Lily and the Bee Sting: Don’t Take It Personally

This one by my wife, Julie Williams I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day and she shared this sweet story of her niece… Lily, aged 4, got stung by a bee. Like any self-respecting 4-year-old, she proceeded to wail. Then after the initial shock and sting had subsided, Lily continued to…

Tag: acknowledge-feelings, life-lessons

The Stranger In Your Home: Safeguarding Kids on Devices

The Stranger In Your Home: Safeguarding Kids on Devices By Julie Williams With young kids now spending more time than ever on electronic devices, safe-guarding them from online dangers is crucial. The documentary Social Dilemma alerted us to a new stranger – “the algorithm” – but in this post I suggest we stay alert to…

Tag: kids-and-screens

Should We Use TIME OUT or TIME IN With Our Kids?

Should we use Time Out or Time In with our small kids? Yes. Julie and I use both with our younger kids. We’re fans of Time In. Kids act their worst when they feel their worst. They need love and connection most when they deserve it least. The cool thing about Time In is that…

Tag: acknowledge-feelings, authority, boundaries-rules, misbehaviour

Ten Things Your Kids Need Most From You

Ten Things Your Kids Need Most From You. What do kids (tweens especially) think they need from us parents? I just had a little chat with Eli (12) and Fynn (10) and asked them that very question. I will share with you the gist of what they said. I’d always thought that I needed a…

Tag: authority

My Whole Family Got COVID…

My Whole Family Got COVID… Here’s the whole story. After a crazy-eventful lockdown (in which we had to make not one, but two emergency visits to the hospital for our normally healthy kids), we were so looking forward to getting back to some kind of normal. Our kids’ school was opening up again, our work…

3 Tight-ropes Your Family Needs During Covid-19

3 Tight-ropes Your Family Needs During Covid-19. Whether Level-4 or Level-3, family life is something different to anything we have known. In my last post, I described the 6 struggles so many families are facing during Covid-quarantine. Today, I get on the solution-side of the conversation. As I surveyed 30 other mainly suburban families and…

Tag: Covid-19, lockdown

Quarantine Crazy: The 6 Struggles Most Families Are Facing

Quarantine Crazy: The 6 Struggles Most Families Are Facing. For as long as I have not seen or smelt the sea (only 10 km’s away), I have found myself spending almost all my time with just six other people – my wife Julie, and our five kids, aged 5-11. Like thousands of other lock-down or…

Tag: Covid-19, lockdown

Here’s How I Will Try Inspire My Kids To Not Have Sex Too Soon

Here’s How I Will Try Inspire My Child To Not Have Sex Too Soon. I had sex way too soon, and I don’t want the same for my kids. I am guessing most parents would not want their kids to have sex while they are still in school, yet we are not sure how to…

Tag: teen-sexuality, the-sex-talk

Home Bound and Still Happy – Here’s How

Home Bound and Still Happy – Here’s How A billion people are now ordered to be home bound. It is likely Julie and I will be stuck at home with 5 kids for a month. Just a few days in, we are not faring well: More than usual, I have verbally lashed out at my…

Tag: Home-bound

8 Rules to Deal With COVID-19

8 Rules to Deal With COVID-19 1. We can’t stop it. It is very likely that in the coming year or two, you or at least half of the people in your home will get the virus. The drastic measures to reduce the spread of the virus are good attempts to delay the full wave….