I’m already dreading the trip. What would you suggest?

Transitions are not easy for young children to manage, so they often struggle with ending one fun task (playing on the playground) and doing something not so fun (going home for lunch/nap, etc)

This new puppy is a new baby of sorts in your family, and like any new baby, it is taking up a lot of your time, attention, and energy

Weddings can be overwhelming for children. A big part of what makes them and similar events so difficult for them is that the day starts early with much waiting and sitting around

Your son might never love being at the beach, but you can slowly, respectfully, and with play start to make it more tolerable

Friendship is such a big part of life that when it proves difficult for us, it can overwhelm everything that is going well in our lives

The combination of lack of sleep, difficulty with peer interaction, poor and inconsistent engagement in school and his general lack of responsiveness to your efforts to get him there on time makes me wonder about his mental health status

If you push reading too hard and too soon at home, you could inadvertently turn your daughter off reading

I wonder if he is a bit intolerant of others' shortcomings or just not confident in himself. How can I assist, advise or guide him through his difficulties?

Child psychotherapist Dr Joanna Fortune