How to Know if Screens are a Problem
For years, one of the most common questions I’ve been asked is “How much screen time is too much?” I’ve found the guidelines from official…
Category: Articles
Choose Action
After a talk to a Year 12 group, a young woman asked me… what matters more, direction or taking action? “Am I supposed to know…
The Ultimate Parenting Hack: Get Enough Sleep
I talk a LOT about how to help parents do better. Explore, explain, empower. Soft eyes. Connection before correction. The list goes on for days. But…
Whose Cup Are You Filling?
Writer Derek Thompson recently shared a metaphor via his Substack… and it won’t leave me alone. It wasn’t about parenting – but it’s something every parent…
Your Mind Tells Stories
The mind is a great storyteller. The difficulty with the stories we tell ourselves, however, is that we believe them — whether they’re true or…
Buy the Why
“But why?” “I’ll explain in a moment.” “But why?” “Why” might be one of the most aggravating questions our children can ask. It would be…
The Teenage Personality Dip: Why Your Teen Suddenly Seems So Different
Does your teenager no longer make sense to you? Has their personality morphed in ways you didn’t count on and don’t understand? Have they become…
Resilience is Relational
What if everything you thought you knew about resilience was… wrong? Or at least incomplete? Resilience, to many, means when the going gets tough, the…
Calming a Child in Crisis
The scream was coming from the bedroom. One of my daughters. Racked with anguish. An awful, heart-rending scream. Followed by another. And another. And then…
Raising Boys in a Toxic Online World
There’s only one way to be a man… and that’s to be dominating. Oh, and a man has a right to a woman’s body. *He*…
I’ve Been Wrong About NAPLAN. Kind Of.
Every year, like clockwork, I write something about why NAPLAN is bad for kids. Teachers know it’s coming. My readers expect it. I’ve become predictable.…
The Secret to Better Parenting? Go to Bed!
I don’t know any parent who, at 7:30pm as they drag themselves through another hell-ish night with kids refusing to eat, contribute, or make life…
Why Einstein said we can’t teach our children anything
Einstein said: “The ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems,…
“Roblox is a paedophile hellscape.”
That’s what I said on Parental Guidance when we discussed the platform – on national television. And it caused a stir. I’ve agitated against Roblox…
Why We Chose to Homeschool (and What Parents Should Know)
For years, Kylie and I have been asked the same question regularly: Why do you homeschool? Homeschooling wasn’t a snap decision. It was a conversation…
When Should Kids Get a Smartphone? The Research, the Risks, & a Better Way Forward
As a new school year begins, many parents find themselves facing a familiar dilemma: “Is it time to give my child a phone?” The pressure…