Thinking parenting Blog
8 Books for talking to children about emotions
It takes time for children to learn to recognise and manage their feelings. Talking to children about emotions can help this process. Talking is usually best done when everyone is calm and no-one...
Should I use Time Out?
There is a lot of contradictory advice out there about Time Out as a parenting strategy. Should parents use it? Does it work? Is it harmful? At what age should I use Time Out? Time Out has certainly...
When teenagers do stupid things? Don’t panic!
People assume that because I advise parents on parenting, I must be a fantastic parent myself – which I’m not. I’m just like you. I get some things right, I get some things wrong. I...
Book Review: He’s Not Lazy (by Adam Price)
*This review contains affiliate links If you have a teenage son who is not doing as well as you think he should be at school, you must read He’s Not Lazy: Empowering your son to believe in...
Why positive parenting makes you happier
A key principle of positive parenting is noticing the good stuff and trying to make a bit more of it happen. For children, this can have a truly transformative effect. When parents notice what their...
Parenting is a two-way relationship
One of the things I encourage parents to do is to see parenting as a relationship between a parent and a child rather than as a one-way activity. That means focusing on building a good relationship...
Positive parenting: using consequences for misbehaviour
One of the key ways that children learn is through cause and effect. “I do X and Y happens – I like Y so I will do X again. I do W and Z happens – I don’t like Z therefore I...
Supporting children’s and teenagers’ mental health: resource list
Children and young people’s mental health is hardly out of the news these days but often parents are at a loss how best to help and support a child/teenager who is struggling. So, I have...
Encouraging co-operation: how to get children to do what they’re asked!
He just doesn’t listen! She just won’t do as she’s asked! Getting children to co-operate can be utterly infuriating. But when it comes to encouraging co-operation, there are some...
Resilient Parenting (because bad things can still happen to good parents)
Whenever I run parenting seminars, there are always some parents attending who are there for ‘prevention’ purposes. By that I mean that they don’t have problems with their...
Best parenting websites for teenagers and tweens
Being a parent of teenagers, I know there are fewer choices out there when you are looking for parenting advice on teenage issues. Whether it’s professional help you are seeking or peer group...
Ground rules: catch them being good!
In most parenting dilemmas, we have a choice about how to respond. Often, the decision boils down to a choice between being a policeman or a coach. Put crudely, the job of a policemen is to catch...
Using a behaviour contract with teenagers
Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of reward charts. They help children to focus on the behaviour that is expected from them and they remind parents to catch their children being good and...
Making reward charts work
Reward charts are a fantastic positive parenting tool for encouraging the behaviour you want from your children. Whether it’s helping out around the house, being polite or using the...
Managing sibling conflict: why siblings fight
There are lots of reasons why siblings fight. Here are some of the most common...
Triple P parenting self-help workbooks
Triple P parenting self-help workbooks are an ideal solution for parents who want to learn more about positive parenting but who can’t attend a parenting course. The books cover all the same...
When parents disagree about parenting
When it comes to children, no two parents in the history of this planet have ever had exactly the same approach to parenting. This is hardly surprising since co-parents have (by law!) grown up in...
Sibling conflict: a survival guide for parents
Sibling conflict can really leech the fun out of family time. A day of constant mediation between bickering children sends the best of us running for the wine feeling like a battered referee...
Toddlers’ brains: how toddlers think
Toddlers’ brains are only half-finished. As a result, toddlers think in fundamentally different ways from adults. For toddlers, the impossible is just as likely to be true and the laws of...
Help! Is my toddler OCD?
“He’s got toddler OCD” is a phrase I’ve heard countless times from parents of 2 and 3 year-olds. Sometimes said with a laugh, sometimes with real concern. My response?...
How can I stop my children fighting?
It’s no fun living with children who are constantly bickering. Sibling conflict is a common family problem and most families will experience children fighting, arguing, bickering, teasing, and...
Toddler Food Battles: Seven steps to stress-free mealtimes
There are certain battles that grown-ups will always lose if they go head-to-head with children. Toileting is a classic: there is absolutely nothing that a parent can do to force a child to produce...