Raising an optimist isn’t about producing a child who can think positively. Optimism can make your child’s life better in the long term – Dr Laura Markham gives us some pointers on how to do it. The world needs optimists today more than ever. And people who are...
Learning to love and manage ME
Bags under my eyes, feeling bloated, just stepped on the scale and put on another 2 kilos ...cleaning bottles, sleepless nights, changing diapers has become the norm. I find myself tearing for no reason and feeling tired and depleted most of the time. When my kids ask...
Maintaining your mental health as a mom
Being a mom isn’t all sunshine and daffodils – it’s a really tough job a lot of the time. Clinical psychologist and play therapist Jo-Marie Bothma has some advice for moms on how to keep their own mental health intact. Motherhood is a choice we make every single day....
Think positive, talk positive, feel positive
The last year has been tough, with many things beyond our control, but one thing we can control is our response, writes Yashmitha Padayachee. Hard, difficult, upsetting, traumatic, distressing, sad, troubling, disturbing, tough, trying, challenging – words that have...
Judgemental Moms Passing Judgement
Everyone judges and we have all been judged, but for some reason, being a parent seems to invite even greater levels of judgement – from strangers to family members, everyone has something to say! We take a look at why we judge, and some ways to handle how we feel...
Creating positive mealtimes for the whole family
When you have a toddler in the house, getting them to eat – and eat healthily – can often be a struggle. The first step to overcoming this struggle is to instil a positive attitude towards eating and food in your child. Tennille Aron shares some tips on simple...
Adjusting to the uncertainties of lockdown
Since March 2020, families have been thrown into strange and unpredictable new patterns of interacting and working. Clinical psychologist Michelle Nortje has some suggestions about how to manage this change. This has been a difficult and stressful time for parents and...
Parenting: bliss or burnout?
Parenting isn’t always the blissful scene we imagine it’s going to be. Life coach Nadia Scrooby looks at ways for you to get through parenting while also looking after yourself. The number one reason parents feel overwhelmed is exhaustion. Parenting is filled with...
Understanding your child’s temperament
Psychologists view temperament and personality as two separate constructs when it comes to better understanding individuals. Though temperament and personality are related to each other, they do not refer to the same thing, writes Dr Jo-Marie Bothma, clinical...
Parenting in the social media age
Parenting has changed thanks to the always-on, instant gratification lifestyle we lead in an age of tech and social media, write educator Kerry McArthur. The world that we are parenting in is very different to when we grew up. Our parents had to take photos and wait...