Family Communications
Many problems can be solved or improved with better communication. Learning how to listen to your family and teaching your children about respect and boundaries are all vital to a happy home environment. It is also important to learn how to talk about the difficult stuff, or topics that make us feel awkward. This category deals with issues that revolve around communication such as: How to Talk to Your Children About Death, How to Improve Listening In The Home and How to Run A Family Meeting.
This summer a whole new set of parents will experience, for the first time, their young teens at home and off school for three whole months. They are still very young so they have to be monitored and cared for but how can you do this for three months and hold down a job? Read our tips for an enjoyable summer.
Getting a job as a teenager is like taking on an extra subject, one that cannot be taught in school. Real learning about the world, and the people in it, can come from getting a job. Read our tips to guiding your teen in their part-time job.
Many parents have relied upon grandparents’ support to raise their children, both now and in the past. With childcare options so few, due to costs, parents need grandparents more than ever. What can parents and grandparents do to support each other in the care of children?
What should you do if you have an adult child who thinks that they are all grown up but keeps lapsing into childish behaviours? Are you enabling them to act like a child? As a parent your ultimate goal is to support your child to grow up and become a responsible adult.
There can be a lot of ‘secrets’ in some families, such as health or relationship issues, that family members simply do not speak about or refer to. At times children don’t know the content of the secret, they just know it is something they don’t talk or ask about. We explore how the types of secrets that parents tell can cause challenges within their families, and how to communicate openly with children about them.
How demanding are we of our children? Many parents would say that being a parent is very demanding but have you ever monitored how many demands you make of your child every day, in an hour or even in one minute? Research shows that parents can give 20-40 commands in a 30 minute period. What must this be like for a child? Read our tips here on how to make less demands on your child.
Research tells us over and over again how valuable the outdoors is for us all. However how often do we really go outdoors, other than just getting to the car or catching a bus? Although the Autumn/Winter seasons can be a little harsh, children still love the outdoors at this time of year. Read here for tips on outdoor play.
Christmas doesn’t have to be a difficult time for parents who do not live together and share parenting of their child. There are, of course, things that will need to be worked out. Agree your plan as soon as possible to help ensure a happy, fun-filled Christmas for all members of the family, centered around your child.
As children settle back into school after the Christmas break we must think about the children who are suffering from bullying at school. It is agonising for a parent or guardian to suspect or learn that their child is being bullied.
With the chilly weather we find ourselves indoors more often and may have more time to spend reading with our children. Reading together is a great bonding exercise and important to make part of your daily life if possible. Read about tips on reading with your child here.
As parents it can be awkward and difficult to talk to our children about our sexual expression. If we could broaden our own outlook on how we view our own sexuality it will help us to talk to our children/teenagers about what it means to be a sexual human being.
Many parents would say that being a parent is very demanding. But have you ever monitored how many demands you make of your child every day, in an hour or even in one minute?
How many parents argue with their child on a daily basis? If you find yourself arguing with your children then you need to press pause and re-examine what is going wrong. Click here for our tips on how to resolve these issues.
In this article, we share some ideas to support you to define and embrace your role as the parent of a young adult.
When someone in the family or community dies, children are at times kept away from it. Death is a very normal part of life and children, like adults, need to know and understand what is happening, at an age appropriate level of course. This article offers 10 tips on how to approach your children on the subject of death.
Talking with your child about sex can be a fearful task for many parents but sex education is most effective when built up gradually over the years. This article offers advice on how you can gradually inform your children about the birds and the bees.
This article offers tips on how you can establish better listening and communication skills with your older children.
Listening is not just about hearing what is being said, but how it is being said. This article talks about how parents can improve how they listen to their children.
Siblings can play wonderful roles throughout each other’s lives, though there can be challenges along the way. Here are some tips on how you can nurture a healthy sibling relationship.
When there is an issue for any family member, holding a family meeting is a good way to resolve it as a together. Regular meetings can promote harmony between all family members. This article offers tips on how you can run a successful family meeting.
Active Listening is an important part of being an assertive parent. It allows children to express their emotions and shows your child that you are taking on board what they are saying and making an effort to understand how they are feeling about what is going on in their lives.
A family ritual, or tradition, is a practice within a family that has special meaning to family members. Family rituals provide a sense of belonging and continuity. This article offers some tips on how you can establish such rituals and traditions.