3 Shows to Watch With Your Teen: Conversation Starters
Some of the most meaningful conversations with our teens don’t happen face-to-face at the dining table. They can happen side-by-side, eyes on a screen, where there’s less pressure and more room for things to surface naturally.
Many parents feel that talking about emotions or mental health with their teens can feel awkward, forced, or shut down altogether. That’s understandable. Watching shows together can be a gentler, less confrontational way to explore big topics like mental health, identity, and the online world, without it turning into a formal uncomfortable “talk.”
Watching shows together creates that small, everyday openings. A brief comment, a shared reaction, or a simple question is often enough. There’s no need to binge-watch or turn each show into a lesson. Many families start here. If you'd like more support, you may find our parent guide on Discussing Mental Health helpful.
Below are three shows (and selected episodes) we recommend as manageable starting points for meaningful conversations with teenagers.
The Social Dilemma (2020)
“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”
Why We Recommend It:
This documentary can help teens with the words to something they already sense - that social media platforms are intentionally designed to influence how we think, feel, and spend our attention.
Seeing how notifications, infinite scrolling, and algorithms work can be a powerful “aha” moment. It often opens space for conversations about digital wellbeing and how social media affects one’s mood, self-image, sleep, and decision-making, without any blame and shame. It also reminds both parents and teens that even when platforms feel powerful, we still have agency in how we use them.
Content Considerations:
Manipulation and persuasive technology
Behavioural addiction
Anxiety and depression
Online bullying
Ways to Explore It Together:
Avoid jumping straight to confiscating devices or enforcing strict screen time rules, start by getting curious together
Explore questions such as:
“What makes us reach for our phones? Is it boredom, stress, loneliness?”
“How do certain apps make you feel afterwards?”
Review notifications or app settings together. Discuss using social media in ways that align with personal values rather than algorithms.
Approach this collaboratively to help teens feel a sense of control and agency, which matters as they seek more independence.
Keep digital wellbeing as an ongoing conversation rather than a one-off rule-setting moment. Small check-ins over time tend to land better than big interventions.
The Mind, Explained (Selected Episodes)
This series breaks down complex psychological concepts into short and accessible episodes that teens can relate to. The episodes below are ones we’ve found especially helpful as conversation starters.
Anxiety (Season 1, Episode 3)
“Treating anxiety is much more about learning how to experience anxiety.”
Why We Recommend It:
This episode explains how anxiety shows up in the brain and body. It helps normalise anxious feelings, especially for teens who are starting to notice stronger emotions and worry that something is “wrong” with them.
What stands out to us is that anxiety isn’t framed as something to eliminate. Instead, the focus is on understanding it, coping with it, and learning how to move through discomfort. For many families, this reframing alone can reduce fear around anxiety and open the door to more compassionate conversations.
Content Considerations:
Simulations of panic and overwhelming anxiety
Social pressures
References to substance use
Ways We Suggest Exploring It Together:
Validate your teen’s experiences with phrases like, “That makes sense” to help them feel seen.
Gently explore when anxiety tends to show up and what thoughts come with it.
Practise simple coping strategies together, such as slow breathing, grounding, or brief mindfulness exercises.
Create a small, personalised “toolkit” together for anxious moments, such as:
Physical movement (stretching, walking, jumping jacks)
Creative expression (doodling, colouring, journaling)
Sensory tools (stress balls, fidget items)
Self-soothing rituals (warm showers, tea, calming scents)
Connection (texting or calling someone trusted)
Positive reminders (sticky notes with encouraging phrases or past achievements)
Mindfulness (Season 1, Episode 4)
“Part of mindfulness is bringing awareness to what our minds are actually doing.”
Why We Recommend It:
This episode helps teens see mindfulness as a practical tool for emotional regulation, focus, and stress management, rather than something abstract.
It’s especially helpful for teens who think mindfulness means feeling calm all the time and becoming discouraged when that doesn’t happen. The episode reinforces that mindfulness is simply one tool among many. Parents may also find our article on How to Practice Mindfulness helpful.
Content Considerations:
Some religious or spiritual references
Distressing imagery, including references to self-harm
Ways To Explore It Together:
Try short practices together (a few mindful breaths, noticing sounds, brief mindful body scan).
Weave mindfulness into everyday activities like eating, walking, or washing hands.
Share what you both notice and how it affects mood or focus.
Model mindfulness yourself. Teens often learn more from what they see than what they’re told.
The Teenage Brain (Season 2, Episode 2)
“Every adult was once a teenager... but then we grow up and forget what it was really like.”
Why We Recommend It:
This episode offers a compassionate view on why teens feel emotions so intensely, take risks, and push for independence. During adolescence, pulling away from parents is a normal part of developing identity and autonomy.
Understanding what’s happening in the teenage brain can help reframe behaviours that might otherwise feel frustrating or worrying. Big emotions and impulsivity are not signs of failure or defiance, but simply part of a normal developmental phase. If this resonates, you may find comfort in reading more about why teens push parents away.
Content Considerations:
Risk-taking behaviours
Sexual content and some nudity
Alcohol and drug use
Violence
Discussions of sexuality and gender identity
Ways To Explore It Together:
Notice your initial reactions and pause before responding, especially when emotions run high.
Stay curious. Ask what your teen was thinking or feeling in that moment to help shift the tone of a conversation.
Co-regulate by staying calm and grounded.
Maintain clear and consistent boundaries. Teens still need structure, even when they push against it.
Focus on connection over control and guide decision-making by exploring pros and cons together instead of lecturing.
CNA – Confronting Youth Mental Health (2022)
“When we just label them, we may miss what their behaviour is telling us.”
Why We Recommend It:
This local documentary centres the voices of young people sharing lived experiences of anxiety, depression, trauma, isolation, and feeling dismissed when seeking help. It sensitively explores academic pressure, family expectations, bullying, and barriers to mental health support.
For many parents, it can deepen empathy and remind us to look beyond surface behaviours. It can also create space for conversations that might otherwise feel too heavy or difficult to initiate.
Content Considerations:
Depression and anxiety
Self-harm and eating disorders
Trauma and suicide risk
Panic attacks
Sexual harassment or assault
Bullying
Ways To Explore It Together:
Given the heavy themes, it may help to check in beforehand about whether your teen feels ready to watch, and to pause or stop if needed. Afterwards, you might:
Create a safe space for listening without judgement or minimising.
Stay informed about school, community, and mental health resources so support feels more accessible, if and when it’s needed.
Be mindful of academic, social, or familial pressures and balance expectations with care.
Model coping by sharing how you manage stress and emotions.
Collaborate with schools and advocate when additional support is needed.
Watching shows together creates everyday opportunities for curiosity and connection. Even brief shared reactions or simple questions can open meaningful conversations and support your teen’s emotional awareness and resilience over time.
We know parenting teens can be tricky, so we hope these resources can help you:
