Parental As Anything

How can you stop your kids fighting over every little thing and turn down the volume at home? Maggie Dent shares what to do when your kids are running amok and you just want to go hide in a quiet place. When do you step in and when do you step away, and how can you keep your cool in the process?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Is your house covered in reward charts for good behaviour? Are they working? While this quick-fix parenting hack can work for a while, it can actually cause more problems than it solves. And can make your child less, not more motivated to do the right thing. So if rewards (or on the flipside, punishments) are off the table, how can we motivate our kids to be better, act nicer, wee in the toilet, and clean up after themselves?Maggie Dent gets the hard truths from parenting and human behaviour expert Alfie Kohn, and practical advice from social psychologist Helen Street.

The day after childcare is politely known in parenting circles as an utter sh*tshow. There are tears, tantrums, and tearing up the house. A mother-of-three seeks out advice on how to help reset her children, and get the week back on track!Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Resilience is a good attribute to encourage in our kids. But what if your child is a perfectionist who gives up at the slightest hint of failure? A laidback dad seeks out advice on his son's perfectionist tendencies. How can we teach our kids to fail, and fail often?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

School refusal is a big issue, especially in the wake of the pandemic. While most kids will complain about school at some point along the way, what happens when it escalates into outright school refusal? Maggie Dent talks to education consultant and former Principal Adam Voight about how to tackle it head on. From the best ways to advocate for your child, to how to find support, plus the families who went through it and came out the other side. And we ask the big question; should you just change schools?For Rose's full story, listen on the ABC listen app.

All kids lie. At first, their tiny pre-school attempts at manipulation and dishonesty are amusing. So, when does it start to tip over into concerning? And what can you do about it? A concerned mum-of-three is searching for the truth and wondering if it's actually karma….Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

There are many stereotypes around only children; that they're too adult, too spoilt, and lonely. One mother is on a mission to rail against it and raise a happy, well-adjusted child. The only question is: how?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Remember sleep? Long, uninterrupted sleep, in your own bed? If you ping-pong around from room to room, hear the pitter patter of toddler feet at night, or wake up with a toe up your nose, you're not alone.So, what can you do to save your sanity? And with so much conflicting advice, what is the best approach to get your little ones into their bed….and help them stay there? Because the knock-on effects can at this age can be huge; developmental, emotional, and mental.Maggie Dent talks to sleep whisperer Dr Chris Seton, sleep researcher Dr Fallon Cook, gets advice from Carly Grubb from The Beyond Sleep Training Project, and learns a trick or two from the formerly very sleep deprived actor Noni Hazlehurst.More info: Noni Hazlehurst reads Go the F*ck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, 2011, Akashic Books.This episode contains some strong language.

When parenting styles clash, it's hard. Throw in a mother-in-law, and things get that little bit more complicated. With a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at her fingertips, today's caller is choosing to hand over a large part of parenting to her mother-in-law. Only, her parenting style is very different. Suggestions on how to parent differently have fallen on deaf ears, so what's next?Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number.The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.

Party, party, party! A desperate call for help about an out-of-control teenager. She's sneaking out, drinking, and disappearing from where she's meant to be. What's normal, what's not…and what's a parent to do? It's the first question in this new special series Help Me Maggie — where Maggie turns parenting agony aunt.(For great, balanced information to give to your teenager about drug and alcohol use, Maggie recommends DARTA, Reach Out, The Brave Program and headspace). Do you have a question for Maggie? Send a voice memo to parentalasanything@abc.net.au; and include your name and contact number. The advice provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. If you require further advice specific to your needs please consult a professional.