Posts Tagged ‘raising children’

Billions owed in child support penalties

Monday, October 8th, 2018

New Zealanders owe billions in child support debt, with some individual parents owing more than $1 million. But most of the debt is late payment penalties, leading some to question whether the system is hurting the people it is designed to help. Continue reading

Loving the difficult child

Monday, March 27th, 2017

Once in a while, one of my kids fall into a funk, a period of negativity and difficult behavior which makes parenting a real challenge. When this happens, not only do I feel sorrow for my child, but I also feel discouraged and inadequate. And yet, I know that this experience is almost a universal Read more

How to raise unspoilt children

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

No one wants to have – or to be around – demanding, selfish, spoiled children; those who throw tantrums or sulk when they’re not given everything they want immediately. Paradoxically, the parents of such children encourage this demanding behaviour in the mistaken belief that if they give their children everything they can, their children will Read more

Stats reveal the 14 year itch is a reality

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016

Most New Zealanders getting divorced are in their mid-40s and don’t have kids, and the “seven-year itch” is a myth. In fact, Statistics New Zealand figures show couples are most likely to call it quits after about 14 years. Figures from 2014, the latest year reliable statistics are available, show that couples most commonly filed Read more

Parents preventing and dealing with bullying

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

Parents are one of the most influential factors when talking about bullying – in that they are the most likely to be able to prevent it. The way parents model appropriate interactions and communication to their children (for example, resolve disagreements, be assertive when appropriate) will impact on how their children interact with others – Read more

Parenting as a political activity

Friday, July 18th, 2014

The best way to describe how I felt when I first became a mother is invisible. I went from going to meetings, lectures and libraries, where people would show interest in me and my work, to being stuck in our apartment with round the clock feedings and baby care. I didn’t see many people, and, Read more

Modern parents: replace sex talk with tech talk

Friday, July 11th, 2014

A marker of 21st century adult life may be the eternal debate about whether to “disconnect” once in a while, but for children the question is a far more serious one. Born into the digital age and exposed to technology and the internet very early, this generation of kids are effectively guinea pigs in the Read more

Leading our children away from celebrity culture

Tuesday, July 8th, 2014

This week, Forbes released its annual top celebrities list, The Celebrity 100. Quite simply, the list measures, as Forbes shamelessly puts it, “money and fame”. Calculating the in-crowd includes looking at earnings over the past year, as well as “media and social networking power”. One gets the sense that we are encouraged to idolize these people. Read more