Stories, Tips and Resources for Developing Your People-literacy Skills

How to Create Joyful and Happy Families  Many families today are feeling the stress of modern day living. Children are much more likely than not to grow up in a household in which their parents work, and in nearly half of all two-parent families today, both parents...

We all want to be good parents. But sometimes parenting can be difficult and exhausting. You know those times that we wish that we could escape from the people we love. Have you ever wondered why life isn’t that simple and why we can’t all just get along and live in...

It’s really important to look after your emotional and mental health as a parent. You probably know how to look after your physical health (eat vegetables, wash your hands, don’t run across the road, and so on), but it’s harder to know how to look after your mental...

When my kids were growing up I was always worrying about being a good parent. I remember when one of them had a terrible meltdown in the supermarket and I nearly burst into tears because another parent walked by with this look on their face as if to say, “It’s about...

It’s so important to reflect on our learning experiences, and to teach this to our kids. After all, don’t you think this is what makes us human. When children take on a task and achieve it in whole or part, they learn along the way. Think back about a task or project...

Sometime ago, I was asked to deliver management training to a team in a local school here in Auckland NZ. The principal was having a problem with her deputy principal and staff getting along together. There was a bit of conflict happening. I’ve alway thought of...

Many parents worry about their kids being bullied, or if they have one with bullying tendencies what to do about it. Many people out there think that we are making too much of a fuss about it, that we should leave kids to their own devices. I tend to disagree. I...

Source: The Virtues Project Educator’s Guide by Linda Kavelin. Being a trained facilitator for the Virtues Project developed by Linda Kavelin Popov, I’m very passionate about supporting parents to raise happy, kind and responsible kiddos.  Parents are ultimately...

Some time ago I was delivering my DISCovering Me Program for Youth to a school, when I noticed there was one student not handing in his “HomePlay” assignments. Instead of asking him about it in front of the class, I spoke to him in private and asked what the reason...

How to Communicate with Teens So They'll Talk To You A parent of a tween reached out to me the other week and said, “Help! My daughter is not talking to me anymore and I don’t know what to do about it!” I’ve known this mother now for some time and know that she really...

My Blog this month is about “Being shy”, or as some say introverted. I was prompted to write about this topic when I was out grabbing a coffee the other day, when I was visiting my elderly mum. While waiting for my coffee I observed a mum with her two Kiddos. The...

I’m starting off this Blog with a few questions to get you thinking. What were you raised to believe as a child? Did you perceive that your environment was friendly…or not friendly?  Favorable? Or Unfavorable? Did you think tasks should be handled by taking control of...

There have been some parents asking me, “How come my kids fight with me so much?” So, I thought that my blog post for this month would give you some insights on why this happens, and tips on how to create more harmony in the family.   Clashes between tweens, teens and...

Positive thinking helps with managing stress and can even improve your health. There is this saying that many of you may have heard, “Is your glass half-empty or half-full?” How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life,...

The kids were running late for school and Sarah was starting to grow impatient and get angry. 12-year-old Sam wanted to grab a snack, and Peter the 10-year-old was arguing with his sister who was making fun of him. Everyone was ignoring her! Sam opened a can of...

When my kids were growing up I had a part time job that gave me a chance to get out of the house and mix with other people. I did have to be organized though as hubby caught the ball when I was running out the door. Dinner or lunch was prepared and the list for the...

I was thinking about what to write for December and I kept getting taps on the shoulder in the form of conversations I was having with people. A friend of mine said, “Gosh Sandra if only this time of year wasn’t so hectic. Hubby does nothing to help!” Or another...

Do you sometimes wish your teen was better at solving problems instead of blaming others, ignoring them wishing they would go away, or feeling defeated?  Do they demand that you solve their problem for them? Or worse do they complain and then storm off or shut you...