Jacqueline Wilson grew up reading Enid Blyton but writes about children whose lives are less than perfect. Her relatable storylines have gone on to captivate generations of young readers, with her books selling over 40m copies, writes Helen O’Callaghan

"I suggest you become interested in what interests him. This teaches him that he is interesting. We want our teenagers to know that they are interesting and engaging and that we are always curious about them and their lives."

"There is a reason that the phrase ‘good enough is good enough’ is used so much in parenting circles."

I’m exhausted and not sure what to do

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'Ensure that whoever he has been staying with while apart from you is emotionally and physically available during this transition because a predictable environment will be very reassuring to him'

Just because we make help and support available does not mean we can control how or even if someone we love will avail of it

Separation anxiety can be defined as a lingering worry or anxiety that something bad will happen to the child (or they believe something bad will happen to their mum or dad) if they leave their parent

"While you can be clear that the same rules that apply to an 11-year-old are not the same for grown-ups, there are ones you can follow, such as the ‘one screen at a time’ rule and not having phones at mealtimes or in your bedroom."

My children hate doing the smallest job and I have to ask them over and over to do something as simple as emptying the dishwasher

'Positive discipline is the idea that discipline should aim to teach the behaviour that you want to see - rather than punishing the behaviour you don’t want to see.'

"Try to develop a goodbye ritual you and her father use when you leave.  It could be a little song that you sing (always the same song) with a short dance."

It is helpful to keep conversations about bodies factual and use anatomically correct language to avoid confusion or ambivalence

As parents, we need to be mindful of how we respond and react to the arrival of headlice as our children soak up our emotional and behavioural responses

"Remember, children never seek to be difficult - instead, they want to communicate they are having difficulty."

Ahead of Blue Monday, Vogue Williams, Brendan O’Connor, Roz Purcell, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and more share their top tip for happiness with Nicole Glennon

Play is an ideal way to introduce children to change

There is a difference between a tic and a habit, and right now you are not sure which it is that your son is showing.

The idea of something that exists to monitor bad behaviour and report back to Santa doesn’t sit well with me