How do I get my child to eat healthy food without the power struggles?
Dear Dr Justin, How do I get my children to eat healthy food without the yelling, screaming, fighting, and arguing that accompanies so many of our mealtimes? My children are 6 and 3, and I feel as ...
Ask Dr Justin: How do I stop my child biting?
Hi Dr Justin, I have a 16-month-old who is generally very happy. He is full of energy and very gentle except for one thing. He has been biting. He hasn’t bitten anyone other than my husband ...
5 Ways to Make Family Life More Fun
For many of us, fun stopped becoming spontaneous and automatic around the time that we decided we had to be responsible adults. But if we want our families to be happier, we need to find ways to make ...
Learning to Let Go: How An Outing with my Kids was the Perfect Lesson in the Power of Empathy
Each week in our home we make it a priority to have at least a few high quality hours of family time. With six children, a dog, and two businesses, it can be tough – but we make it a priority and it...
7 Things to Say to Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem
Self-esteem means liking who you are, and feeling like you’re “ok”. Having high levels of self-esteem is correlated with better outcomes in life – especially for our children. Kids with high ...
How to Banish Tech and Make Mealtimes Matter
Meal time matters. It’s a widely acknowledged fact. Researchers have found that families that eat their meals together have children who are 35% less likely to engage in disordered eating, 24% ...
6 Strategies for Respectful Relationships
Nothing puts fire into the belly of parents faster than a child being disrespectful. When our kids ignore us, stomp their feet, slam the door, or say “NO!”, it gets under our skin in a way that ...
Should our young children have boyfriends or girlfriends at school?
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 ...
Our son’s mood swings and rude behaviours are impossible to deal with
Hi Dr Justin, We have been asking friends, family members and even Dr Google (!) for help when it comes to dealing with our 3yr 10month old son. We also have a 1-year-old son, and we sometimes ...
Do you know your child’s love language?
Twenty-one years ago, Gary Chapman wrote a book called The 5 Love Languages. In his book, he argued that there are five different ways that we can show someone that we love them, and that each person ...