Best Start
Best Start by Lynn Jenkins, clinical psychologist, is for parents who want to understand their baby's or toddler's emotional needs. This book explains the importance of the quality of your baby's early experiences and interactions and how these influence how your child develops. Read full article
One is Enough. Yes I'm Sure
I am wearing a sign. It floats above my head like a speech bubble. It reads:I have only one child, please ask me when I am having another one...I have no desire to have any more. Whether or not you believe it, that's just how it is. Read full article
Laptop Shooting - Shaming, Naming and Parenting
...And this week a laptop shooting dad decided to use YouTube and Facebook to punish and humiliate his ungrateful 15 year old daughter for her disrespectful comments about him and his wife, and about all the chores she was expected to do ... I want to briefly comment on two things: Humiliation or shaming of children .... and mainstream and influential media commentators' comments ... Read full article
The Impact of Media - Yes, Somebody Should Think of the Children
This morning I had an article about media content classification published on a website.* The article discusses some proposed deregulatory changes to the Australian classification system and points out that these do not appear to serve the review’s guiding principle that "children should be protected from material that is likely to harm or disturb them." The first comment out of the blocks was: "Somebody think of the children!" Read full article
10 Mindful Minutes
From the bestselling author, Academy Award-winning actress and founder of the Hawn Foundation, a practical guide for parents to help children cope with stress, improve concentration and lead happier lives. Goldie Hawn offers parents a practical guide for helping their children to learn better and live more happily. Based on the MindUP programme, supported by the Hawn Foundation, 10 Mindful Minutes outlines short, practical exercises for parents and children - taking less than 10 minutes - to help young children and teenagers. Read full article
My Daughter Wants Acceptance - Please Teach Your Children Well
On the day we went to Sea World our girl Ivy was tired. We all were. As we walked into the park two girls pushed past us hurriedly and into the bathroom, which is where we were headed to. We took our place right behind them. It would have been fine except that those two little girls then turned around and made loud comments about Ivy’s "fat" face and her "fat" cheeks and her "squishy eyes" (whatever those are anyway). Then they proceeded to whisper and look back at Ivy in that hateful little girl way that makes me want to stab something ... Read full article
Letter Reassures me I'm Doing Okay as a Mother
This parenting business can make you feel all manner of insecure. I worry about my kids being safe, about them being healthy, having friends at school and trying to do their best in class. I get worried when the boys fight and squabble, and I used to often wonder, “Is this normal?” ... But this week, an unexpected and wonderful thing happened. So wonderful I even had a little cry. Read full article
Two Sides to Every Bully - I was Both
When I was in high school I was bullied. For about six months, a group of older girls and some guys would follow a few of my friends and I around the school grounds threatening us. They never physically hurt us, but they scared us. It got so bad that my Mum would come and meet me at the school bus stop and walk me home. On the days she couldn’t meet me I would run as fast as I could, in the hope I would outrun my bullies. I wasn’t always fast enough and they would ride their bikes beside me, taunting me as I walked home. Read full article
Empathy and Yawning - Lessons from Chimpanzees
Like you, there are certain topics I often wonder about - one of them is why yawning is contagious. I remember reading a theory somewhere suggesting that yawning allows more oxygen into our lungs and the contagious response is because our brain automatically assumes that if someone else is yawing, there's a shortage of oxygen and we need to respond accordingly! Could that be true? It was the best explanation I'd read ... until today. Read full article
Podcast The Influencing Parent with Robin Grille Part 2
Recording of webinar with Robin Grille on 29 October 2010 - The Influencing Parent - part 1. Robin Grille talks about a different approach to getting children to behave well, and not just 'do as they are told'. He talks about why punishment of children does not work but natural consequences do.In this podcast Robin Grille also discusses the value of intrinsic rewards and the transient effect of systems such as start charts. Questions and comments from audience and Yvette Vignando, publisher of happychild. Read full article
