Abused, Homeless At 15 - The Brain Expert Who Was Raised In Hell | Nathan Wallis

Nathan Wallis grew up around alcoholism, violence, abuse and foster care.

He was homeless at 15, became a father young, went to counselling at 18 and somehow found his way into teaching, counselling and eventually a career helping people understand how our brains develop.

For parents, this episode is jam packed with good useful advice:

We talk about the importance of the first 1,000 days, tantrums, anxiety, daycare, discipline, screens, teenagers, social media, are today’s kids snowflakes, and why asking a kid, “What were you feeling?” can sometimes tell you far more than asking “What were you thinking?” (which, by the way, is the title of his brand-new book)

But this episode also gets into Nathan himself- the man behind the job. We talk about the childhood he survived, the people who saved him, meeting his biological father shortly before he died, and the parts of himself he’s still trying to understand.

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Massive thanks to my long‑term podcast sponsor, Generate.

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