The Parent Squad

Many parents will be starting to feel the exhaustion from getting back into school and extracurriculars.
We often go into the new year with high expectations of ourselves - like completely homemade school lunches, no takeout, keeping on top of house work - but quickly realise there was a reason we weren't accomplishing all that last year.
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A new report this week found nearly 90% of Auckland primary school say there's an increasing number of new entrants starting school without bare basic skills like being toilet trained and talking properly.
These are 5 year olds who are otherwise capable, but some stage of their early childhood seems to have been neglected - they can't even identify the letters of their name or hold a pencil.
As harsh as it may be, the blame does have to land somewhere.
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Schools have started back up and we all, obviously, want our children to do well.
Parents will be doing drop off and pick up, making sure the homework is done and forms are signed, keeping an eye on grades and reports.
But how involved should parents really be in their children's education?
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One of the hottest topics of the modern era is kids and smartphones. As we've seen more of the what the internet can do (for better or worse) they seem like an essential part of life. Wallet, Keys, Phone, that's what you always keep on you.
A first phone is typically only for texting mum and dad, so why do you need a device that has the capability for so much more?
Child Psychologist Sara Chatwin joins Tim Beveridge to give her advice on when to let kids get their own devices and how to manage them.
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NCEA results are officially out.
Most kids would have genuinely worked as hard as they could to get the grades they hoped for - even the kids who act like they don't really care.
And for many it won't have turned out as hey had planned - whether that meant not quite meeting the dizzying heights of their ambition or an actual fail grade. But it's unavoidable - at some stage through their school career - and life for that matter, most of us have to deal with the disappointment of failure.
They need to learn how to deal with that disappointment - but it will of course still be there, so how are parents supposed to help their children through it?
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