As we approach the end of the first school term, most children have settled into the regular routines and rhythms of school life. If you have a kindergartener, they’re more than likely seasoned pros at this school business by now. They can navigate the canteen line, remember library day,...

A lot of parents assume that aggressive behaviour in young children means they are naughty, bad, or mean. They punish their child for hitting, place them in time out, send them to their room, use harsh words or even hit them back.

But their child continues to hit. This leads parents to believe...

I recently asked my Facebook followers which of their children's behaviours drove them the MOST crazy. Can you guess what they said? Yep. You got it. Everyone wanted to know how to get their kids to stop whining. Whining is high on every parents list of irritating behaviours. And I get it. It's...

Do you have a freshly minted 5 year old heading off to school this year? Me too! Starting school is a huge milestone isn’t it? It can also be really daunting for our small humans (and us big humans, too!). So if your child is feeling anxious about starting school, that’s...

Ah, sibling rivalry. Do you remember how you felt when you found out you were having another child? Did you imagine siblings playing peacefully side by side? Sharing, encouraging each other, giving each other kisses and cuddles? Being best friends?

Did you also imagine the fights about...

Almost all of the parents that bring their child to see me for therapy are worried about their child’s emotional regulation skills. They worry that their child is overly sensitive, that they become distressed over small things, that they are quick to anger, they hurt...

Whenever I see a family in therapy, and they mention that their child is having trouble with emotional regulation -  things like anger, aggression, anxiety, frequent meltdowns or tantrums - this is where I start. With the calm down corner.

In fact, I pretty much tell everyone...

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about identifying anxiety in children. Some of you may have recognised some of the signs of anxiety in your child. And if you did, you were probably wondering, well, now what? How do I help my anxious child? So, here are the answers. Here are lots of answers,...

Do you know which mental illness people most frequently seek help from a GP for? Yep, anxiety. Do you also know that some studies suggest up to 30% of kids experience anxiety at some point in their lives? Thirty percent!  And amazingly, other studies suggest that up to 80% of kids with...

Mindfulness for kids has become super popular in the last few years. And while it might seem to be a fairly recent phenomenon, mindfulness has actually been around for thousands of years – often as part of religious and cultural practices.

Psychologists have been talking about –...