With parents in mind

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Several years ago, after one of my parenting radio interviews, on a programme featuring Mother’s Day, […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Happiness cannot be bought. We must cultivate it. Children learn by our example what is important […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Are your lectures, threats and punishments around time spent on screens working with your children? Are […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. I’m using my column to respond to an opinion piece titled ‘Don’t drop the ball T&T’ […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Lent is here and the conversations in many families, even non-Catholic ones, are about who is […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant   Conflicts are best resolved when the emotional charges are reduced. Many people prefer to deny […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Domestic violence seems to be on the rise. Reports say it’s up by 300 per cent. […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant When my fifth child, the fifth boy, was a newborn baby, all of 23 years ago, […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Budgets are super tight. The pandemic has impacted more people than not economically. Yet the children […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant “Beware! You will have to repeat!” Are you threatening your kids, saying they may have to […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Children do not have the maturity to identify and process big, challenging emotions. Even we adults […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Is your child’s remote learning proving to be a huge source of worry, concern and stress? […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant The mental health of your children is not just important, it is vital, for them to […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant As our children are resuming online school it is possible that they will not have as […]

Teenagers will tend to be deceitful and dishonest when they know they will be criticised, lectured and argued with. As adults, are we inclined to open […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Why do children lie? There are many reasons, here are a few. Parenting expert Dr Laura […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant We are halfway through the August holidays. How many times have your kids washed your car, […]

By Fr Robert Christo, Parish Priest, St Dominic’s RC, Penal and Vicar for Communications The Lord’s presence dwells in real and concrete families, with all their […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant If children learn what they live, then what should they learn to live and be conscientious, […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Exams are upon us. Our children are about to finally sit the long-awaited SEA, CSEC and […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Fathers are requested to do this, that, and the next thing. Their children need them to […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Uncertainty in our lives continues. Will our children perform as well when SEA, CXC and CAPE […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Imagine your teenager feeling comfortable enough to tell you that they tried smoking marijuana and what […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant The village that helps us raise our children was shut down eight weeks ago. We lost […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant We’ve tried to maintain control while isolating. We’ve tried setting up new routines for ourselves and […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED, Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant A famous physician, Dr Viktor Frankl found happiness in Auschwitz because he spent his four years […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant “Let your conscience be your guide” said Geppetto, in the old classic Disney movie Pinocchio. How […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant   Lent is here. In many Catholic households’ conversations are taking place about who is giving […]

The classroom gossip. The boy who never has a kind word to say about anyone. The girl no-one trusts because she repeats everything she hears. If […]

Carol Dweck’s book Mindset is gaining popularity by the day around the world in business, education and academia. For us and our children to thrive, we […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Parents are their children’s first teachers. They have a power with words that is unsurpassable. The […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant What sort of response do you like to receive from your significant other when you share […]

My previous article (‘Are teens really disobedient’, CN October 27) explained what is taking place in the teenaged brain as well as what is happening with […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Neurons in the brains of teens go through a process of major pruning during adolescence. They […]

Are we being too eager to see our children blossom? Are we adamant that they get exposed to a wide variety of sports and activities to […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant Our children are in new schools, classes and activities and one of their primary needs is […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant I am sure we all agree that there are many threats to our children’s safety. When […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant We say bedtime prayers with our children, we go to church and they go to Catholic […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. It’s vacation time. Have we gradually slipped into the habit of allowing our children and ourselves […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Q: When I talk to my children, I say the same things my mother told me. […]

A commentary by Cuthbert Sandy My teacher education in the years 1976–1978 at Corinth Teachers’ College still serves me in good stead, notwithstanding from that time […]

By Sophie Barcant, BA (Psyc), B.ED. Trainer, Facilitator, Parenting Coach/Consultant. Q: Sophie, what do I do with a child worried over their exam results? SEA results […]

Edited version of an article first published by Aleteia. All parents want what’s best for their children. That may include sending them to the best schools, […]

Q: I’m a young father of two. How can I form my children to live in our world today? I surprised a friend recently when I […]