Dr Justin Coulson's Happy Families

One in three babies is using a phone or tablet by six months old. By age two, almost one in ten is averaging around four hours of screen time a day.
New research into screen use during the first years of life has landed with a confronting warning for parents. Justin and Kylie unpack what researchers call “digital soothing”, why screens can crowd out the interactions babies need for healthy development, and what parents can do when zero screen time feels almost impossible.
KEY POINTS
16% of Australian three and four year olds had recently used TikTok, YouTube or Instagram.
More than half of children are using phones or tablets by their first birthday.
Why researchers are concerned about using screens to soothe, comfort and entertain babies.
How screens can replace the face-to-face “serve and return” interactions that build language and thinking skills.
Higher screen exposure in the early years is linked with poorer sleep, delayed language and cognitive development, weaker social skills and poorer later school performance.
Why watching together is different from leaving a young child alone with a device.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE
“The first thousand days build the brain. Work hard to get that right.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
eSafety Commissioner’s Growing Up Online report
Jonathan Haidt’s After Babel Substack
New systematic review of global research into screen use during the first 1,001 days of life
ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS
Aim for as close to zero screen time as possible during the first two years.
Don’t rely on a device as your child’s regular comforter or distraction.
Prioritise talking, playing, moving and face-to-face interaction.
When screen time does happen, watch and engage together rather than handing over the device.
Look at what screen time is replacing, not only what your child is watching.
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Pornography isn’t just a boys’ issue. Girls are seeing it too, often before their parents realise they need to talk about it.
Kristen Jenson, founder of Defend Young Minds and author of Good Pictures, Bad Pictures Guide for Girls, joins Justin to explain why girls need to be part of this conversation. They unpack accidental exposure, curiosity, body image, objectification and the shame that can stop girls from asking for help.
Most importantly, Kristen gives parents a simple way to prepare kids before pornography finds them: give them a definition, a warning and a plan.
KEY POINTS
Why treating pornography as a boys-only problem leaves girls vulnerable
How shame around girls’ curiosity can make the problem harder to talk about
Why accidental exposure can happen before kids actively seek explicit content
The impact pornography can have on girls’ body image and self-worth
Why parental controls and filters can’t replace conversations
Kristen’s simple three-part approach: a definition, a warning and a plan
Why your reaction matters if your child tells you they’ve seen pornography
How to start the conversation even if your child is already a teenager
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE
“It’s never too late to give your kids a defense.”
Kristen Jenson
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Good Pictures, Bad Pictures Guide for Girls by Kristen Jenson
Defend Young Minds
Brain Defense Digital Safety Curriculum
Common Sense Media’s Teens and Pornography report
ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS
Have the conversation before your child gets their own internet-connected device.
Give your child an age-appropriate definition of pornography so they can recognise it.
Explain why pornography can be harmful without using fear or shame.
Give them a clear plan for what to do if explicit content appears.
Make sure they know they can tell you without automatically losing their device or getting into trouble.
If your older child has already seen pornography, listen first. Make it a conversation, not a lecture.
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Your five-year-old tells a whopping great lie at Show and Tell. Do you correct them, call them out, or let it go?
Lying can push every parental button, but for young kids, stretching the truth can be a surprisingly normal sign of cognitive development. Justin and Kylie explain why kids lie, what their tall tales might be trying to tell us, and why cracking down can make children better at hiding the truth.
The goal isn't to catch your child out. It's to understand what they need and make honesty safe.
KEY POINTS
By age four, around 80% of children will lie in experimental settings.
Convincing lies require "theory of mind", the ability to understand what another person thinks or believes.
Sometimes exaggeration is less about dishonesty and more about wanting connection, belonging, competence, or status.
Punitive responses can encourage children to become better at lying rather than more honest.
Avoid fact-checking or embarrassing your child in the moment.
Give kids an "off-ramp" from a lie by asking curious questions instead of accusing them.
Build the skills and relationships underneath the story so your child doesn't need to exaggerate to feel valued.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE
"Kids tell the truth when it's safe to tell the truth."
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Theory of mind and children's cognitive development
Research on lying and child development
Happy Families resources on helping kids build friendships
ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS
Stay calm. A young child's lie isn't automatically a red flag.
Look underneath it. Ask whether your child is seeking connection, competence, attention, or belonging.
Don't shame or ridicule them. Especially in front of other people.
Give them an off-ramp. Try, "Which parts did you do?" rather than catching them out.
Make honesty safe. Harsh punishment can make telling the truth feel too costly.
Build real competence. Help them practise the skill so next time they can proudly say, "I did it myself."
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Everyone wants the shortcut. Better results, less effort, faster success. But what happens when the shortcut fails?
The Enhanced Games promised superhuman athletic performances through performance-enhancing drugs. Instead, the results offered a surprising lesson for parents and kids. Justin and Kylie unpack our obsession with hacks, optimisation and instant success, and explain why real achievement is usually built through something far less exciting: repetition, mistakes, patience and showing up again.
KEY POINTS
Why the Enhanced Games became a lesson in the limits of shortcuts
The growing culture of hacks, optimisation and instant results
What elite athletes understand about boredom, repetition and mastery
Why failure is part of becoming genuinely good at something
How online influencers sell boys shortcuts to looks, wealth and status
Why doing the work matters as much as reaching the goal
What parents can teach kids about consistency when progress feels slow
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE
“It’s not actually about getting there, it’s about who you become while you’re getting there.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Atomic Habits by James Clear
How to Live by Derek Sivers
The Enhanced Games
Michael Jordan’s reflections on failure and success
ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS
Praise practice, persistence and improvement rather than quick wins.
Let your child struggle with something long enough to learn from their mistakes.
Talk about the shortcuts and “hacks” they see online and what those promises leave out.
Help kids see repetition as part of mastery, not proof that they lack talent.
When they make a mistake, ask what they know now that they didn’t know before.
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One in three Australian kids is struggling to read at the expected level. In a classroom of 30, that’s 10 children falling behind.
Justin speaks with Rachel Amorosakra from Reading Out of Poverty about what poor literacy looks like for kids, why access to books in the first five years matters so much, and the confronting reality for children in remote communities who may not own a single book.
With Book Week approaching, they look at a practical way families can help put culturally appropriate books into the hands of children in East Arnhem Land.
KEY POINTS
One in three Australian children is not meeting grade-level expectations in reading.
Struggling to read affects far more than English. It can make maths, science and other subjects harder too.
Falling behind can leave children embarrassed, disengaged and believing they simply aren't smart.
The first five years are critical for building vocabulary, imagination and early literacy skills.
Books create connection between children and caregivers, not just reading skills.
Many children in remote East Arnhem Land communities have little access to books.
Reading Out of Poverty is providing culturally appropriate literacy packs to children this Book Week.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE
“Books aren't just about the reading itself. It's about building connection with parents and caregivers.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Reading Out of Poverty
Book Week
Reading Out of Poverty literacy packs for children in East Arnhem Land
Each $25 donation funds one literacy pack containing five age-appropriate books and educational resources.
ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS
Read with your child regularly, especially during the early years.
Make books easy to reach and part of everyday family life.
Let young children choose books they want to hear again and again.
Use stories as time to connect, talk and explore ideas together.
This Book Week, consider donating a literacy pack to help a child in East Arnhem Land access books of their own.
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