Am I Messing up my Boy?
Dr Justin, Please help!! My gorgeous (almost 8 year old) boy is suffering and going backwards and I think its our fault and I’m not…
Category: Articles
Success at School: IQ vs Personality
A guy I know – let’s call him Justin – was a failure at school by nearly all measures. I (oops, “he”) had few friends.…
My Kids Don’t Eat or Sleep
Hi Dr Justin, We have two girls; one 9yrs and one 5 yrs. Our five year old girl is very clingy to me (mummy) and…
10 Ways to ‘Unspoil’ the Children this Christmas
Even in homes where getting by is a bit of a struggle, Christmas is generally a time of indulgence in Australia. We max out our…
Petition Drives Grand Theft Auto 5 Out of Stores
Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTAV) is an R18+ ‘game’ for Playstation, Xbox and a multitude of other game consoles. The game’s (heavily simplified) central focus…
Custody Kerfuffles
Dear Dr Justin, I have 3 children, aged 8, 6, and 4. My ex- hands them over to me every second weekend from Friday afternoon…
Letting Children Cry it Out
I recently had an article appear in the Herald Sun about the dangers of “Crying it Out”. It is reprinted below: My wife attended a…
Sexting, Celebrities, and Our Daughters
The sext-hacking scandal involving celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence remained in the news weeks after it occurred. Their photographs had been stored in “the cloud”, and…
Discipline is NOT About Hurting – or Hitting – your Kids
Some months ago I wrote a blog for kidspot highlighting seven reasons Australia is wrong about smacking kids. The blog attracted an enormous amount of…
Children do What we do, Not What we Say
Oli was excited. He had just collected the junk mail from the letterbox and was browsing it with his sister, Isabella. They found something that…
Should we Force our Children to Say ‘Sorry’
My neighbour is a psychologist who disagrees with me about whether we should make our children say sorry. Her side Elizabeth (not her real name)…
Sexualised Music Videos only Teach Women how to Sell Out
WOMEN’S bodies sell. We all know that, but perhaps no industry understands this, and uses this knowledge to its advantage, more than the music industry.…
My Child’s Favourite Word is ‘No’
Dear Dr Justin, What the hell am I meant to do with a six year old whose answer to any and every request is no?…
The Four Things Your Children Need From You to Be Successful in School
Malala Yousafzai is a girl who has profoundly affected millions of people around the world. You may have heard of her. Last year Malala was…
Talking to Children About Tragic Events in the News
The world can be a scary place. Tragedies occur that affect us all, and these awful things can undermine confidence and lead to anxieties and…
How to ‘Fix’ a Problem Child
Children are challenging. It’s a fact of life for 99% of the population. We find ourselves simmering, or even boiling over, because of the way…