Food for Thought

The holidays do not need to be scheduled from dawn to dusk with every minute accounted for. Ask children for their input, you may be surprised by their ideas! Create a list and stick it on the fridge. Then when you hear the dreaded “I’m bored”, you...

Parents must have a strong sense of their moral authority – their right to be respected and obeyed. The authoritative parent “explains reasons behind demands, encourages give and take and sets standards and enforces them firmly”. Research has found...

Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, resilient people find a way to move forward. Psychologists have identified some of the factors that make someone resilient, among them a positive attitude, optimism, the ability to...

Watching your child fail can make you feel helpless, angry and sad. You worry about everything from your child’s self-esteem and social development to their future success. James Lehman explains that while it’s natural for parents to worry about...

The way we speak to ourselves impacts every aspect of our lives. If we are critical and hard on ourselves, we become more stressed, depressed and insecure. Practicing self-compassion can help you become more motivated, self-assured and confident...

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...