Why Your Children Need to Understand Menopause (Yes… Even Your Sons)

Why Your Children Need to Understand Menopause (Yes… Even Your Sons)

Emma Watts, The Menopause Mentor, explores a topic that’s often overlooked — the importance of educating our children about perimenopause and menopause.

As a 51 year old mum of three sons and one daughter, Emma shares why she believes it’s vital that the next generation understands what women’s bodies go through in midlife. Not just for awareness… but to build empathy, stronger relationships, and better support in the future.

In this episode, Emma explains how to approach these conversations in a way that feels natural, age-appropriate and empowering — whether you’re talking to younger children, teenagers or young adults.

With her warm, honest and practical approach, Emma breaks down how normalising menopause at home can remove stigma, reduce confusion, and help both boys and girls feel more informed and prepared.

Listeners will learn:
• Why it’s important to talk about menopause with your children
• How to explain menopause in an age-appropriate way
• What younger children need to understand (and what they don’t)
• How to support teenagers in building awareness and empathy
• Why educating sons is just as important as daughters
• How these conversations can improve future relationships and support

This episode offers a refreshing and empowering perspective on menopause — not as something to hide… but something to understand, share and normalise within the family.

You can read more over on Emma’s Blog at www.TheMenopauseMentor.com

If you’d like more structured support, Emma offers:

💚 The Meno-Method Online Plan — a step-by-step menopause-informed programme covering movement, nutrition, nervous system support and symptom management. Designed to help you feel stronger, more energised and back in control.

💚 1:1 Coaching & Mentoring — personalised support tailored to your symptoms, lifestyle and goals, combining menopause education, nutrition, strength training and emotional wellbeing.

You can find Emma via the podcast, visit her website, or reach out directly to explore which option feels right for you.

Because the more we understand menopause… the better we support it — for ourselves and the next generation.

Visit www.themenopausementor.com for more support, resources and ways to work with Emma.

#MenopausePodcast #ParentingAndMenopause #PerimenopauseSupport #MenopauseEducation #MidlifeWomen #WomensHealth #HormoneHealth #RaisingBoys #RaisingGirls #TheMenopauseMentor

Thank you for listening to The Menopause Mentor Podcast.
I’m Emma Watts, Award winning Menopause Practitioner, Clinical Nutritionist & multi Award winning Personal trainer, sharing clear, evidence-based conversations to help you better understand your body, your health, and your choices through perimenopause and menopause.

These episodes are for education and support only and are not a substitute for personalised medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional when making decisions about your health.

You deserve clarity, compassion, and choice at every stage.

If you require advice or support or advice, get in touch or visit www.TheMenopausementor.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Menopause Mentor Podcast. Your safe space for honest conversation, zero judgment, and full empowerment for every step of midlife. Why your children need to understand menopause. Yes, even your sons. Hello and welcome back to the Menopause Mentor Podcast. I'm Emma Watts, the Menopause Mentor. So today's episode is a really important one, and it's something I don't think we talk about enough. As a mum of four, three sons aged 30, 20, and 13, and a daughter who's 19, my husband and I have always felt it's absolutely vital that our children understand what my body is going through. Not just for me, but for them. Because this isn't just about menopause. This is about future relationships, awareness, empathy, and support. I want my sons to grow up understanding women's bodies so that when their partners go through perimenopause and menopause, they don't feel confused, frustrated, or disconnected. They understand, they support, they show up. And for my daughter, I want her to feel prepared, not blindsided. I want her to have the knowledge, the tools, and the confidence to navigate her own journey when the time comes. Because let's be honest, most of us were thrown into this with zero clue what was happening. So if you're a parent, listen up. This matters more than you think. But how you approach it? Well, that depends on their age. Younger children, aged 8 to 12. Keep it simple, keep it light. You don't need to go into hormones and science. Just explain mummy's body is changing a little bit. It might make me feel tired, hot, or a little bit more emotional sometimes, but it's completely normal. And if you want to talk, I'm here. This builds awareness without overwhelming them. It also teaches them that something really important, that bodies change, and that's okay. Teens age 13 to 18. Now we can start to build a bit more understanding. You can talk about hormones changing, why moods might shift, why sleep can be affected, and why energy isn't always the same. And here's the key make it normal conversations, not a big dramatic sit-down talk. Just weave it into everyday life. This helps remove stigma and builds emotional intelligence, especially in boys. Young adults, 18 plus. Now we can go much deeper. This is where real conversations happen. Talk about perimenopause and menopause as separate matters. Symptoms and how varied they are, the impact on relationships, work, confidence, and the importance of support, not attempting to fix. And for our daughters, this is where you empower them. Teach them how to look after their body early. Strength training, nutrition, nervous system support. So they're not playing catch up later in life like many of us were. And for your sons, this is big because so many women feel misunderstood in midlife. Some partners just don't get it. They take things personally and they don't know how to help. But imagine raising a generation of men who do understand, who say, I've got you. What do you need? I understand what's happening to your body. That changes everything. So, ladies, this isn't about sitting your children down and overwhelming them. It's about normalizing the conversation around perimenopause and menopause, little by little, age-appropriate, honest, but not heavy. Because menopause isn't something to hide or suffer through in silence. It's a natural stage of life. And the more we talk about it, the better it becomes for everyone. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it, a partner, a friend, a parent, because these conversations matter. And if you want more support, guidance, and real practical advice, you can find me at www.themenopausementor.com and across my social media athemapors Mentor. And if you'd like help navigating this, you'll find links to my programmes and one to one support in the show notes. Thank you for listening, my lovelies, and I'll speak to you soon on the Menopause Mentor Podcast. Love and light.