Do you ever feel like every conversation with your teenager turns into advice, worry, or an attempt to fix something?

What if the best thing you could do for your teen was to stop talking and simply listen?

In this episode of Name What Works, parent and teen coach Ashley Radzat sits down with educator, interfaith chaplain, and Buddhist minister Maria Urdinarrain for an honest, funny, and deeply personal conversation about parenting teenagers, letting go of control, and learning how to be present without needing to fix everything.

As Maria prepares to send her oldest daughter off to college, she shares how she learned to recognize her own fears without allowing them to limit her daughter's experiences. Together, Ashley and Maria explore why parenting adolescents requires us to change, how our anxiety can influence our children's independence, and what happens when we give teenagers room to tell their own stories.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why teenagers don't always need our advice or solutions
• How to listen so your teen feels heard and understood
• Letting go of parental control without losing connection
• How our own fears can shape the choices we make for our children
• Why pausing before responding can change a difficult conversation
• The power of curiosity, nonjudgment, and emotional reflection
• How to support your teen through painful experiences without taking over

One of the most powerful ideas from this conversation is that your teenager needs you to be an audience to their story, not always another character in it.

You don't have to get every conversation right. You don't have to have all the answers. Sometimes the most meaningful thing you can offer your teenager is your presence.

🎙️ About Name What Works

Hosted by Ashley Radzat, parent and teen coach, educator, and author of Parenting in the Third Stage: From Holding Hands to Holding Space, Name What Works helps parents of teens reduce conflict, improve communication, and build stronger connections with their teenagers.

💬 Join the conversation: What's harder for you as a parent—letting go of control or resisting the urge to fix things? Share in the comments.

👍 If this conversation resonated with you, like this episode and subscribe to Name What Works for more honest conversations and practical parenting strategies.

#ParentingTeens #TeenCommunication #ParentingAdvice

Fear Less, Wonder More with Rachel Richards

In this episode of Name What Works, Ashley Radzat talks with Rachel Richards, former BBC correspondent, parenting coach, mother of four, and host of Teenagers Untangled, about parenting teens with more curiosity, connection, and confidence.

Rachel explains that teens are not problems to fix. They are developing adults who need parents to approach them with wonder instead of fear. Her guiding idea, “fear less, wonder more,” encourages parents to pause, ask better questions, and stay open instead of reacting with panic or judgment.

Ashley and Rachel discuss why teens need status, respect, responsibility, and real conversations. They also explore difficult topics like social media, pornography, drugs, risk-taking, apologies, and honesty. The focus is not on having perfect answers, but on creating a home where teens feel safe enough to talk.

Rachel also shares why she feels hopeful about today’s teenagers. Many are emotionally aware, empathetic, and eager for meaningful conversations when adults make space for them.

In this episode:

● Why teenagers do not need fixing

● What “fear less, wonder more” means

● Why curiosity works better than judgment

● How to talk about hard topics without panic

● Why parents should model imperfection and apologies

● Why today’s teens give parents reason for hope

This episode is a reminder that parenting teens is not about control. It is about curiosity, safety, respect, and staying connected as they become their own people.

In this episode of Name What Works, Ashley Radzat talks with longtime teacher Matt Langley about teaching, public speaking, writing, and why helping children find their voice can change the way they see themselves.

Matt shares that after 30 years in the classroom, innovation is what has kept him coming back. He explains how his early work with creative writing showed him that children naturally want to tell stories, share ideas, and be seen through their own words.

A major focus of the conversation is Matt’s “speech of the week” program. Each week, students prepare and deliver a short speech, learning how to organize their thoughts, speak clearly, stay on topic, and build confidence. Ashley connects this to how children introduce themselves to the world through language, posture, and the way they communicate.

Matt explains that public speaking does more than improve performance. It strengthens writing, listening, self-worth, and classroom community. Students learn how to speak, but they also learn how to listen with respect when their classmates are speaking. Ashley and Matt also talk about grace in the classroom. Whether students are drawing, writing, or speaking, Matt believes children need space to try, revise, forgive themselves, and show who they really are without feeling judged.

In this episode:

• Why kids need chances to speak before they fear public speaking
• How writing and speaking build confidence together
• Why listening is part of communication
• How teachers can create reverence in the classroom
• Why children’s behavior is not the definition of who they will become
• How grace helps students take creative risks
• Why one small weekly practice can shape a child for life

This episode is a reminder that children need more than curriculum. They need adults who listen, encourage, guide lightly, and create spaces where they can discover their own voice.