House of Hormones!

Arran Goodfellow, Policy and Engagement Officer

Sleeping pattern changes? Mood swings? Temperature control issues? Appetite changes? – Is it puberty or is it perimenopause?

We’ve all heard of puberty and perimenopause, with stereotypic characteristics being applied to both –  ‘mood swings’ for puberty, and ‘hot flushes’ for perimenopause – but how much do we actually know about then, the similarities and the implications of these on household dynamics.

Society often focuses on the teenage years as the ‘nightmare’ change that affects families, with hyperbole around mood swings, door slamming and eating families out of house and home, but we don’t often stop to consider the multi-generation hormonal changes which can be happening at the same time under one roof when women are also going through perimenopause, and how this can affect family life.

Enter the House of Hormones!

As you can imagine, when we first came up with the idea and title of ‘House of Hormones’, we were pretty proud of ourselves for the snappy title. But the more we discussed the topic and chatted to people, the more we realised it was extremely relevant to a large demographic of people and families. Women and young people go through some big changes, which sometimes feel like a hormonal rollercoaster, and although the roller coasters may be going in different directions, there could be some real strength in understanding what each other is going through and how to support each other during this. Puberty can be a difficult and confusing time for many young people, figuring out a lot about their bodies changing. But it could equally be confusing and scary thing to see changes happening to perimenopausal women in their life – particularly if they don’t understand they are going through a similar experience.

Parenting across Scotland has teamed up with the wonderful team at Cyrenians Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution to host a one-off Fringe event to explore household dynamics when different generations are going through puberty and perimenopause at the same time. We will also be joined by Lyndsay Harrison, General Nurse Practitioner and founder of Workplace Menopause Support. We'll break down what's going on in perimenopausal and teenage bodies and brains so you can better control the hot and cold mood changes and how to return the House of Hormones to peace.

So join us at The Fringe for a one-off, free event on Thursday 21 August 2025 at Dynamic Earth from 1:15 – 2:15pm. Book your tickets here: House of Hormones | Edinburgh Festival Fringe