Happy Families Blog

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 ...

Ok. I know. You’re not even sure if you should read this article. Christmas is already busy enough. Non-stop events, too much money spent, and frantic 15 km/h driving on jam-packed roads. Gah! Who...

“If you do what I ask you to, you’ll get a gold star on the reward chart.” “No treats until you’ve done your job.” “We’re not going to the park if you won’t do what you’re ...

My new book, 10 Things Every Parent Needs to Know, has just been released – and thousands of them have made their way across Australia and the world… to make families happier! If you haven’t ...

I don’t remember who said it first but the best way to stop sibling rivalry and sibling squabbles is… to not have siblings. Too late? Same. Have your children drawn an imaginary (or real)...

Of all the jobs in the world, parenting must be one of the toughest, most challenging, and most confronting things we can do. Children are hard to understand, and sometimes they feel impossible to ...

Dear Dr Justin My kids are in a lot of after-school activities. They swim and play a musical instrument each. Two of them do drama, and all three are in Saturday sport. My husband and I are ...