Happy Families Blog

We all want our kids to feel good. Ice cream. Cake. Beach days. Playdates. These are all great for bringing joy. But typically, these good feelings don’t last. Once the ice cream is gone, or the ...

My childhood friend Joel was fearless. When he was about six, Joel’s parents installed a balcony on the back of their pole home. For some reason, the builder couldn’t install the safety railing...

Dear Dr Justin I have been reading a lot about how yelling isn’t good for my kids, but I can’t seem to get them to listen if I don’t raise my voice! Any suggestions on how I can stop yelling?...

In a 2018 survey half of the parents questioned believed that smart phone usage negatively affected their child’s mental health. And nearly half thought their child was actually addicted to the ...

Think of the times that your parenting has been its best. Those times where you were unconditionally there for your child and it felt “right”. When I ask parents to tell me about those times, ...

Dear Dr Justin, My 15-year-old son was hanging out in his bedroom with one of his friends. When I walked by, I saw my son’s friend frantically trying to stash a packet of cigarettes into his bag!...

                             Time-out is still the most often recommended form of discipline. Paediatricians, parenting experts and child development experts continue to recommend it...

School holidays are fast approaching. For the kids, there have been 10 or so weeks of sport, music, schoolwork, sitting still and navigating friendships. For the parents, it’s been 10 weeks of ...

I’m sure there really are kids out there who are excited about heading back to school after the summer holidays. But I don’t know any of them.  If your kids are back at school, or about to be,...

As the first day of school edges closer, we get busy organising school uniforms, picking up book orders and sorting out art supplies. There are new shoes to buy and after-school activities to plan. ...