Gratitude can be expressed in a variety of ways, and a little bit really does go a long way. It not only helps others to feel appreciated, it has benefits for your own overall sense of wellbeing too. Did you know you can lower stress levels, improve sleep and boost your immune system just by being grateful?

Becoming a stepdad can seem like a daunting role to take on. You are already a dad to your own kids, and now you taking on the role of being a stepfather to your partners children and forming a new connection can seem almost like an impossible task.

Fathers play a huge role in helping their children to confront challenges and test themselves in positive ways. You can help your teen avoid unhealthy risks by encouraging and supporting them to engage in other more healthy and challenging activities. A healthy risk encourages your child to have-a-go at something outside of their comfort zone, but that results in little harm if they are unsuccessful.

The most important influence on your young child’s view of themselves is you. As they grow they get an increasingly detailed self-image; who they are what they are good at and what they are not, whether they are a good kid or a problematic one etc.

Just on 50% of Australians will experience a diagnoseable mental illness in their lifetime. Not surprisingly these statistics have increased significantly since the start of COVID. The most susceptible age groups are adolescents and young adults. Which means your child may be right in the firing line. Fortunately, there is plenty that you can do to minimise the risks for your child.

If your kids don’t want to go to bed – its because they like their life too much. There are also sorts of interesting things that are happening or might happen when I am awake, (not the least of which might be just spending some more time with you) and none when I am asleep.

Why would I want to go to bed?

The most important thing to remember when your child has done the wrong thing is that this is a learning opportunity. Yelling at, or otherwise berating, your child is likely to have them feel badly and as a result, behave more badly. Punishments diminish the positive relationship you want to have with your child so, while sometimes necessary, should not be our go to means of dealing with misbehaviour

By now, just about everybody will have heard the play on words that to ASSUME is to make ‘an ASS out of U and ME’ and be familiar with message that underpins it: That, to assume just creates the opportunity for one or both of us to make mistakes. It highlights the dangers of assumptions. It unfortunately, doesn’t stop us making them

Is your household a melting pot of your kids constantly competing with each other? How do you stop your kids from killing each other?

Should your kids be doing chores? The answer yes. Yes, yes and yes again. Your kids should help with the household chores. It is good because otherwise you have to do it all. It is good because it teaches them the importance of making a contribution.

As someone who works on parent-child relationships, the most common question I get asked by parents is along the lines of, “Can you please fix my child, they are …………………… (difficult, horrible, problematic, disrespectful, nasty, defiant, uncooperative etc). The fix is actually far easier than you might think.

So, it’s coming up to crunch time. Year 12 exams.

To your teenage student this is it; the culmination of 13 years of education. One set of tests to set up the rest of their life. It is demanding and can be overwhelming. There is plenty of advice online to help your child. Here is some that might help.

How do I minimise the chances of my children suffering mental health issues? Clearly no parent would want to see their child suffer through those afflictions. The good news is you can help

The latest National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing was released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in July 2022, and the findings are pretty frightening for our teenagers.

I recently spent some time working with an awesome mum in Port Macquarie, focusing on helping her with raising a balanced, healthy and happy son who is dealing with the challenges of moving between her home, and that of his Dad’s. Here’s what she had to say…

Previously in this blog series we have discussed structures for co-parenting households to set up in order to gain the best results for their children. In this blog we make a start at looking at dealing with a difficult co-parent and some more thoughts about keeping your child’s welfare front of mind at times when we could get totally absorbed in our own issues

Taking the time to understand how the difficulties of separation can affect a child and their behaviour can help us approach problematic behaviour, with a better mindset and lead to better results.

Parenting is hard.

To be able to nurture your child’s complex development in the age of technology is incredibly demanding. Parenting your child through the minefield that is co-parenting after separation is much more demanding again

While parent education is a concept that has been around for a while, many people are unsure or unnerved about what this means, so here I thought I would break it down for you.

Question: What is the difference between a parent and a psychologist? The primary difference is how much a psychologist gets paid.

In essence they both deal daily with the human psyche. They try to work out how to reach the person that they are working with and help them navigate the difficulties that they encounter and, in the end, be the best people they can be.