
My Annual Review – 2020 Edition
For the past two years I’ve written a behind-the-scenes, take-a-peek-under-the-hood kind of annual review so you can see what it is like to be both immersed in talking about having a happy family ...

How to Stop Telling and Yelling, and How to Connect With Your Teen
‘Get up!’ ‘Hurry up! It’s time to go.’ ‘Do your homework now. You should have done it already!’ ‘You will study tonight.’ Nobody likes to be told what to do. It gets ...

How to Deal With Child to Parent Aggression
Aggressive behaviour by a child towards a parent is one of the least studied areas of domestic violence. This is due in large part because parents are reluctant to admit that it happens. Many ...

Helping Children Face Their Fears
Doubt and fear seem to be intrinsically woven into the hearts of some children. Their worries and anxieties cause them to shrink, lean out, and avoid. Sometimes, as parents, we fail to recognise that ...

How to Get Your Teen to Take COVID-19 Seriously
Last Saturday night (only 36 hours before all restaurants and cafes were closed by the government) my 17-year-old daughter grabbed the car keys, called out “See ya Dad!” and ran down the front ...

My Child is Struggling Because Everything Is Being Cancelled
We’re living in unprecedented times. Offices are shut, streets are increasingly empty, and some people are locking themselves away. The uncertainty that we are grappling with is challenging enough ...

What to do When You’ve Made a Mistake With Your Child
I recently received an anonymous message from a devastated mum. After reading one of my articles about why we should never threaten our child with abandonment – like “If you don’t get in the car...

Stepping In With Other People’s Kids
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!...

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

What’s Your Parenting Style?
Most research supports Authoritative Parenting as the ‘ideal’ parenting style… but cutting-edge studies tell us there is something better. But first, let's look take a look at the four most ...