Dr Jennifer Smith - Educational, Developmental and Counselling Psychologist

Children environment genes Teenagers

Kids are genetically similar! No, all kids are genetically different!

March 25, 2019

The argument Here’s John at consultation, father of 14 year old Jade, and 10 year old Mathew, with reference to Jade: “Teenage girls are all genetically the same. They behave the same, they look the same, they sound the same, and they all change friends as frequently as they change their clothes.” Here’s my next client, Emily. She’s the mother of Lance, 8 years, and James, 10 years: “Everybody’s different. No two humans are genetically alike. I like the fact…

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BUT I’M NOT TIRED AND REHOBOTH CHILDREN’S VILLAGE

100 per cent of the PROFITS from sales of BUT I’M NOT TIRED! are donated to the Rehoboth Foster Care Village, established in South Africa to care for orphaned or abandoned children living…

February 2, 2019
Children environment Parents Teenagers Uncategorized
Child sexual abuse in Australia: By definition, a glass mostly empty

Most Australians would be highly distressed by the outcomes of the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017). The most trusted and revered of institutions like the Church and a…

April 4, 2018
Children environment genes Parents Teenagers Uncategorized
Sibling Rivalry is a Triple-Edged Sword

Guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 April 2011. The Milliband siblings It’s a long time ago now and the world is a very different place, but does anyone remember the 2011 newspaper photograph of the hugging brothers,…

March 28, 2017
Children environment
A Tribute To The Unsung: Dina, her ilk and autism

We invited Dina, a tall, elegant Special Education teacher, to our peer-supervision meeting where we psychologists- teachers must discuss clinical cases to ensure that we stay on track. We sat around a table loaded…

May 17, 2016
Children Mindfulness Parents
Mindfulness over matter? What we know about the hot new trend.

Kate’s five-year-old daughter, Lilly, slept in her arms while the jovial paediatrician addressed her from across the desk. “When they’re like this, you just want to eat them, don’t you?” He grinned in anticipation…

February 24, 2016
Children environment Parents Teenagers
OVERWEIGHT YOUNG PEOPLE: FOOD, EXERCISE, AND THE THIRD FACTOR

OVERWEIGHT YOUNG PEOPLE: FOOD, EXERCISE, AND THE THIRD FACTOR Wide girths are widespread Over the past three decades, child and teenage overweight and obesity levels have tripled in the developed world. The data is…

October 13, 2015
Children Parents Teenagers
NAPLAN? OUR KIDS NEED TO SLEEP ON IT!

The NAPLAN-driven news that our kids are slipping academically has met with much handwringing and lamenting. There are calls from all corners for more school funding and better teachers and steps to decrease disadvantage.…

October 9, 2015
Children Parents Teenagers
Book Reviews for BUT I’M NOT TIRED! The nature of sleep and how to nurture it in children and teenagers.

“The book BUT I’M NOT TIRED! by Dr Jennifer Smith is a nice introductory “how to” reference guide for parents struggling to get their children to sleep. This book provides the reader with a…

September 16, 2015
Children environment genes Parents Teenagers
From whence kids’ difficult genes?

QANDAKIDS PARENT: “My daughter [thirteen year old Chloe] is just like her father and her grandmother. She has their difficult, temperamental genes!” Chloe’s mum was confident that she’d nailed the source of her daughter’s…

September 14, 2015