How to Deal With Child to Parent Aggression
Aggressive behaviour by a child towards a parent is one of the least studied areas of domestic violence. This is due in large part because parents are reluctant to admit that it happens. Many ...
Helping Children Face Their Fears
Doubt and fear seem to be intrinsically woven into the hearts of some children. Their worries and anxieties cause them to shrink, lean out, and avoid. Sometimes, as parents, we fail to recognise that ...
How to Get Your Teen to Take COVID-19 Seriously
Last Saturday night (only 36 hours before all restaurants and cafes were closed by the government) my 17-year-old daughter grabbed the car keys, called out “See ya Dad!” and ran down the front ...
What to do When You’ve Made a Mistake With Your Child
I recently received an anonymous message from a devastated mum. After reading one of my articles about why we should never threaten our child with abandonment – like “If you don’t get in the car...
5 Ways to Promote Happiness in Your Family
The 20th of March is International Day of Happiness, which has been declared and celebrated by the United Nations since 2012. It’s the day that recognises that happiness is a fundamental human goal....
Winning Or Losing: How To Handle A Bad Sport
You’ve been on the sidelines of the netball court (or soccer pitch, etc) cheering and encouraging. You’ve avoided saying anything about the shoddy refereeing being done by the 15-year-old. ...
5 Better Conversations To Have About Screens
“Excess screen time has reduced our attention span to eight seconds, one less than that of a goldfish.”
That’s a direct quote from the July 2019 International Congress of the Royal College of ...
Annual Review: 2019
This time last year I made the decision to be vulnerable, transparent, and up-front about my personal and professional life. The idea was essentially a replication (and re-packaging) of something ...
How To Raise A Rebel
How to Raise a Rebel
I’ve been running parenting workshops full-time around Australia for close to ten years and in all that time no parent has ever told me:
“I want to raise weak children ...
Forget ‘overscheduling’ versus ‘boredom’ – Self-direction is the key to a great summer.
The long hot days of summer can be challenging for families. Work commitments keep parents out of the home and away from their children. And if they’re lucky enough to have time off, children ...