For Autism Awareness Day I’m just going to share with you some of my favourite quotes ABOUT autism, by those who HAVE autism.
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How to talk to your kid about seeing a Psych
This would have to be one of the questions I’m asked most often by concerned parents. They have reached the point of deciding psychologist support is a useful step for their child, but Oh! How to broach that topic??? It’s Mental Health Week, and this is my guide for how to approach this with your …
Tasting Freedom – and why this is my last Blog Post ever.
There’s this moment when I’m flying down the hill, wind in my face, blue sky above me, and I notice this thought passing by – that this is it, THIS is tasting freedom. It’s exhilarating, and not just because I’ve got all that lovely exercise endorphin flowing through me. In fact, this freedom has nothing …
Stuff that Definitely Doesn’t Suck – a review of Ben Sedley’s “Stuff that Sucks”
I don’t know what your reading list is like – maybe it’s a little like mine. Last year, I was super excited to hear a colleague of mine had his book published. What a magnificent achievement. Then I looked at the pile of books beside my bed I was slowly making my way through, and …
The Jacarandas are Blooming – The Importance of Stories
It’s the eve before Toothless’ birthday and we’re enjoying a goodnight snuggle as I start to tell him the story of his birth. He wriggles and giggles with anticipation – he’s heard this many times before, and he delights in this special tale that is all about how incredible it was that he came to …
Thriving through the School Holidays
It’s nearly here – that gorgeous six-week break at the end of the school year. It’s a time I look forward to SOOO MUCH!! I LOVE the extra time with my little people… oh, and that break from the school-day routine!! But have you ever had the experience where the IDEA of school holidays has been …
Why TV could be making you – and your children – unhappy
At the recent Australia/New Zealand Association of Contextual Behaviour Science conference, I was enthralled by guest speaker Dr Tim Kasser (Professor of Psychology at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois), who spoke on the contradiction of what society tells us will improve well-being, and what actually does. I’m cut from the same cloth as Dr Kasser when it …
Getting to “Sorry”
Many years ago, friends of mine were adjusting to having their second baby at home. They were distressed that their older child seemed to delight in hurting their newest family member. They asked her why she kept hitting/pushing/pinching her sister. Her reply: “I like the sound she makes when she cries.” One of the lessons a …
Making a mess and finding a way back – A reflection on parenting
There’s this moment where I’m standing in Hiccup’s* classroom and a part of me suddenly wakes up and says “Tiff, you’ve got to go”. Something’s gone wrong. Something’s going wrong. It’s been a long, hard morning, a battle of wills, following on from a couple of hard weeks and somehow I’ve found myself standing over …
Do You Walk the Walk?
A recent New York Times article “Raising a Moral Child” by Adam Grant went viral last month. In it, he summarised a 1980 study on altruism development in children: “Psychologist J. Philippe Rushton gave 140 elementary- and middle-school-age children tokens for winning a game, which they could keep entirely or donate some to a child …