Sweaty apologies

Have you ever been given a fake or forced apology? Accompanied with a sneer of contempt or irresponsibility, the fake apology has a clear purpose for the person delivering it – to get this awkward conversation over and done with. The fake apology works as punctuation, a full stop if you will, on a challenging encounter where behaviour has been called to account.

How shame impacts bullying

There are some emotions that we just don’t like to talk about. They’re usually the negative ones, the emotions that can be painful in a variety of ways. Sometimes, we’re tempted to push these emotions aside and to ignore them or even to go to great lengths to ensure we don’t feel them.

Empathy, sympathy and apathy … how parents and carers can know the difference

Have you ever had a problem? Have you ever felt compelled to share it with somebody? Have you ever chosen the wrong person? If you chose the wrong person, it is highly likely that the reaction they gave indicated that either they didn’t care, or they made it all about them.

“I don’t care” … and how to make sure they do

Sometimes young people can seem to reply “I don’t care” to almost anything that parents and carers ask of them.

Is it true that young people have developed a level of apathy where they genuinely don’t care about anything that’s happening around them? Or is it perhaps that they have not yet learned to care at an appropriate or an adult level?

Getting it right about self-esteem

It’s hard for parents and care givers not to draw a direct line between the likelihood of their child being bullied and the strength of their self-esteem. There are a lot of messages in the media about the need for high self-esteem and fostering positive self-regard, and it is crucial that parents and carers know what healthy self-esteem looks like. Here are five ideas to help children have a healthy level of self-esteem.