talking with kids

Someone told me the other day that parents and kids are saying goodnight to each other via FaceBook. Really? “If you can’t talk to your kids about what they are reading and listening to, how will you talk to them about drugs and sex?” Author unknown One technique I have found helpful in creating conversation […]

spending time

We’ve all heard the argument over spending quality versus quantity time with kids. I was reminded this week of the difference between “doing with” and “being with” by my youngest son. I had done a lot with him this particular evening but we hadn’t had any time together where we were just sitting and being. […]

bikes, boys, and being mum

It was so good yesterday They wanted to do it again.   We lifted the bikes over the school fence to ride on the netball court.   So big now and so fast so confident pushing new limits every day   No-one needs me now To hold the bike whilst he gets on To run […]

the unveiling of so much sound

A poem by Samantha Reynolds from http://bentlily.com/, where you can catch a poem a day or browse the archives for lots of treasures like this one…   I’d been told that having a child would ignite my eyes   pack wonder back into the humdrum of a spoon the seductive arch of its spine the tiny […]

one little word

January was a bit of a crazy month. In this part of the world we have six weeks school holidays, from mid December to the end of January. As a family, we had the opportunity to examine and negotiate boundaries, limits, and expectations, and learn a whole lot more about what independence should look like […]

walking with

I want to tell you about something I saw on the television a few years ago. It’s a story I frequently tell parents in the parenting groups that I facilitate to demonstrate the difference between parenting through connection and using punitive discipline. It was a reality show made in America. I have wracked my brain […]

taking stock #3

Doing… We have just had two weeks school holidays. I’ve been taking the boys to the park as often as I can, to run off their energy. This hasn’t been easy as the weather has been wild some days, with 120 to 140 km/h winds. We went out with a friend one day during the holidays. […]

a voice of reason

As a family we loved watching The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. That is until some wise person somewhere decided to take it off the telly. Two funny, smart American men critically analysing American media and culture. The interviews that they conduct are humourous but respectful. We Aussies love to see Americans anyone poking […]

into the wild

I happened upon the movie “Into the Wild” whilst flicking around the channels. It was on late, hidden amongst the flotsam and jetsam of television programming. The description said it was directed by Sean Penn, and as he appears to be a complex character, I thought the movie may be interesting, and recorded it. It sat on […]

the first one is an experiment

My first child kicked so hard and so much in utero, we joked that he was going to be a world class soccer player. He was active, and never seemed to rest. I worked two jobs whilst I was carrying him. One job was in a group home where one of the clients was very […]