Back to school can look exciting on the outside - new shoes, fresh stationery, new snacks in the lunch bag, feeling older and bigger in the playground, - so fun! Then, morning comes. Tears at the breakfast table, a sudden stomach ache, irritability over socks, and murmurings of “I don’t feel well”, “I don’t want to go”, “I hate school”. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. This is not weakness, this is how a child’s nervous system responds to uncertainty. Why Schoo

Let’s be honest, by bedtime, most of us parents are running on fumes. We’ve cooked, cleaned, negotiated homework, and refereed sibling squabbles and now, just when we’re dreaming of a couch, our kids suddenly have one million things to say. But here’s the truth: bedtime is one of the most important - and neurologically sensitive - moments of the day for children. If we can slow it down and understand why it matters, bedtime can become a calm, connecting ritual instead of a ni

Anger, anxiety, frustration, excitement, tears over the wrong coloured cup, a slammed bedroom door, “You don’t understand!” shouted from the hallway. If you’re raising children, you’re living with emotion on full volume. But the fact that your child is having big feelings is not necessarily the problem, it's that their brains are still learning what to do with them. Children are not born knowing how to calm themselves. They learn regulation through co-regulation, borrowing th

At Manly Minds, we are committed to helping parents understand their children and what they need. Managing big emotions in our kids is one of the hardest things we have to do as parents. When they are little, their meltdowns feel loud, out of control and irrational a lot of the time. As our kids get older, their meltdowns feel just as out of our control, and can sometimes feel like defiance, meanness and sometimes just deliberate misbehaviour. This foundational article will

This foundational article outlines our therapeutic framework at Manly Minds, in helping teens and families gain benefit from psychological therapy. We want you, the parents, to be informed and involved , as you are an integral vehicle to your child’s success. Adolescence is a time of enormous neurological, emotional, and social change. Because of this, teen behaviour can sometimes look confusing, intense, or inconsistent. Our therapy approach helps make sense of what your te

This foundational article outlines our therapeutic framework at Manly Minds, in helping children and families gain benefit from psychological therapy. We want you, the parents, to be informed and involved , as you are an integral vehicle to your child’s success. Every child is unique - their brain, emotions, behaviours, and experiences all interact in complex ways. Our therapy approach helps us understand why your child struggles, what their brain is doing , and how to suppo

This foundational article is written as a guide for parents on how the brain and nervous system grow, connect, and shape behaviour. Understanding your child’s brain and how it develops, is powerful and integral information for all parents and caregivers. Basics around brain development and how this impacts your child’s behaviour, emotional capacity and performance, guides both how you understand your child, as well as assisting in how you best respond to your child and what