As a parent, you will interact with many professionals in trying to ensure the best for your child – doctors, nurses, teachers, dentists, and perhaps also psychologists, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians…. And there’s something you ought to understand. Each of these professions has something useful to contribute but each holds only a piece […]
There are no easy answers to many of the dilemmas that parents face and even if there were, they wouldn’t necessarily be right for your child. However, this doesn’t mean that you are lost and adrift with nothing to guide you either. Although there are no easy answers, there is flexible adaptation, a process of […]
The relationship between parent and child is unique for many reasons and one of those reasons is that the relationship fundamentally involves a power imbalance. The power dynamic between parent and child is, of course, natural and necessary. Yet, it is still incredible to ponder the sheer degree of power that parents have over their […]
Many of the biggest dilemmas parents face are about discipline; how to gradually and effectively shape our children’s behaviour both to make everyone’s life easier in the short-term and to ensure, in the long-term, that as an adult they are equipped with the kinds of skills and behaviours that will bring them success, health and […]
Therapists (psychologists, counsellors, social workers) talk about falling into the trap of seeing a client as a problem to be solved. It is really very easy to fall into this trap and many therapists fall into it for all the right reasons and with all the best intentions. But it definitely is a trap. When […]
When I was in the second year of my undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Queensland, one of my lecturers, Professor Ottmar Lipp (who still teaches at UQ) said something particularly marvellous. He said that every question in psychology has the same answer and the answer is this: it depends. At the time […]
A good sense of humour is a must if you want to be a happy parent. I strongly recommend cultivating an attitude of relaxed amusement. You quickly learn, after bringing your little newborn home that the hilarious scenarios within comic movies and TV shows featuring new parents aren’t overblown but rather are amazingly accurate; especially […]
Most parents have a whole variety of plans for how they will parent, how their family will operate and how their children will behave. But most parents also know that children have plans of their own! It is not unusual as a parent to find yourself in a situation where your ideas about what should […]
Parents are often made to feel guilty and ashamed of the way their children sleep (or don’t). But the truth is: There are a variety of ways that adults, children and babies can sleep. Sleeping practices are cultural. We each have our own individual sleeping preferences, needs and patterns (e.g. children vary in how much […]
Parenting is a 24/7 job and you can’t be at your best 24/7. I know that I am capable of providing my toddler with a day filled with a whirlwind of enriching and stimulating activities and outings, while simultaneously keeping my household running, encouraging her emotional development and responding to any challenges along the way […]