40 Developmental Assets® (for adolescents aged 12 - 18)
Search Institute® has identified the following building blocks for healthy development – known as Developmental Assets® – that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.

Helping your Year 12 student through the HSC
The following is part of an address delivered by Richard Cracknell, Counsellor and District Guidance Officer, at a Year 12 parent evening in Inverell.

Cyberspace Bullying
Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies, mediums such as mobile phone text messages, emails, phone calls, internet chat rooms, instant messaging and the latest trend – social networking websites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo.

Shyness, Ages 6 to 12 (by Anne Krueger)
-- his shyness is just part of the package. Still, you wonder how you can make life easier for him. The key is to avoid the two opposing - and perhaps equally strong -- temptations to pressure and overprotect him. Trying to get him to be more outgoing will only make him retreat. And sheltering him denies him the chance to enjoy group activities or become comfortable in social situations. You have to walk a tightrope, promoting social behavior with compassion. Here are six ways to help your shy child during the elementary and middle school years.

Body Image
There are many ways that parents can foster positive body image and strong self-esteem in their children. If you are at all concerned about your child’s body image, self-esteem or eating behaviours, consult with your doctor for information and referral.

Mobile Phones and Your Child
If you are thinking about letting your child have a mobile phone, weigh up the pros and cons before you make a decision. If you decide that it is OK for your child to own their own phone, or use one belonging to another member of the family, here are some ideas to bear in mind.

Supervising Children On-line
Children need parents and carers to teach them how to make smart choices about who and what they find online, to deal with commercial material, safeguard their privacy, to have a positive experience when meeting people online, and use their time on the Internet effectively. The types of rules you may have made about how to deal with strangers and what children can watch on television or video are also relevant to the Internet.

Mind over Media
A summary of parent strategies from Young Media Australia’s Fact Sheet series.

Changing Your Thinking Resilience
If you feel anxious or depressed, your problems may seem overwhelming. To cope better, it may be helpful to approach your problems in a different way and correct your negative thought patterns. You can do this by using a technique called ‘Structured Problem Solving’ (SPS). Approaching your problems with SPS helps to put them in perspective.

30 Great Questions to Keep in Touch With Your Kids
Whether it is at the dinner table, walking to the park, in the car, getting ready for bed, waiting for food at a restaurant…there’s some quiet space. What do you do? How about asking a question or two? Listening to your kids’ answers for just five minutes may do more to build your relationship than five months of telling them what to do.

How Dads Teach Values
"No man can possibly know what life means, what the world means, what anything means, until he has a child and loves it. Then the whole universe changes and nothing will ever again seem exactly as it seemed before."

Advice for Fathers
I used to ask veteran fathers (men whose children had grown and gone) what warnings they'd pass on to younger Dads. In paraphrase, here are some bits of hard-earned fatherly wisdom....by James B Stenson.