Behaviour & Discipline for Older Kids
When to mind your own business
Mel Hearse Sometimes the line between essential intervention and plain rudeness gets a little blurry. Here Mel Hearse shares her own experience with the latter.
Full disclosure
ANDREW DADDO As Andrew Daddo reminisces about childhood pranks, he wonders how many he should share with his own kids.
'I live with a son who is mentally ill... he terrifies me'
In the wake of last week's horrific massacre in Connecticut, USA, questions are being asked not just about gun control, but about access to mental health services for troubled youth.
The hero teachers of the US school shooting massacre
Staff writers As the world struggles to comprehend the reasons behind second deadliest school shooting massacre in US history, stories of heroism by class teachers are emerging.
How schools fail to curb bad behaviour
ANNA PATTY School suspensions have risen by more than a third over the past six years but do little to improve the behaviour of children, research has found.
Pigtail power defeats school bullies
Melinda Henneberger A peaceful plea on Facebook had a lasting effect.
Save me from the school holiday fighting!
KYLIE ORR How do you spend seven weeks in a row trying to find activities to entertain kids, without going broke or insane.
Parenting
Shaming is not the answer
ELLY TAYLOR Why shame-based punishments will do more harm than good.
Children and hate
Glenda Kwek with staff writers What is the impact on a child of carrying such a message, and of being in a protest environment that then turned violent?
Why karate kids are less likely to grow up to be violent men
Damon Young Can traditional fighting crafts such as Martial Arts help curb male aggression?
Great expectations
Jennifer Ennion Many parents have unrealistic expectations of their children, says parenting coach Justin Coulson.
Hey parents, pull your heads in!
VICTORIA BIRCH Most parents would baulk at showing their eight-year-old a movie that contains gratuitous swearing, verbal abuse, intimidation and occasional physical violence. Yet many are confronted by R-rated language and behaviour every time they play sport.
Is your child evil? Study reveals love is the answer
ADELE HORIN The teenage mass murderer in Lionel Shriver's best-selling novel We Need To Talk About Kevin has shaped how many think of the evil child: they are born that way and parents are powerless to change what is written in the genes.
In the clique
ANNA SPARGO-RYAN With clique behaviour rife in groups of girls as young as three, will we be able to cut the next generation of Mean Girls off at the pass?
Kids lose out when everyone's a winner
Stacey Brodbeck Last week in the news there was discussion of a new study that claims we are turning our children into bullies by giving too much undeserved praise. It seems in our society everyone is a winner!
Are you raising a bully?
KATIE CARLIN Building up your child’s self esteem could be doing more damage than good according to a recent study that has found a strong link between overconfidence and children who instigate bullying.
Kimberley O’Brien
Breaking through the wall
KIMBERLEY O'BRIEN Feel like you’re fighting a losing battle with your stubborn child? Child psychologist Kimberley O’Brien tells you how to get their attention.
Playing favourites
ANTONIA KIDMAN Sometimes the favourite child is the one who is easiest to be around at that moment, writes Antonia Kidman.
Friends or frenemies
KIMBERLEY O'BRIEN Is your child being treated badly by their school friends? Child psychologist Kimberley O’Brien shares her tips on how you can help.
How to take action against bullying
Today is National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. Don't forget to wear orange and take a stand together. For resources on how to combat bullying read these articles.
Vanessa Amorosi lends her voice for a good cause
KATIE CARLIN After being on the receiving end of bullying for most of her childhood, Vanessa knows firsthand how easy it is for kids who are being bullied to feel alone.
The relaxed mummy files: Competitive parenting
JUSTINE DAVIES This week Justine Davies tackles the issue of competitive parenting and how to stop it from shaking your confidence.
The relaxed mummy files: Daily housework grind
JUSTINE DAVIES In part two of the relaxed mummy files we have tips to help you break the daily housework grind.
The relaxed mummy files: Money worries
JUSTINE DAVIES Family fatigue is a growing problem but how do we combat stress build-up when our daily lives never slow down? Justine Davies has got it covered.
Do you value your kids' safety over their dreams?
KYLIE ORR We spend our parenting years encouraging, rewarding and embracing our children’s talents. We enthusiastically cheer them to follow their dreams, leap for the sky, and pursue a career they love. What do you do when your children have an ambition that could ultimately lead to their death?
Qantas loses boy. Rarely happens
Andrew Heasley Qantas has been forced to admit it lost track of an unaccompanied child passenger last month.
From play fighting to cage fighting
Heidi Davoren The latest spectator sport: adults paying to watch kids cage fight.
The six different ways parents get angry with their kids
Renee Mill Most parents tell me that they know what anger is and how they express it to their children. They usually describe anger as screaming or hitting. They confess that sometimes they only realise they have been out of control after the fact.
Daddy's girls
Good dads make happy daughters
Barney Bardsley A firm supporting hand with a sense of protection, guidance, judgement and a spirit of play are all qualities a good father offers his daughter.
The right to smack
Amity Dry Despite recent studies finding smacking harmful, why do community groups and parents demand the right to hit their kids?
A haven for the defiant ones
Denise Ryan Some children display such extreme behaviour that parents despair - but there is hope.
Research
Parental fear breeds cotton-wool kids: study
Katherine Fenech Overprotective parents damaging children's physical and mental health, study finds.
Support not force - the secret to parenting super athletes
Managing a child's freakish sporting ability is a fine art, writes Tim Elliott. The image of the maniacal, overbearing parent is a staple in elite sport, but the reality is different, according to Mark Dobson, author of Parenting Freak Ability, a new book that reveals the secrets of parents who raised some of Australia's leading athletes.
Teaching gratitude
Kylie Orr Calling my children ungrateful would be extreme. However, it would be fair to say they have not yet mastered the art of gratitude.
Bieber fever - were parents to blame?
Miranda Devine When 4,000 febrile, hyperventilating girls camped out at The Rocks overnight waiting for a performance by the 16-year-old Canadian tween idol Justin Bieber on Monday, the outcome was always going to be dramatic. But were lax parents to blame?
Reinventing your childhood for your children. Can it be done?
Kylie Orr My children don’t know what playing in the street is. They are not permitted past our driveway. Although not a main road, our street is used as a thoroughfare and despite speed humps, we still attract bogan hoons on the odd occasion. Not odd enough to let me relax my parental leash.
