Knowing Girls

It may seem that your teenager is always tired. There are very good physiological and developmental reasons for that. Here's how you can help.

Grit is proven to be a great indicator of future success. More so than academic ability. So, how do we develop grit in our kids?

When asked, "What do you want, hope for and demand of the future?" this is what young women at Santa Maria College had to say.

Mindfulness training is scientifically proven to be good for children. Find out more: https://santamaria.wa.edu.au/why-mindfulness-is-awesome/

Managing your child's social media use can be daunting. A good place to start is with a social media contract. Here's one that will open up great discussion

We don't usually talk to kids about friendship. But if we talk to kids about these relationships and set realistic expectations we can save them a lot of pain.

We constantly schedule kids so that they are are never bored. However, boredom is important in the development of a child's curious and creative mind. To explore this topic further, read the [...]

Shame is unspoken, toxic and destructive. When we shame a child it can have lasting effects. Yet we all do it. Why? And how can we repair the damage?

There is no doubt that we have an epidemic of stress and anxiety among our teens. One of their big fears is how they will cope in life beyond school. But why?

Leavers, schoolies...call it what you like. The very thought of it is enough to make parents queasy. But there are ways to reduce the possible risks.

I wish mindfulness had another name. I always cringe a bit when I write or talk about the importance of being 'mindful'. This wasn't helped today when our intern at work told me I was starting to [...]

Fact is, education isn’t confined to the seven hours of a school day. And it doesn’t only rely on the expertise of a teacher. We all contribute to ‘growing a child’ so we should be talking about [...]

Bullying is one of the most damaging experiences our kids face, and there are no easy fixes. Our best hope is a culture of empathy.

Australia has one of the lowest rates of smoking in the world. Among adults, it is considered to be about as socially desirable as sucking on a car exhaust pipe.  And that’s a good thing.

The first time I heard the expression ‘sparent’ was six years ago. It was around the same time as my first nephew was born. My brother thought that the idea of sparents was brilliant, especially [...]

If you have a child who is starting their final exams in the next couple of weeks, you might be feeling a bit stressed. You have supported your child through their whole school life and now they [...]

Most people remember at least some of their teachers from primary school. I remember every single one. They had a huge effect on me. They’re probably the reason I became a teacher. My favourite [...]

Creativity is the way we move forward personally and as a society. It is the way we show our souls and it is how we solve our tricky problems. What most people don’t realise is that creativity [...]

The most stressful part of education for students, parents and teachers is discipline. What makes it so difficult and why doesn't it seem fair?

How can our daughters be so connected, and yet often feel so utterly, utterly alone? That irony surfaced in the research of my book Being 14: Helping fierce teens become awesome women. [...]