259. Emotional Intelligence in Teens: Help Your Child Manage Big Emotions

259. Emotional Intelligence in Teens: Help Your Child Manage Big Emotions

Author: Therese Connolly May 5, 2026 Duration: 31:16

Is your teen or preteen having big emotional reactions, shutting down, snapping back, or melting down over what seems like a small issue?

In this episode of The Single Parenting Reset Show, Tess Connolly, LCSW, talks with Dr. Rosina McAlpine, work and family wellbeing expert from Win Win Parenting, about how parents can help tweens and teens build emotional intelligence and learn to manage their emotions more effectively.

Dr. Rosina explains that emotional intelligence is not just about “calming down.” It includes several skills: knowing your own emotions, managing those emotions, recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships.

These skills are connected to better relationships, stronger school and work performance, improved mental health, better physical health, and greater life satisfaction.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What emotional intelligence really means
  • Why emotional intelligence matters for teen behavior and wellbeing
  • How parents can help teens notice and name their emotions
  • Why emotional regulation has to be taught step by step
  • How screen time, gaming, and social media can affect mood
  • Simple ways parents can model emotional regulation
  • How to help teens build empathy and relationship skills
  • Why “look for the win-win” can reduce conflict at home

If your teen struggles with emotional outbursts, irritability, shutting down, or conflict, this episode will help you understand what is happening and how to begin building emotional intelligence one small step at a time.

Listen now and start with one simple shift: help your teen notice what they are feeling before trying to fix the behavior.

Dr. Rosina an internationally recognized expert on parenting, managing work and family life, working parents, researcher, and media contributor. Dr. Rosina is the founder of Win Win Parenting, a research-based program that is delivered in small, medium and large organisations and workplaces for all levels of government to inspire and resource working parents with strategies to better navigate day-to-day parenting challenges, support their mental health, manage work-life balance, reduce stress, and prevent burnout.

Dr. Rosina can offer a unique perspective –she has been featured on TV, print and radio media platforms – highlights include: the New York Post, The Today Show, with a regular spot on ABC Radio, and has spoken at corporate events globally. https://www.winwinparenting.com/media

https://www.drrosina.com/media

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📧Connect with Therese (Tess) Connolly, LCSW, CCC here👇: therese@mindfulkidsandfamilies.com Website: www.mindfulkidsandfamilies.com

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The Single Parenting Reset Show supports single moms, working moms, and all parents with practical parenting tips on screen time, emotional regulation, co-parenting, stress relief, setting boundaries, building trust, and raising confident tweens and teens, while tackling tech addiction, behavior problems, and parent burnout with conscious parenting strategies for stronger family connection.

#singleparents #parentingtweensandteens #ScreenTime #behaviorproblems #Communication


Navigating the tween and teen years alone comes with a unique set of daily tests, from managing defiance to negotiating screen time in a connected world. Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens is here for that journey. Hosted by Therese Connolly, a licensed clinical social worker and family coach, this podcast moves beyond theory to offer actionable steps you can use immediately. Therese draws on both professional expertise and a genuine understanding of the solo parent reality, where you’re the only one setting boundaries and mending fences. Conversations focus on turning behavioral challenges into opportunities for growth, finding realistic ways to pull kids from their devices, and fostering a home where communication actually works. You’ll hear strategies for building your own confidence as a parent while strengthening your family’s connections, all without the sugar-coating. This is a space for single moms and dads seeking real-life support, where every episode aims to provide a practical reset for the week ahead. Tune in for a blend of compassionate guidance and concrete tools designed specifically for the solo parent raising adolescents.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens — Manage Behavior Problems, Reduce Screen Time & Improve Communication
Podcast Episodes
294. What to Say When Your Teen Says, “You Can’t Make Me” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:39
Your teenager looks you in the eye and says:“You can’t make me.”Those four words can make a parent feel as though their authority is being tested—and that they need to win the moment immediately.But responding with “Oh,…
293. Disrespectful Teenager? What to Do Before You Give a Consequence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:08
Your teenager rolls their eyes, insults you, says “whatever,” or slams the door—and your entire body reacts.You immediately think:They cannot speak to me this way.So you take the phone, cancel the weekend, or announce a…
291. Teen Won’t Talk to You? How to Help Them Open Up Without Pushing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:45
Your teen comes home, closes their bedroom door, and gives you one-word answers.You ask how their day was.“Fine.”You ask whether anything happened.“No.”You ask if they are upset with you.“I don’t know. Can you please lea…
290. What to Say When Your Teen Says Vaping Is No Big Deal: 5 Scripts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:19
You find a vape in your teenager’s room, backpack, or pocket. When you ask about it, they shrug and say:“It’s not a big deal.”“Everyone does it.”“It’s only nicotine.”“I can stop whenever I want.”“You’re completely overre…