Justine Lamont Building relationship, Discipline, Emotional intelligence, Explosive kids, Explosive parents, United Front

What to do if you disagree with your partner on how to discipline your child

My partner and I disagree on what to do when our child has very challenging behaviours like threatening us, throwing things and shouting. Dealing with the behaviour is bad enough. On top of that I am feeling exhausted and worn down because my partner and I disagree on the best way to discipline. The main … Continue reading What to do if you disagree with your partner on how to discipline your child

Justine Lamont Building relationship, Communication, Dealing with uncertainty, Managing transitions

Prepare for school in a pandemic

Families will prepare kids to go back to school on Monday next week. What challenges will our children face going back? How will they feel and what will they do with their emotions? These are some of the questions I am reflecting on as I think about how families can best prepare for the change. … Continue reading Prepare for school in a pandemic

Justine Lamont Building relationship, Communication, Emotional intelligence, Parenting strategies, Resilience

Looking after each other

Parents right now are adapting to very different circumstances. We feel a lot of emotion. We feel the responsibility of looking after each other. There are benefits from our being at home and we feel challenged by the uncertainty of what happens next. On a daily basis we balance our needs as parents and those … Continue reading Looking after each other

Justine Lamont Building relationship, Emotional intelligence, Gratitude, making mistakes, Social skills

We all want grateful kids

Recently a parent raised the question of how she could encourage her children to be more grateful; "My kids get so many things and never seem to be that grateful for them". Is it realistic to want kids who are grateful? This question is loaded with an expectation. The expectation is that our kids should … Continue reading We all want grateful kids

Justine Lamont Building relationship, Communication, Strong-willed kids

Help! My strong-willed child won’t take “no” for an answer

Parents of a strong-willed child can wonder how they will get through the day when everything feels like a battle. It feels like our child is in charge. Getting even the tiniest amount of cooperation seems impossible. Our strong-willed child is determined and won't take "no" for an answer. This can leave us feeling frustrated, … Continue reading Help! My strong-willed child won’t take “no” for an answer

Justine Lamont Building relationship, Discipline, How to stay calm, making mistakes

Why punishment doesn’t work

“The dominant problem with parenting in our society isn’t permissiveness, but fear of permissiveness.” This idea put forward by Alfie Kohn in his book “Unconditional Parenting” is as valid now as it was when he wrote it in the early 2000’s. He warns against the dangers of over-controlling and punishment. Fear or permissiveness holds us … Continue reading Why punishment doesn’t work