alcohol and party safety. She also covers grief, boys’ emotional depth, consequences vs punishment, body image, and five clear parenting tools.
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Tech Companies Drive Harm Not Parents
- Social platforms use persuasive design to keep kids engaged for profit, so parental controls and time-limits are insufficient.
- Maggie frames tech companies as largely responsible for targeted harm, relieving parents from misplaced guilt.
Coach Kids To Pause And Report Harmful Content
- Teach kids how to respond to harmful online content: pause, close the screen, don't share, and report instead of hiding it.
- Reassure them they won't be punished for reporting pornography or trolling so they feel safe to ask for help.
Talk About Porn Simply And Often
- Have repeated calm, nonjudgmental chats about pornography: normalize sexual development, warn it's not realistic, and name harms like lack of consent and extreme acts.
- Use short moments (e.g., car rides) to drop facts, then revisit gently later.
