
3 Simple Strategies to Supercharge Your Attitude
I don’t like to deal with absolutes… always, never, everything, nothing. After all, I’m a research scientist. For people like me, I prefer statements like “it depends”. I try to avoid being ...

Why Advice About Alcohol Falls on Deaf Teen Ears (and What You Can Do About It)
In late 2019, shortly before COVID-19 began to do its damage, I was in a coastal NSW high school talking to students in Grades 9 and 10 about the latest alcohol statistics. Those stats tell a very ...

3 Simple Tips for Managing Screen Time for the Whole Family
Have we all become slack-jawed zombies, staring blankly at our screens? According to research from around the globe, one of the most significant impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on parents and ...

My 7 yr-old Only Eats Chips
Dealing with a fussy eater can be a challenge. Poor eating habits in middle childhood and the tween years tend to be long-lasting. We need to take them seriously. Dear Dr Justin
My beautiful ...

Social Skills Are The Secret To Stronger Emotional Immunity
This blog is in partnership and sponsored by Nutricia. Social skills are a critically important component of strengthening our children’s emotional immunity to life’s big challenges, and for ...

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 ...

Mental Health Consequences of Hard Border Closures on FIFO Children
In March 2020 Western Australia shut its borders. While there may be well-meaning policies behind the border closures, there’s no escaping the fact that this decision has irrevocably changed ...

What to Do When Parents and Grandparents Disagree
In Australia, two-thirds of parents are both working and raising young children. And many of those families are turning to grandparents to fill the vital role as carers for their kids. In fact, almost...

Having Parents in Love Is Great for Your Kids.
Being in love feels amazing. And it’s incredibly good for you. New research shows having parents in love is also incredibly good for our kids.
As humans we love love. We crave love and affection, ...

Are your kids ‘fun’? It matters.
Fun kids are laughing, playing and generally having a good time on the playground. But they’re also building skills that will lead to better relationships.
Before I start, I have to be clear: I ...