Guiding Families Towards Harmony: The Crucial Roles of Family Mediators in Australia Family dynamics can be complex, and conflicts often arise that can strain relationships. In Australia, mediators play a pivotal role in helping families navigate through these challenges by facilitating open communication, finding common ground, and promoting constructive solutions. In this blog, we…
The Key to Managing Conflict What is the key to managing conflict? Let me tell you a story, an old story, recounted in a book that has been printed in every language on the planet and has sold continuously for 81 years. The thesis running through this enduring manuscript is one that influenced me in…
School Holidays School holidays can be hard. Parenting is challenging when care isn’t shared. Co-parenting also presents difficulties but for different reasons, making it tough for both. If you are sharing the school holidays with your ex-spouse, I’m going to sound like a broken record, but please focus on your children and how…
Mother’s Day Mother’s Day is a special day for Mums everywhere. It’s an opportunity to get presents, brekkie in bed and a day together doing something fun with the kids. It’s also a time to foster in children the attributes of generosity and gratefulness. It’s a time to acknowledge everything mothers do. An occasion…
Who’s problem is it anyway? Early school aged children are invited to lots of birthday parties. It’s a time when firm friendships have not yet been made and often the entire class is invited to celebrate this exciting milestone. Whether it’s an expensive play centre event, a lavish party or a low-key backyard gathering,…
How much does mediation cost? Just about every time someone contacts me for mediation, their first question is “how much will it cost?”. Well, to start, there’s the obvious – time and money. How much money and time you need to spend will depend on which mediator you choose. Time It costs you as…
The most important aspect of our lives is our relationships What do you do when you’re ready to introduce your children to your new partner? This is not a ‘one-fix-all’ type of answer. It’s multi-faceted and depends on you, your children, your new partner and their children. Somewhere to start: Be empathetic – consider your…
What is a Contravention Application? Something I’m often asked, is “how do CONTRAVENTION Applications work?”. The families I support are often in the midst of arguments, tantrums, stand-off’s and sometimes parental alienation. Many families see this co-parenting stuff as a high stakes game. It’s all about competing, comparison, owndership, one-up-manship, tit-for-tat and pick-up-your-game. Some…
Just Separate? What Now? 1. Breathe This might seem logical, after all we need oxygen to survive, but sometimes we can get so caught up in the emotion and the stress, that just taking a moment to breathe in deeply, hold it for a couple of seconds with your eyes closed, and breathing out,…
Father’s Day Every year it rolls around – Fathers Day. It’s a day to thank our Dad for the great job he did in supporting us to be the amazing person we are. But what if you don’t think your Dad did a great job? Or what if you think the job your children’s Dad…