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I CAN really do it now!

I had a wonderful uplifting experience on the weekend at the Hay House, “I CAN do it!” conference. Over 3,000 people packed the Melbourne Conference Centre to hear speakers from around the globe talk about life and how we can connect with our core selves and live with joy.

The keynote speakers included Dr Wayne Dwyer, Deepak Chopra and Doreen Virtue and there were several other inspirational speakers mixed in to the program.

Dwyer reflected on life and despite clearly being in a lot of physical pain was able to deliver a powerful message. Nick Ortner demonstrated the use of an interesting concept known as “tapping” to help remove negative thought patterns. Chopra delivered a solid message, combining meditation and science in an accessible way.

Understanding Problems With Executive Function

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Executive function is an umbrella term for a set of cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviours. As the name suggests, executive function refers to high-level abilities that influence lower-level abilities (such as attention, memory, and organisation).

Our executive function is therefore responsible for purposeful and self-directed behaviours, such as planning, organising, problem solving, as well as self-monitoring and self-regulating skills.

As you can imagine, these skills are vital for success at school and work, and to fit in socially.

So what types of issues lead to problems with executive function?

Term 3, 2013 – News

by Deborah Jepsen

It’s hard not to let the weather influence your mood… I do love the colder weather and we have had some awesome winter days, although sometimes the rain makes it hard to go outside… But I have been jumping in puddles with my 22 month-old son and having fun in the rain anyway!

We are already four weeks into term 3! Where did those school holidays go?! Well, at least it is good to be back into the routine of school.

Here’s what’s new:

How Counselling Rewires The Brain

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

The field of psychology has come a long way in the past 150 years but it is still seen by many as unscientific. Some people conjure up images that a counselling session is all about scented candles or strange old men with beards waffling on and on about Oedipus. But, there is now strong evidence that supports the link between neurobiology and the efficacy of “talking therapies”.

School Readiness: Discover if your child is really ready for school

by Deborah Jepsen

I wrote about school readiness back in 2009 (see here). Since then we have assessed countless preschool children to help parents make an informed decision about their child’s readiness for school. We have gained a lot of experience along the way and we have refined our assessment process to include emotional readiness.

You should be aware that some school readiness assessments do not take into account the social or emotional aspects of development. Frankly, such assessments are a waste of time, effort and money. You want to know where your child is really at with their broader development, not just what their IQ is. Not only that, but a high IQ alone may not be sufficient to gain early entry to school.

How to Teach Children to be Assertive

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Assertiveness is a way to communicate feelings, thoughts, opinions and beliefs in a respectful, clear and honest manner. Although it doesn’t come naturally to all, assertiveness is a skill that can (and should!) be taught to children – this will enable them to stand up for themselves and build resilience.

Assertiveness builds up their confidence, self-esteem, and ability to form and maintain stronger relationships.

Parenting Websites – How to Decide if the Information is Reliable

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Parenting is hard work! If it could only come with a manual… But the reality is that there is little training you can do in how to raise a child. There are oodles of books, magazines, TV shows, and internet websites on the topic. As nowadays internet is the most convenient source to obtain information, it is usually the first place for parents to find answers to their everyday questions.

BUT, how can you tell if a website is reliable? Here are a few tips to guide you to evaluate if a website is reliable and appropriate for the information you are looking for:

A Parent’s Prerogative: You Have the Right to Change Your Mind

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Experts will say that one of the worst things you can do when parenting any child (from two to eighteen years) is to engage in battle and come out second best.

“You will undermine your authority”, they say.

“You are rewarding bad behaviour”, they tutt-tutt.

But, surely there are those occasions in life when it is okay (and sometimes necessary) to back down or change your mind when dealing with others? In adults, a person who can admit they were wrong is often looked upon with respect. So, why can’t we demonstrate this quality to our children? What if some fresh information has come to light? Are we going to pig-headedly refuse to rethink our position purely because we are trying to teach our children a lesson?

So, how can we tread the fine line between flexibility and rigidity, between being open-minded and being a “pushover”? Here are some things to consider…

The Benefits of Outdoor Education for Teenagers: A First-Hand Account

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

A few years back, I agreed to take on the challenge of acting as leader on an outdoor education trip with a group of Year Nine students. Twelve teenage girls, a trained outdoor education leader, and me. Although I had no formal outdoor education training, I’d always been a fan of camping and was under the perception (misapprehension?) that I was pretty tough. My role was to be the “pastoral care” leader or to play the “big sister” role to this group of teenagers, while the other leader was able to provide them with the practical skills that they would need to survive in the great outdoors.The trip was not your average five day camp. It was 30 days of hiking, biking and kayaking. No showers, no ipods, no phones. Braving the elements and carrying everything on our backs with regular food drops every few days. No contact with home, save for one “letter drop” when the campers would receive correspondence from family and friends at the halfway point of the trip.

“All the Other Kids Have One!” – How and Why Social Pressure Affects Kids

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

“It’s not fair Dad, all the other kids are allowed to go to the party!”

“Harry’s Mum is so much nicer than you. How come he got a new Xbox!??”

“Lisa and Jack are allowed to stay up until nine thirty, so why can’t I?”

Sound familiar?

I’d be hard pressed to find one parent who hasn’t heard such guilt-inducing arguments from their child at some point!

And, it would also be hard to find a parent who hasn’t been swayed by such arguments from time to time…

So, why are these arguments so compelling? Why do we care? How do we find the strength in ourselves to dismiss such social pressure, not to mention, convincing our children to do the same?

Read on to find out…

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