‘My son was found by a psychologist to be twice exceptional, but we are in a battle to motivate him’
Ask the Expert: He was found by a psychologist to be ‘twice exceptional’ (has exceptional ability but also a disability)
‘My 13-year-old son often wakes up at night and spends ages just lying there worrying that he can’t sleep’
Ask the Expert: Should we tell him to wake us so we can help him or should we encourage him to continue to do it by himself?
‘I believe my nephew may have ADHD or autism, but his parents won’t discuss it’
Ask the Expert: When we do rarely meet up, nobody is allowed to discuss my brother’s son for fear the family will never return to visit us. How to approach this?
‘My daughter enjoys college, but it is getting her there consistently that is the problem’
Ask the Expert: Our daughter has autism and would not attend school for three years. Now at college, her attendance has improved greatly, but we walk on eggshells around her. How can we better support her?
‘Our 16-year-old daughter has stopped going to school regularly – should we take her phone away?’
Ask the Expert: Her school says she is always on her phone and not getting enough sleep, but she disagrees
‘My nine-year-old is starting to be self-conscious about her body, which worries me’
Ask the Expert: The best way to check if your daughter’s development is healthy is to measure her height and weight so you can assess her BMI
‘I am keen on making my kids deal with uncomfortable situations, but my daughter is struggling’
Ask the Expert: 'Is there something we should do to boost her confidence?'
‘My six-year-old talks about the same thing over and over. It’s alienating him from his peers’
Ask the Expert: Is there a way of stopping him doing this without being critical?
My 14-year-old son avoids socialising with groups his own age
Ask the Expert: The key is to help your son find activities that he enjoys and is good at, when he is likely to feel much more comfortable and to meet children like him
‘Our daughter blames us for not realising years ago that she was autistic’
Ask the Expert: She was diagnosed recently, aged 23. We did our best as struggling parents, but sometimes we did mess up and shout at her
‘We will be going through divorce very soon and have not told our children’
Ask the Expert: Don’t view ‘telling the children’ as a single conversation, but rather as an opening up of communication between all of you
‘My lovely, clever, kind nine-year-old daughter seems to have low self-esteem’
Ask the Expert: Having low self-esteem involves a lifelong journey learning to love and accept yourself as ‘good enough’
‘My 11-year-old daughter cannot tolerate the sound of her sister’s breathing or the voices of her mother and teacher’
Ask the Expert: I think she has developed misophonia, and it causes her huge distress
Homework: ‘Within a few minutes of reading, despite me trying to help, my daughter will start screaming’
Ask the Expert: Many informed primary schools opt out of homework in early years and support parents to become involved in children’s learning in other ways
‘My 11-year-old son needs help with rejection sensitivity’
Ask the Expert: He is extremely self-conscious, gets very upset by perceived criticism and can’t take correction