Happy Families Blog

Time-out is one of the most popular “discipline” methods parents use. It works like this: a child does something that is ‘against the rules’ so the child’s parents punish the child by ...

Hi Dr Justin I have a 5 year old who has severe anxiety issues. She wakes during the night to ensure I am still at home and often wakes to come into my bed. I send her back to her bed but she ...

Why do adolescents take risks – a lot? It’s almost like they feel they’re immortal.  Adolescents are impulsive. They seek constant stimulation. They don’t weigh risks before they dive ...

In my last article I discussed a range of problems associated with smacking our kids. The article was designed to demonstrate that there is a lot of evidence that indicates that smacking kids ...

In my parenting classes and coaching sessions I am regularly confronted with people who become incredulous when I suggest that we need to stop hitting our kids if we want to discipline them ...

One of the most respected psychologists in the world today, Dr Martin Seligman, recently said: “(Teaching) children is vastly more than fixing what is wrong with them. It is about identifying ...

“Dear Dr Justin I feel like my whole day is spent dealing with ‘Mum, he hit me.’ And ‘Mum, she said I’m an idiot’. All day my kids are at me to fix their problems. It’s driving me ...

I recently received an email from a concerned parent. It read as follows: My friend threatened to leave her 8 year-old kid on the side of the road. He had been playing up something shocking and she ...

A few weeks ago my 13 year-old dropped her telephone… into the bath. There was a scream. Then tears. Then frantic attempts to open the phone and dry it out. Her panic slowly subsided and was ...

Hi Dr Justin, My 4 yo and 2 1/2 yo have recently started telling me “I’m not your friend anymore” or “you’re not my mummy” when I ask them to do something they don’t like or want to ...