Family and Child Consultants

  Parenting is fantastic… wait, let’s be realistic—sometimes it’s bloody awful. Let’s talk about the Under 5’s. I had four. Remember when everyone said, “These days go so quickly, cherish every moment”? I remember thinking (at 2am, 3am, and 4am) that these days would never end. The sleepless nights, the endless washing (oh my god, the washing), toilet training, the isolation, the sticky fingerprints on every surface, and the vague suspicion there’s a load of laundry still lurking somewhere, probably growing its own ecosystem. Then, just as you think you’ve made it through, you hit the junior school years. Suddenly, you’re the P&C mum—endless cake stalls, school fetes, coaching every football team (even though you know nothing about football), and spending what feels like half your life in the car. The washing machine never stops. The parents are complaining, the school assignments keep coming, and you’re just trying to remember if you’ve packed everyone’s lunch and signed the r...

  By Niki Gent Let’s talk about something that’s becoming far too common, but still so hard for families to admit: what do you do when your own child becomes violent at home? This isn’t just about a bit of backchat or teenage attitude. I’m talking about real, frightening aggression—kids who are lashing out, breaking things, threatening siblings or parents, and making home feel unsafe. It can happen to any family, in any community. And it’s happening more and more. A Family’s Story: When Crisis Hits Home Recently, we worked with a family who reached out in absolute crisis. Their teenage son, “James,” had started with angry outbursts and property damage. Over time, things escalated—he threatened his mum, physically hurt his younger brother, and left everyone in the house terrified. Despite the parents’ best efforts to set boundaries and get help, James’s behaviour kept spiralling. Eventually, things became so serious that the police were called and James ended up in juvenile detentio...