Why Advice About Alcohol Falls on Deaf Teen Ears (and What You Can Do About It)
In late 2019, shortly before COVID-19 began to do its damage, I was in a coastal NSW high school talking to students in Grades 9 and 10 about the latest alcohol statistics. Those stats tell a very ...
Delaying Sex in the Teen Years – It’s Good But Not For The Reasons You Think
Do you remember how sex-obsessed you were as a teen? Or your friends? Even if you weren’t doing it, chances are you were talking about it, asking about it, and thinking about it. Sure, it starts...
How to Stop Telling and Yelling, and How to Connect With Your Teen
‘Get up!’ ‘Hurry up! It’s time to go.’ ‘Do your homework now. You should have done it already!’ ‘You will study tonight.’ Nobody likes to be told what to do. It gets ...
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 ...
My Child is Struggling Because Everything Is Being Cancelled
We’re living in unprecedented times. Offices are shut, streets are increasingly empty, and some people are locking themselves away. The uncertainty that we are grappling with is challenging enough ...
Helping Your Child with Depression
Eli is eight years old. He has been diagnosed with depression. And, like it is for anyone with this diagnosis, depression is a daily battle for Eli. His father is essentially absent. His single mother...
Ask Dr Justin – Twins: Going from “we” to “me”
Dear Dr. Justin, I have three children, two of whom are twins. I came across an essay one wrote saying how he hates being a twin as people don’t see him as an individual. He feels his older ...
Helping Our Boys Grow Into Men
I reckon I've had about enough. The way that our kids treat each other. And, as a dad to 6 daughters, specifically the stories of everyday sexism I'm hearing - the blatant disrespect that boys are ...