John Sharry gives a three-step weekly journal exercise to help you focus on goals

Ask the expert: My eldest has always been negative, but now the two young ones are joining in

Ask the expert: He cries, kicks and screams at the slightest thing and seems exhausted all the time

He can’t cope without one of us staying with him all night and gets distressed even if we just leave to go to the bathroom

Ask the Expert: ‘A classmate showed it to him at a party, should I tell the boy’s parents?’

For starters, make sure you are well informed and facing up to the crises yourself

Changing World, Changing Minds: Eco-grief and preserving the natural world

Changing world, changing minds:

Denial makes us feel better in the short term but is not the way to deal with problems

Changing World, Changing Minds: Understanding our emotional response to the climate emergency

Ask the expert: Sometimes he says he is sick and it’s a big battle to get him out the door

Ask the expert: Separation anxiety during the first year of primary school is very common

Ask the expert: The goal of sleep training is to teach your son how to self-soothe

My husband is a stay-at-home dad while I work long hours. I feel guilty about not being there

Ask the Expert: I hope this is a phase she is going through but worry it might get worse

Ask the Expert: ‘It has been difficult to get him to leave the house. What can I do?’

Her problems started when she became very sick with flu. Could it be linked to a vaccine?

I’m not much help as I suffer with bad anxiety myself and feel terrible I have passed it on to him

He asked me if nuts could kill him and when I hesitated went into a panic

She’s only seven and I worry if denying her a small amount of the food she craves will cause long-term food issues

We’re not allowing her to go to places where drinking is involved but don’t want the summer ruined for all of us by constant argum(...)

Ask the Expert: ‘She doesn’t understand why I’m saying no and I’m worried she is seeing herself in a negative way’

Ask the Expert: I told her about the tooth fairy and this seemed to only terrify her more

If I’m honest I think there was something a bit sexual about one hug with a girl

She has become really upset and overwhelmed. Hormones are not helping matters

Ask the expert: The earlier teenagers start to drink alcohol the greater the risk of later problems

Ask the Expert: She appears to over-react and get upset and has written me an apology note

Acknowledge her feelings of anxiety and worry and how understandable they are

Ask the Expert: She became very upset when we left her with a new childminder and now won’t even stay with her grandparents

‘There is no one right way to approach sleep problems and a lot depends on what you want as parents’

Ask the Expert: He doesn’t even notice he’s doing it but even his teacher has commented

Sign of the Times: Irish survey is latest to link poor mental health with use of technology

She has started waking up constantly during the night and I am becoming exhausted

Ask the Expert: Should I let it go ahead or hold my ground until she is older?

Rushing toilet training or adding parental pressure can easily backfire

Ask the Expert: I am really worried about her obsessive behaviour. What can I do?

As her dad I should probably stay out of it but I’m worried about how insecure she must be

Our household has become very tense how can we improve things?

Ask the Expert: ‘His anxiety does wear on me and sometimes I react impatiently’

Ask the Expert: I worry do we need to get him further assessed or to address the psychiatrist’s report

We are wondering if we should consider moving her to a smaller school

Ask the Expert: My son keeps saying he is stupid and has no friends

Healthy Families: The closer we are to the people we love, the happier we feel

A relaxed bedtime routine is a key component of a healthy family

Managing screens and technology in the home

How to make time for your family over food and dealing with ‘fussy eaters’

With a little time and patience families can break bad habits by working together

By taking small steps, we can dramatically improve our own and our children’s health and well-being

I am worried about escalating things, so what is the best thing to do?

When we correct her about something, she kicks, hits, punches and becomes extremely violent and verbally abusive

Ask the expert: ‘The incidents happened two years ago, but he can’t get past them’

She calls my daughter ‘ugly’, ‘stupid’ and ‘a cheat’ but the school principal has dismissed my concerns

Should we let her go out with the girls, even though they are drinking under-age and going to pubs?

We find the wrappers under her bed but she still denies it

To achieve a more relaxed routine, you need to focus on the priorities each evening

Huge focus on homework at primary school level can be counterproductive and damaging

Ask the expert: ‘He told me he hides in the locker room in school for some breaks’

She seems to be getting obsessed, and distressed, about pees and poos

She is an only child, and I worry that she is missing out on being egged on by siblings

‘I’m losing it with them and not coping but my husband ignores my pleas for help’

He says it’s my fault because I wanted the relationship to end and that I don’t care about him

In trying to help your son, it is important to understand why he might be negative and grumpy at home

In resolving things, the key is to do what you can to de-escalate the dispute

She was so anxious about summer camp she was sick. We are now worried about school

Work to keep lines of communication open as children switch to needing more privacy

I’m finding it a struggle to bring them up in Portugal but their father won’t discuss leaving

A parent is concerned about their child’s anxiety around social involvements

Parents face a real dilemma as experts often disagree regarding the best option

He says she is just ‘quirky’. I am coping alone and we are fighting a lot over this

Listen to what is challenging for her and thank her for the ways she helps in the family

Ask the Expert: I found her crying on her bed the other day and I am very worried

Classmates have mentioned her weight to her and I am worried this is bothering her

I told her the next time it happens, to call the other girl ugly. Is this bad advice?

The first thing you can do is to try and break the shame and secrecy your daughter feels about the problem

Ask the Expert: The key is for you and your son to map out the next three months

My eldest son is jealous of his little sister and she is jealous of her brothers’ friendship

I’ve tried everything to relax him at bedtime but he still wakes very distressed most nights

Many young people will be under pressure but there are ways to make things easier

If we bring this to her attention, she turns it back on her siblings

I was very embarrassed and I’m sure everyone was thinking he was an ‘awful’ child

We are now in a situation that she will spend many lunchtimes on her own

While largely thinking optimistically and being focused on the most positive explanation of events, sometimes it is helpful to thi(...)

We are exhausted from the refereeing and repetitive behaviour and losing patience with the whole situation

Good mental health is rooted in the care of the body

I am worried that viewing porn at such a young age might mess up his expectations of sex

Work becomes really meaningful when it expresses your strengths, inspires your passion and is aligned with your values

I get upset but he does not seem to care. It has been going on for five weeks

The importance of attending to our personal relationships and to the communities we belong to

We both want more children and I feel if that happens then we would become a stronger family unit

Positive well-being – sometimes we are our own greatest obstacles to achieving happiness

I feel my partner favours his first son and excuses him of things he wouldn’t with our own child

Positive well-being – having purpose and creating meaning

His fears are genuine as he can look terrified when he thinks about the imagery

Son (5) doesn’t like to lose and wants to drop out of football club

The two most common mistakes parents can make in reacting to bullying is to either not intervene at all or to intervene as a judge(...)

What can I do to change things? How can I make a connection with her as her father?

I wonder if we should be doing more to foster friendships among females – and if so, how

I have also observed that other boys in the class leave the two of them alone and don’t try to interact with my son

Does she need to be disciplined for fear of her behaviour getting worse?

If we don't buy her toys or sweets, she often runs out of the shop with them