The importance of friendship
The importance of friendship
It’s good to have a few close friends. It’s good for our mental health among other things. And so it is with our youngsters.
parenting
Opening the digital world
Opening the digital world
Digital is no longer just our future - it’s very much our present, says parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Setting priorities
Setting priorities
It’s not easy out there. I wouldn’t like to be managing a young household at the moment, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Be proactive on peer pressure
Be proactive on peer pressure
How successfully teenagers handle peer pressure depends on how they feel about themselves and how they see their place in the scheme of things, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Sex education is now crucial
Sex education is now crucial
For parents these days, there’s another element to sex education that needs to be addressed - "porn literacy" - says Ian Munro.
Preparation key to successful meeting with teacher
Preparation key to successful meeting with teacher
As the first school term draws to a close, many parents will already have had an invitation to meet the teacher, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Keep up the support
Keep up the support
There’s a school of thought among researchers that holds that parents tend to withdraw their emotional support from their sons much earlier than they do their daughters, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Bags — a weighty topic
Bags — a weighty topic
A new school year and a new job - the afterschool run one day a week. And always the request to "please carry my bag", writes Ian Munro.
Continue with consequences
Continue with consequences
When it comes to getting teenagers to do things around the house, they have to know the consequences if the chores aren't done, writes Ian Munro.
Working on teamwork
Working on teamwork
Several weeks ago, I discussed taking a shared or teamwork approach to routine household chores. Here are some suggestions for making it work, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Appreciate adolescence
Appreciate adolescence
Parenting columnist Ian Munro sums up adolescence.
Reassessing relationships
Reassessing relationships
Having a teenager can be like going through those "terrible 2s" and the tantrums again, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
Breaking out of a chrysalis
Breaking out of a chrysalis
Shakespeare would have "no age between ten and three-and-twenty". British author Tony Parsons talks of us losing our youngsters after a certain age. "They start as a part of you, indistinguishable...
Transitioning to adulthood
Transitioning to adulthood
For a teen, working out your place in the scheme of things, wondering about the future, is filled with turmoil, writes Ian Munro.
Helping is not a chore
Helping is not a chore
Chores are what we do as a team - whatever age, writes Ian Munro.
Encourage saving habit
Encourage saving habit
When it comes to managing money, bailing youngsters out is a very slippery slope, writes Ian Munro.
Dollars and sense
Dollars and sense
When it comes to pocket money, It’s important to be clear about its purpose, writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.
The gifts they want
The gifts they want
Listening and spending quality time with children this Christmas is a precious gift and costs nothing but your time.
Where did I come from?
Where did I come from?
When it comes to answering questions about sex, there's no danger in telling children the truth but great danger in fobbing them off, writes Ian Munro.
Playtime, rest important
Playtime, rest important
Some years ago, I sat at a red light behind a bumper sticker that read, "If a woman’s place is in the home, why am I always in the car?" writes parenting columnist Ian Munro.