Tuning in to Kids is a parenting course that aims to give you helpful ways of teaching your child the skills of emotional intelligence. The program teaches you about how you, as a parent, can help your child develop good emotional skills. Developed by University of Melbourne researchers, it is a group parenting program that helps parents teach children to understand and regulate their emotions. Read full article
It's inevitable that parents will sometimes disagree about how to raise their children - from small to large decisions, it's often necessary to compromise to come to a united decision. Avoiding disagreement in front of children is of course also very important - parents constantly clashing over parenting decisions can cause emotional harm to a child. Read full article
Professor Nick Allen, at the School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, has conducted studies into the influence of family dynamics on depression in teenagers. Speaking at the Australian Psychological Society’s recent conference on Theory to Practice: Positive Development and Wellbeing, Professor Allen presented research that follows young teenagers from ages 12 to 18 and looks at family communication styles prior to the development of depression symptoms. Through early observations and then periodic follow up over several years, Professor Allen and his colleagues have identified patterns of adult and child communication that predict the likelihood of a teenager developing depression. Read full article
A University of Minnesota study published in Child Development suggests that the origins of behaviour problems in children may include negative parenting styles in early childhood. Headed by Dr Michael Lorber, now at New York University, the study found that ‘negative parenting’ in early infancy – expressing negative emotions, rough handling etc – predicted behaviour problems in children at a later age ... Dr Lorber was asked about any ideas he could share for parents about ‘negative’ versus ‘positive parenting in early childhood ... Read full article
I’ve been infatuated with reading ever since I can remember. Not always fine literature: I had a drawer full of Phantom comics when I was about seven, which I would pore over by torchlight after lights out ... So how is it that my kids would do pretty much anything to avoid having to read a book? Read full article
I’m quite an outgoing person – not a ‘raving extrovert’ but do I love meeting people, finding out all I can about them, telling them something (okay, a lot) about me, and I thrive in other people’s company. I love talking and chatting and debating – you might’ve already figured that out about me by now. But I don’t fit all the stereotypes of an extrovert ... One of our boys was quite a tentative young man when he was a toddler and young primary school student. Read full article
Oliver James is a UK-based clinical child psychologist who has recently written about a technique he calls ‘love bombing’ to help children overcome fears and anxieties that may be causing behavioural problems ... James says that this technique can solve many common behavioural problems in children, giving them a feeling of security so that many of the fears and anxieties causing their behaviour can be allayed. Read full article
These days there is so much advice available to parents, it can be hard to know where to start. It’s good to have help available 24/7, but can all this information create a feeling of overload? Would we be better off ignoring the ‘experts’ with their conflicting opinions and just relying on good old-fashioned commonsense and gut instinct to help us navigate our parenting journey? Should we just chat to our neighbour over the back fence or have a chinwag with the playgroup mums if there’s a parenting issue that is troubling us? Read full article
Dr Helen Street features in this one hour podcast about parents and stress. Yvette Vignando interviewed Dr Street about: How to incorporate stress management into your daily life; How to focus on and define what you can control; Understanding how flexible thinking can help you handle life's stressful events; and Strategies for looking after yourself Read full article
There has been a great deal of fibbing going on in our house recently. Telling of porky pies. Pulling the wool. Stretching the story to fit the circumstance. Blatant bald-faced untruths. Many parents I know find the discovery of their children lying to get out of being blamed for something, or manipulating a game to enhance their chances of winning (also known as cheating) quite disturbing. They are often unimpressed, to say the least. I have a friend who is a school teacher and she readily admits that any kind of lying and cheating is a real bug-bear of hers ... But (to tell you the truth), I’m not particularly bothered by it ... Read full article
