Book Introduction: Raising a star achiever
I am very happy to share with you all that my book has been published: If only came with a parents’ guide … Raising happy, well adjusted children is a tall order for any parent or caretaker. All parents want what’s best for their children and will do whatever it takes to help them navigate […]
Expresso video 1: What is bullying?
Last week I chatted to Expresso’s Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp about bullying. In the first segment we looked at what bullying is, what the psychological effects are and what signs to look out for. Bullying can be described as aggressive behaviour by one party (individual or group) against another in which there is a real […]
Expresso video 2: How to address bullying
In this video I chat to Expresso’s Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp on how parents should address bullying. It is absolutely vital that parents get involved if they know or suspect that their child is being bullied, but how they go about doing so is important: keep in mind that your child is most likely already feeling embarrassed […]
Expresso video 3: Why do children become bullies?
Bullying is a serious problem and as a society we often react with great empathy to the child who is being bullied. But what if your child is the bully? Children bully others for a variety of reasons. Surprisingly when we talk to bullies we often find that they themselves suffer from a low self-esteem […]
Learning Difficulties: What to ask teachers and therapists
In the new term meeting with professionals working with your child is a priority. It can be very daunting, especially for parents whose children may have learning difficulties. Frequently, the professionals end up talking and the parents try desperately to follow the conversation and very often only pick up on the negative information. A small […]
Self-mutilation in children and teens
Self-mutilation (sometimes also referred to as self-harm or self-injury) is defined as all acts by which an individual deliberately sets out to harm his or her own body. In the majority of self-mutilation cases suicide is not the main aim and the injuries inflicted are not life threatening. I realise that this is a […]
The effects of parental stress on children
It seems to me that parents are more stressed out than ever before! The advent of smart phones has created the expectation that we should be available to respond to work queries immediately, all around the clock. When I was little it was very unusual for either of my parents to bring work home, […]
Parenting: Love is NOT enough
My hand hesitates with the cursor hovering over the “publish article” button. I know that what I’m about to say is probably going to offend you and I’m not prepared to apologise for it. Criticize away, but I feel it’s my duty to tell you that you’ve been lied to all along. The common dogma […]
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
It is Child Protection Week in South Africa and we should all strive to protect our children from neglect and abuse. Unfortunately, sexual abuse is very serious and common, but as common as it is, people find it a difficult topic to discuss. Most often, the offender is known by the child and parents. The […]
Children and divorce: What to do when your child doesn’t want to visit the other parent.
Children and divorce – more often than not an explosive combination. In my practice I’m consulted from time to time in cases where a child refuses to visit the non-primary caregiver – the “other parent” so to speak. And generally, this creates problems on all sides: The primary caregiver is usually torn between forcing the […]