It's no doubt the #1 response parents make when they ask what they want for their kids in life: "I just want my child to be happy." “I just want my child to be happy.” We mean it wholeheartedly when we say it. Then we leave that happiness to chance. We talk to our...
Do you feel guilty all the time about the way you have raised your children? I have always felt so guilty from day one: I didn't give my kids enough of my time and I escaped to work as soon as I could, because mothering was so hard. Now my daughter is self harming,...
We love it when our kids want to hang out and be social. We don't love it when they have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to have fun with friends. Every now and then it's great to go to a water park, shopping, laser tag, eating fast food or seeing a movie, but...
It can be very confronting to learn that your teen is self harming - that is, they are deliberately hurting themselves. The term 'self harm' is now generally referred to as "non-suicidal self-injury" or NSSI. It's a really important distinction, because it reminds us...
Right now it's the #1 question we're getting asked via messages to our Facebook page and Facebook group: what are the best gifts for teens for Christmas? We've had aunties, family friends, grandmas, mums and dads message us. Surely, they all say, a gift voucher isn't...
It's true, we don't track our kids. There's no GPS attached to their phones. We don't use apps that pinpoint their location or limit their phone use or block certain sites. There are no parent blockers operating on our internet or apps turning off phones between...
I had a 15-year-old write to me and ask about figuring out 'what to do with my life'. She writes: ‘As a high school student I’m constantly being reminded to figure out what to do with my life, what career I would like to have and so on. I definitely feel huge amounts...
A storyline on UK TV soap Hollyoaks in late 2017 was praised as a “masterpiece of television” after focusing on the issue of self harm in young people. Article by Chris Nicholson, University of Essex The show, which worked with charities Samaritans and Mind on the...
Yesterday a young friend alerted me to a teen 'support' group that she belongs to. The group is mostly Aussie girls - a few boys, some kids from other countries, but mostly Australian teen girls. The group is a place for them to ask the kinds of questions they are not...
This article lists help for teens in Australia, but if you, or someone you know, are in crisis and urgently need help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. If you are in immediate danger, call 000 right now. List of crisis help for teens in...
Many of us are (rightfully) focused on taking care of our health, eating nourishing whole foods and trying to be active … while meditating and flossing and taking some time of disconnection, away from devices. These are each a wonderful act of self-care, and they...
My middle child is a shy one. She's full of beans and very outgoing when she is comfortable, but struggles when she doesn't know people well. In fact, I'd go so far to say that being asked to be more assertive with people she doesn't know is the very, very worst thing...
Here’s a treat – the Mars Bar slice. Take a Mars Bar and add butter to it then stir in some puffed rice and then coat the lot in chocolate. Oh lordy, it’s like taking a murmur and turning it into a heart attack, but in a totally fine way. This is quite simply the...
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