Food for Thought

A third of Australian parents mistakenly believe that their children’s mental health problems might be best left alone. However, we know from research that mental health problems should be dealt with early, before a problem becomes embedded and...

Friends obviously play an enormous role in our children’s’ lives. Helping our children deal with relationship issues is an important part of growing up. Supporting them through a difficult time builds children’s emotional intelligence, which...

School holidays can be a difficult time for parents, especially working parents. Balancing work with childcare can sometimes be hard. Here are some tips for surviving and even enjoying, the school holidays. Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed...

Procrastinating about homework. Backtalk. Refusal to do chores. Cursing. Most of the parents I speak with on a daily basis know something has to change with their child’s behavior, yet they feel overwhelmed about how to change it and unsure of where...

Recent research has tried to shed light on this question. The research explored how adults dish out praise to children in both an experimental and naturalistic setting and how children with varying levels of self-esteem take it. The results suggest...

You may not know it, but your day-to-day behaviour is shaping the way your child will act for the rest of their life. Psychologists refer to this as the influence of parent socialisation: the way children learn the behaviors and skills necessary to...

The concept of wellbeing can sometimes be misunderstood. It is not an unrealistic notion assuming we should be happy all the time without encountering challenges or difficulties. Wellbeing is about having the personal resources (mental, emotional,...

One parent shares their experience about going tech-free for a family holiday: https://www.screenagersmovie.com/tech-talk-tuesdays/have-you-thought-about-having-your-kids-leave-their-smartphone-at-home-during-your-summer-vacation . Ms Annie Williams...

The feeling of shame comes from the belief that, “I am basically flawed, inadequate, wrong, bad, unimportant, undeserving or not good enough”. The following link explains how to guide children toward appropriate behaviour to meet their needs without...

Emotions drive learning, decision-making, creativity, relationships and health. So, what is this new frontier of parenting? Emotions are now recognised as an important part of the parenting landscape. The following link provides five ideas to help...