Power of Words

We celebrate various types of courage on our screens, yet in real life we also need to acknowledge that bravery badges can be earned in a myriad of ways.

We seem to suffer from a collective amnesia about what we were like ourselves at this age.

Employers who think that paying staff well is enough to ensure their loyalty are in for a rude awakening — especially if they are hiring millennials.

We are quick to attribute influence to a VIP, yet less likely to own that we have just as much power to shape our children as any reality TV star…

Despite the popular belief that it is mums who fear losing their bond with their teen daughter, there are plenty of dads seeking deeper connections too.

The internet isn’t just making us dumb, it’s making us angry. And it is women who are among the fastest adopters for venting their rage online.

Since 2003, Enlighten Education’s in-school workshops for teen girls have been at the forefront of promoting positive body image. We know that despite the fact that girls are excelling in…

I vote to eliminate the following phrases…

Whether the trolls realise it or not, their comments reveal far more about them than they ever do about those they are hoping to intimidate or discredit.

What’s the one word we need to teach our daughters to be more comfortable saying?

What do a cage fighter, a quantum physics professor and an award-winning crime novelist have in common? They’ve all messed up.

Tears don’t mean men are weak; it shows they have a heart.

“Hide your daughters.” “I’m only here for the ladies.” “Stud Muffin.” You might expect to see these kind of slogans brandished across a T-shirt worn by Benny Hill or Hugh…

Want to help your children succeed? Then focus on their mistakes. As adults, the single biggest mistake we make is our carefully staged, micromanaged, Instagram-filtered focus on perfection. We’ve created…

It’s the deceptively unhelpful piece of advice that every well-intentioned adult has at one point issued to a child: “You should be friends with everybody!” Admit it — who among…

This post was first published in the Daily Telegraph and shared online at RendezView 4/1/16. Thanks to the “every child gets a medal” approach to raising children, many researchers argue…

This post originally appeared on News Corp’s popular online opinion site RendezView. “Lies, scams and deceit — just your average teen girl.” “Lost innocence: Why girls are having rough sex…

The following post was first published by News Corp’s online opinion site RendezView. I was also asked to discuss my work on installing gratitude in young people on Radio National’s…

I recently posted the following on my Facebook page. It quickly attracted over a hundred shares so I thought it worth sharing with you here too. Sometimes I see things…

I find unpacking stereotypes fascinating and important work. The following post was first published by RendezView. View image | gettyimages.com As a teen girl I swapped secrets with my friends;…

What is the one thing teen boys say they wish adults better understood about their lives? Forget raging hormones, academic angst and peer pressure. When my team and I run…

On Sunday I woke to the news in the Telegraph that teenage girls were “riddled with fear and anxiety” and, overdosing on paracetamol. Was this behaviour really impacting on an…

The following extract is taken from the book for teen girls I co-wrote with Nina Funnell, “Loveability: An Empowered Girl’s Guide to Dating and Relationships.” It is published by Harper…

This post was first published in The Daily Telegraph, December 26th, 2014. Educator, author, media commentator, cause for great concern. It seems at various stages in my career I’ve been…