The astonishing scientific connection between love, parenting, brain development, education and poverty.

The other day a perfect stranger helped me understand the astonishing scientific connection between love, parenting, brain development, education and poverty. And what it means for parenting my kids to greatness, and helping the most vulnerable in our country. I was MCing an event where critical development-based research was being released when an elderly man…

Tag: brain-development, responsive-listening, south-africa, unconditional-love

The Most Puzzling Part of Parenting (by Julie, my Wife)

My parenting co-pilot (wife) is a better writer than me (or is it ‘I’). Which is why she is my guest blogger today. I found her post in her journal. It wasn’t written with you in mind, but I think you’d love to read it. Let me explain. I write my thoughts about parenting in…

Tag: mothers, mundanity-of-parenting

4 Sexuality-Related Conversations You Must Have With Your Kids and Tweens

In Julie and my case, sex has had five amazing effects. When my wife was pregnant with twins (kid number 4 and 5), I bumped into an old friend who slapped me on the arm with a, ‘Well done, you horny bugger, you!’ At that point I realized that my reproductive abilities had been noted…

Tag: humour, the-sex-talk

In honour of all grandparents, especially those who – like granny Esther – become better not bitter from life’s hardships.

Grandparents, grandkids and bridges between the two, let me inspire you with a story that is at once heart-warming and heart-breaking. I’ve always admired grandparents’ love for us grandkids. The stats bear out that most of them are very focused on their second tier of offspring: 7 in 10 grandparents think being one is the single most…

Tag: grandparents

8 Tried-and-Tested Ways To Raise Book-Lovers.

My oldest kids (ages 5, 7 and 9) have evolved into voracious readers. For example, Julie and I just took them on a 3 day holiday. Other than beach-going, their recreational preference was reading. Eli and Fynn clocked in hours everyday in pure reading pleasure. Ivy, who can’t yet read, nonetheless flipped through picture book…

Tag: cultivating-kids, kids-and-books, kids-and-screens

There’s Only One Method I’ve Discovered That Gets Kids To Listen The First Time Almost Every Time.

Parenting often feels like hostage negotiation with drunken, bipolar pirates. When our kids run amok, many of us parents resort to either just giving in to their mutiny, or by bombing them with rage-driven cannon balls. But there is a much better way. As far as I know it is the only way to bring…

Tag: boundaries-rules, discipline, enlisting-co-operation, misbehaviour

Eat, Move, Sleep and 3 Other Daily Keys to Becoming A Healthier Family.

How does a family become healthier every single day? By that I mean cultivating the all-round wholeness of interpersonal connection, of body, of mind and of soul. There is something about the pace and busyness of life nowadays that mitigates against healthiness in families. So many of us have forgotten that pursuing achievement (such as…

Tag: exercise, family-habits, food, health

Teen Sexting – Everything Parents Need To Know

If only us parents had been more clued up before an online sexual predator targeted the teens in our faith community. Worse still, it was one of our youth leaders who assumed numerous fake online identities to entice over 50 teen boys (from inside and outside of our church) into sending semi-nude or nude online…

Tag: kids-and-screens, masculinity, parenting-is-hard, teen-sexuality, teenagers, the-sex-talk

8 Things Every Teenage Son Needs Their Dad To Say

This week, I spoke to a hall full of dads seated next to their teenage sons. Here’s what I said… “This theme of dad-teen son relationships is really important to me personally because: My dad died when I was 16, and I cherish the memory of those last few years with him. The fact that…

Tag: masculinity, teen-son

6 Ways To Herd Halflings

Parent, here’s how to save kilowatts of energy and sand dunes of sanity as you more skillfully guide your kids’ daily behaviours, attitudes and cooperation. I’m thinking of getting them to… climb out of bed, get dressed, wear underpants, eat their breakfast, take their bag, climb in the car, get off the jungle gym, change…

Tag: enlisting-co-operation