Head of Junior School
How would you answer this question? ‘What are the essential ingredients for growing great kids into great teenagers?’ This will be our topic of discussion for the Stage 3 light lunch and chat session on Friday 18 November. This is a positive topic and one that any parent, educator and young person can have an informed view. Current Australian researchers and psychologists have tossed this question around over the last decade or so and many have some sound advice based on good research.
Among them are Maggie Dent, Justin Coulson, Michael Carr-Gregg, Judith Locke and Steve Biddulph.
If I had to choose two books to give to parents of aussie kids they would be The Bonsai Child, by Judith Locke, and 9 Ways to a Resilient Child by Justin Coulson. Both offer practical advice and clear up some of the current misconceptions or limiting approaches that have given rise to various issues we see in schools today.
It’s worth a search for a podcast from Maggie Dent, a blog from Justin Coulson or one of the tried and true classics from Steve Biddulph. There’s no manual given to us for parenting after the hospital visit for the birth of our children, and that is probably a good thing. Some approaches will not suit all, and some children don’t fit a particular mould. But it is the responsibility of all who raise our kids to do it to the best of our ability and resources. So dig in and see what you learn!
