By: Robert Garrett
“Just pick up the phone and call them!” I say to my teenagers. They’ve texted one or more of their friends to make plans, and all other activity is suspended as they wait impatiently for a response. It seems they would rather endure the frustration of waiting than having a verbal conversation with a friend.
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Dear Dr Justin,
My 15-year-old son was hanging out in his bedroom with one of his friends. When I walked by, I saw my son’s friend frantically trying to stash a packet of cigarettes into his bag! I was horrified, but since he isn’t my child, I wasn’t sure how or if I should intervene (I did talk to my son later). What should I have done?
By: Clare Bruce
When everything your family is going well, it can be easy in holidays and family celebrations, to forget that others are doing it tough.
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Many parents believe they are doing the right thing by giving their teenagers alcohol. And it does make some sense. Serving alcohol to our children in our homes is completely logical from our ‘grown-up’ perspective. Read more
By: Michelle Mitchell
It is not difficult to notice times when authentic gratitude is lacking in our homes. I have come to recognise that an indulgent life doesn’t make kids happy. Read more
By: Robert Garrett
Teaching your kids financial skills is one way to set them up for their future. Australian households owe $2.34trillion (as at March 2018), the second highest level of household debt in the world; only Switzerland has more. In 2016 around one third of Australian households were classified as ‘over-indebted’. Read more
Dear Dr Justin, a few weeks ago we found our ten-year-old son looking at an explicit website on his iPad. He says he found it accidentally when he was looking for games and we believe him. Read more
School holidays are a chance for families to shake off the end of term blahs and find a bit of joy in their lives. Read more
By: Clare Bruce
Today’s children are the first “born with a phone in their hands”, not knowing what it’s like to live without web-connected devices close at hand. Read more
Hi Dr Justin, I hate saying no to my kids. I keep softening up, getting talked around, giving in. I’m getting walked all over. How do I set limits and still feel like I’m being a good mum? Read more