PARENTS AND TEENS: WELCOME TO MY WORLD

PROGRAMME 3: HANNAH AND SARAH

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

00:00 – 05:27 Monday

Hannah and Sarah both have busy days at school. Hannah's studying for GCSEs and Sarah's a teaching assistant. Once they get home though, Sarah carries on behaving like a teacher and Hannah objects to being treated like one of her pupils. Sarah's a big believer in boundaries, and she's not planning to loosen up until Hannah's 18. She sees herself as parent first and foremost, while Hannah would like their relationship to be based more on friendship. Hannah's champing at the bit for the freedom to make her own decisions, and she wants her mum to stop criticising and questioning her so much.

05:27 – 10:18 Tuesday

Sarah has been sole carer since Hannah's dad left nine years ago. She finds city life hard and worries about Hannah getting into trouble or danger on the estate. Hannah feels over-protected. This is the world she has to live in, and whereas Sarah's afraid and wants to shut out the harsh realities, Hannah knows she has to get out there and feels responsible enough to cope.

10:19 – 13:35 Wednesday

While Sarah's studying at university in the evenings, Hannah's out at meetings or drama class. She wants Sarah to know that other people respect her and see her as being very capable and motivated. But she can't get Sarah to listen or negotiate the way that she is bringing Hannah up.

13:36 – 16:45 Thursday

Sarah's popular among the kids that she teaches. Hannah thinks that Sarah still treats her as if she was much younger than she is, but Sarah's view is that Hannah has tried to grow up too fast and it's her job to slow her down. Carly, Hannah's elder sister, left home at 18 because she and Sarah were always arguing. They're closer now that she's living independently, but Hannah doesn't want to be forced into the same position. She would rather things changed now, so that her relationship with Sarah doesn't deteriorate over the next two years.

16:46 – 19:04 Friday

Hannah loves going out, but Sarah prefers to spend her evenings at home. Hannah's desperate to live life as a teenager without constantly being told what she can and can't do.

19:05 – 20:23 Saturday

Hannah hopes that the film will help her mum to start letting go and behave towards her as a friend, not just as a parent. If things don't change, she's afraid she'll have to leave home, even though she'd rather not.

20:24 – 25:00 Sunday

Hannah and Sarah watch the film, but neither or them change their views. Even when they talk things over, Sarah keeps control and doesn't seem willing to alter the way she treats Hannah. It's not clear whether anything will improve as a result of sharing their feelings.