Happy Families Blog

In August, 2016, a 10-year- old girls’ letter to her teacher went viral after she implored the school to let students have boyfriends and girlfriends. During the previous term, staff had spoken to ...

Is a person’s success the product of good genes? Or can success be learned? Dr Justin Coulson examines the growth mindset, and explores the ways in which it can alter your child’s life – ...

Research shows that children who are expected to succeed at school, do just that. But how much is too much? And is there a point when high expectations have the opposite effect? Did you know that ...

In 2014 Andrew Fuller, one of Australia’s well-known child and adolescent psychologists, ran a study about resilience with approximately 16000 Aussie youth. The children who were most resilient ...

The 'gentle reminder' is my number one discipline strategy for getting children's attention and getting things done. My friend Wally was talking with Jared, his neighbour, in Jared’s garage. ...

Playing games, even when we do not feel like it, can build our children’s wellbeing, and make our family feel fun. I had just returned from a long bike ride with my friend, Dave. It was a hot ...

“Kids these days are out of control.” It’s the universal standard line about the state of our nation’s youth in many of our papers, from our radio talk-back hosts, and commentators of all ...

A guy I know – let’s call him Justin – was a failure at school by nearly all measures. I (oops, “he”) had few friends. And academically… well, let’s just say that Justin’s report cards...

Even in homes where getting by is a bit of a struggle, Christmas is generally a time of indulgence in Australia. We max out our credit cards buying ‘stuff’, eat more than we should, eat fancier ...

It is generally well accepted that females experience greater levels of depression and anxiety than males. This is true, not only during adulthood, but also during adolescence. While there is a range...