Ahhh, Christmas. The time for families to come together, eat too much, laze around at least a little, enjoy quality time…and to spoil the children rotten!

It’s tricky isn’t it? We all want our children to enjoy good things. But we don’t want to see them spoilt. We grimace when they seem ungrateful. We recoil when they act entitled.

Is it ok to enjoy extravagance? Can we mix materialism and merriment with meaning?

How do we unspoil the kids this Christmas?

Join one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, Dr Justin Coulson, for a Christmas conversation with a difference.

• You’ll discover how to rediscover the true magic of Christmas for your entire family.
• You’ll find out how to focus on the most important things this festive season, and create Christmas memories that will stay with you forever.
• And you’ll definitely uncover the secrets to unspoiling the kids, ending entitlement, and growing gratitude, even if the silly season gets a little over-the-top.

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Discipline is THE most contentious part of parenting. There are so many different ideas about it and it’s confusing for parents – especially when you try a discipline strategy and it doesn’t work. Is your child just different to all the others? Or is there ‘text book’ discipline and ‘real life’ discipline?

But what if everything we thought we knew about discipline was wrong? What if we only discipline the way we do because 200 years ago, some well-meaning religious leaders created a discipline system that we still adhere to, even without understanding why we do it, and why it’s wrong?

This webinar is for every parent who has ever been so desperate to get their kids to ‘behave’ that they’ve tried Triple P, Super-Nanny, 1-2-3 Magic, and pretty much everything else out there, and still found themselves stuck. You’ll discover:

• Why the centuries-old strategies we still cling to should be left in the past
• How we get discipline wrong and why
• Real world examples of discipline that are as imperfect as you and your kids, but that still work, and 
• Ideas for discipline that turn everything you thought you knew about the topic on its head.

This is one discipline webinar you won’t want to miss. Whether your child is 2 or 42 (yes, I’m talking about your partner!).

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Our lives are busier, noisier, and more hectic than ever. And it’s only becoming more so for our kids. Their generation is facing unique challenges, and as parents we are finding ourselves in uncharted territory as we try to equip them with the skills they need to cope.

But help is available, and it’s something completely within reach – for you and your children.

Research into Mindfulness tells us it’s one of the most effective tools to ease anxiety and manage stress. Mindfulness techniques are simple, easy to practice, and once learned they can be called upon at any time, in any place.

In the Magic of Mindfulness, Dr Justin Coulson will share a simple step-by-step guide to first understand, and then teach mindfulness to your family.

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Having a child with autism or Asperger’s syndrome places unique demands on parents. Nothing seems to be quite the way it was “supposed” to be. Communication, affection, behaviour, learning, and almost every aspect of life for a non-typically-developing child and their family can present challenges. Just a simple trip to the shops – not to mention getting through over a decade of formalised schooling – can seem near impossible some days.

This webinar is for every parent or educator who wants to know how to strengthen their bond with their autistic or Asperger’s child or student. It is for everyone who has ever wondered, “What am I doing wrong?” when their child won’t calm down, communicate, hug, or look them in the eyes. It is for every parent or educator who wants to know how to manage those meltdowns on days when it feels like the sky is falling in on their beautiful child who just can’t understand why no one around them can understand.

Join Dr Michelle Garnett as she and Dr Justin Coulson present A Parent’s Guide to Autism, a special webinar event especially for parents, teachers, and those who work or live with a child on the autism spectrum.

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Pretty much every parenting book or program recommends that you “catch your children doing something right and praise them for it.” You’re supposed to reinforce positive behaviour with verbal rewards – making sure it’s “effort praise” and not “person praise”. The idea is that if we pump up our child’s tyres, they’re going to be more motivated, their self-esteem will go up, and in the end we’ll have better kids.

But… that’s not what the research says. In fact, at least three or four decades of studies now confirm that praising our children may have several significant unintended consequences. It’s actually surprisingly bad!

So what are you supposed to do instead? 

Join Dr Justin Coulson for this powerful, provocative webcast as he explains the science of praise, why you should avoid it, and how you can give better positive feedback to your children so they actually DO feel motivated, confident, and resilient. It will change the way you speak to your children forever.

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Dealing with tweens, teens, and screens is tricky. Governing bodies with fancy-sounding names trumpet policies about how much is “too much”. Academics wring their hands about how screens are crippling our kids. And we’re stuck in the middle, just pleading for the kids to get off the screen and help out around the house, do their homework, or be kind to their sibling!

It doesn’t have to be that hard.

Join Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s most trusted parenting specialists, as he unpacks the simplest methods to work out the screen situation at your home, based on the very latest, cutting-edge research. In this presentation, you’ll discover:

• Why the concept of ‘screen-time’ misses the point and leads to unhelpful conflict about tech
• How to eliminate the drama around screens with most kids in most situations without having to ‘ban’ devices
• What parents really need to worry about when it comes to screens, and what they can relax about
• The sneaky ways our kids are using screens without our knowledge, and
• How we can make screens work in our family’s favour

This webinar will challenge your views, and change the way you talk about screens and tech in your home – for the better.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dealing with tweens, teens, and screens is tricky. Governing bodies with fancy-sounding names trumpet policies about how much is “too much”. Academics wring their hands about how screens are crippling our kids. And we’re stuck in the middle, just pleading for the kids to get off the screen and help out around the house, do their homework, or be kind to their sibling!

It doesn’t have to be that hard.

Join Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s most trusted parenting specialists, as he unpacks the simplest methods to work out the screen situation at your home, based on the very latest, cutting-edge research. In this presentation, you’ll discover:

• Why the concept of ‘screen-time’ misses the point and leads to unhelpful conflict about tech
• How to eliminate the drama around screens with most kids in most situations without having to ‘ban’ devices
• What parents really need to worry about when it comes to screens, and what they can relax about
• The sneaky ways our kids are using screens without our knowledge, and
• How we can make screens work in our family’s favour

This webinar will challenge your views, and change the way you talk about screens and tech in your home – for the better.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Divorce, separation and blended families is an enormous topic and one we haven't tackled before in a Happy Families webinar. Unfortunately in the short time, we had in Part 1, we were unable to thoroughly cover the subject and answer everyone's questions. And we also recognise that circumstances being what they are, there are many people who may be looking for even more strategies that can be helpful when attempting to navigate this tricky time. 

To provide you with more suggestions and solutions we've decided to run a second BONUS event – Divorce without Damage Part 2. 

This webinar is pretty gritty.

It's a no-holds-barred follow up to offer you some additional support. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one enters a relationship and has children expecting it to end badly. Sometimes, however, the fairy tale doesn't last. Hearts are broken. Lives are changed.

What is well known but rarely spoken, however, is the fear that separation and divorce can be damaging to children. It's hard to "put the children first" when there is so much pain in partners and children, so many competing agendas from within the family and outside of it, and so much of life feels hard and scary for everyone involved.

When a relationship ends, does it have to signal the beginning of damage for children? Are there things parents can do to separate, divorce, and co-parent successfully? What steps and strategies can parents take to overcome their strong feelings of hurt, betrayal, and pain, and genuinely work together to do the best for their children?

Join Dr Justin Coulson for this special webinar conversation with Dr Vanessa Lapointe, a successful survivor and thriver following her own separation and divorce, as they discuss the big questions every couple in crisis considers. You'll find out:

• How to talk to your children about what separation and divorce mean for them
• How to get on the same page after separation when you could never get on the same page before it
• Steps and strategies to minimise the damage divorce can do
• Ideas to help your children thrive and be stronger through a family breakdown

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You think the children need another chance, some more time, and a big hug. Your partner thinks they need a swift smack on the bum, no iPad for a week, and a time-out.

Relationship tension because of parenting differences makes family life hard.

This webinar is designed to help by giving you tools for creating alignment on parenting principles. It’s for parents, co-parents, grandparents and carers. And it’s especially for you AND your partner in parenting to participate in together.

We'll talk about some of the more common areas of tension, and uncover simple strategies to resolve the conflict between parenting partners. But importantly, we’ll go where most seminars don’t go: we’ll unpack what to do when your partner or co-parent is unwilling to align with you on being a better parent.

This webinar is a must-do for couples, ex-couples, parents who want the grandparents to get on the same page, and carers who are juggling multiple relationship challenges.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.