Tip Number 1.
First, Remember the old saying … Children See - Children Do. Well, this is not just an old saying…it’s very true!
 
The tip here is to be and do who you want your children to be and what you want them to do (and btw…this goes for much more than just talking about sex!).

Siblings Awareness Day!
Full… Half… Step! Brothers and SistersThink about this for a moment:
your relationship with your siblings is likely to be the longest you will have with anyone in your life
 
We hear much about the negative interaction and impact of siblings on each other. As kids, we don’t usually get the choice of living with our siblings…it usually just happens!

​So, when sibling relationships go bad, it can really mess with you.

In Part One of this series, I introduced you to the idea of Mummy Guilt…
 
…not that most parents/caregivers reading this will need much of an introduction to this guilt…!
 
In Part Two, I’m going to talk a little more about managing Mummy Guilt…
 
First, it’s important to know that Guilt is a typical feeling that occurs when we have done something that deep-down, we know is wrong… being aware of
feelings of Guilt can help us ‘correct’ our behaviour to match our deeply-held beliefs.
 
However, this is not Mummy Guilt…!

It’s that time of year again!
School’s back…
our children, and us, are back into new routines and rituals that will carry us through the weeks…and months… ahead.

And now, that thing called Mummy Guilt has resurfaced in my head and in conversations with other mummies (and daddies!).
But for some reason, this time, strangely, it’s because I am NOT feeling it!
​
So, what’s happened?

​It’s unfortunate that the harassment tactics of bullies that has being existent probably for all time, now surfaces in the dark side of modern technology, giving rise to Cyber Bullying.

The significant growth of such technology has led to a rapid and extensive growth in the use of email, texting, chat rooms, and mobile phones including mobile phone cameras, and social media processes that are all so common in today’s world.
It is now through these methods that many bullies have found an outlet for their often insidious and almost always destructive behaviour.

​Now, first, I have to say that I don’t entirely agree with the use of the word ‘Happy’ – this is an over-used word and frequently when we strive to be ‘happy’, it invariably eludes us… more about this in another blog!
In his article, John Obedzinski suggests 10 reasons ‘Why happy families are different’ : here they are, with some of my thoughts:

This series of ‘Surviving Adolescence’ is about supporting parents and caregivers with the delicate balancing act that is adolescence…
One of the first things to remember is that adolescence is a stage of development, a stage that is vital for the future health and well-being of the young person. It’s a stage of identity formation, thinking about the future, and development of independence.

In Parts 1 – 3 of this series, looked at adolescence as the vital stage of development for young people, moving from the protected and dependent stage of childhood, into Independence of adulthood.
Only by ‘doing it right’ can young people then move into the stage of emotionally joining with another, the stage of Interdependence.
The stage of adolescence is about forming an identity outside of the family; it’s about developing a greater understanding of the young person’s sexuality and gender orientation…

​In Part 1 of this series, we adolescence as a way of developing emotional maturity, and sexual and a social identity.
In Part 2, we took a closer look at some of the tasks of adolescence.
In this, Part 3, I will give you an overview of the development of a sexual identity of an adolescent.
But first a brief re-cap:
Remember that an important part of adolescence is the movement from the stage of Dependence to the stage of Independence – this is where the young person emotionally, psychologically, and physically moves away from the family to become a part of the wider world.

In Part 1 of this series, we found out that adolescence is about:

• Growing toward emotional maturity

• Developing a sexual identity
• Developing a ‘social’ identity

 
And we learned that underlying this stage of Independence, is the need for the young person to break away from family and find her or his place in the wider world.
In Part 2 of Surviving Adolescence we’re going to look a little more closely at the stage of: