Good to Great Parenting

Good to Great Parenting NZ parenting coach and mum of two, helping parents trust their instincts and embrace being "enough." Founder of Good to Great Parenting. Book coming soon! 📚

Parents who want to feel more relaxed and confident and understand their child better will find these skills invaluable. See my website www.gtgparenting.co.nz and Instagram for more inspiration. Email me on [email protected] to book your confidential call to learn more about how I can help you build rapport and connection and to understand your child better.

13/12/2025

You don’t have to calm the waves to be the steady shore. 🌊

Your child’s feelings will rise and crash.
Some days will feel smooth and easy.
Other days will be loud, messy, and overwhelming.

None of that means you’re doing it wrong.

Your job isn’t to quiet every wave or fix every feeling.
Your job is to stay: present, grounded, and do the best you can to be there for them when they need you 💙

Today I had the privilege of facilitating the “Raising Resilient Tweens and Teens” masterclass – and it reinforced just ...
12/12/2025

Today I had the privilege of facilitating the “Raising Resilient Tweens and Teens” masterclass – and it reinforced just how important this season of parenting really is.

We started with a key reminder: each season of life is different, and childhood is a tiny window.

When you’re stuck in daily battles over homework, screen time, or attitude, it can feel endless.

But zooming out helps us parent less from control and more from connection, coaching, and long‑term resilience.

We tackled the big pain points most parents of tweens and teens know too well:

Talking back and constant arguments

Homework battles and poor time management

Endless negotiations about phones, gaming, and social media

Instead of seeing these only as “bad behaviour”, we reframed them as signals: missing skills, developing independence, or unmet needs. That shift from “How do I stop this?” to “What is this telling me?” is at the heart of modern, conscious parenting.

A core focus of the masterclass was teaching critical thinking skills – what actually works and what doesn’t.

We explored how to:
Ask better questions instead of lecturing

Encourage problem-solving instead of rescuing

Model calm thinking when things go wrong

In 2025, critical thinking is a key part of keeping kids safe online and in real life.

We looked at practical ways to:

Set clear, age-appropriate boundaries around tech and social media

Build digital literacy and empathy

Create enough trust that kids will come to you when something feels off

We also dug into connection, brain development, and temperament.

Understanding the teen brain (still developing planning, impulse control, and emotional regulation) and your child’s unique temperament explains why one-size-fits-all parenting rarely works.

Small, consistent moments of listening, validation, and respect build the secure base tweens and teens need to thrive.

Finally, we explored the laws of parenting and the Parent Leadership model: shifting from managing behaviour to leading your family with vision and values.

That means being the calm, consistent leader who models what you want to see, while accepting that you’re learning too.

If you’re a parent, educator, or leader supporting young people and you’re interested in:

Raising resilient tweens and teens

Building stronger parent–child connection

Navigating screen time, social media, and safety

Teaching critical thinking and emotional skills


I’d love to connect or bring this Raising Resilient Tweens and Teens masterclass to your school, organisation, or community.

🔗 Send me a message if you’d like more details or to explore a tailored session for you about your family.

11/12/2025

Finding calm in the chaos of parenting isn’t about having everything together all at the same time.

It's noticing tiny details and the spaces where love still lives


Especially on the hardest days!

Sometimes it feels like your child’s big feelings cast a shadow over everything, your patience, your plans and even your confidence as a parent.

You’re not failing because things are messy.

You’re actually growing together with your child. Growth is very rarely neat and tidy or quiet.

Even when was struggling there’s one gentle practical step you can take.

Sometimes pausing instead of jumping straight into fix things.

Sometimes telling yourself some beautiful words to settle yourself.

It’s okay to walk away and say I’m just going to sit right here for a moment.

You don’t have to know the perfect words and you don’t have to make uncomfortable feelings disappear

Because shadows only exist where there is light and sometimes you are the light.

11/12/2025

Connection over perfection. 🌙

Your child doesn’t need a *perfect* parent.


They need a present one.

A soft place to land. A hand to hold when big feelings rise and fall, just like the phases of the moon.

Some nights you’ll shine bright, overflowing with patience and play.

Other nights you’ll feel like the sliver of a crescent, wondering if you’ve given enough, done enough, been enough.

But just like the moon, your love is always there — even when you can’t see your full glow.

Connection is built in the tiny moments:

- The deep breath before you respond instead of react
- The “I’m sorry, I was harsh. Can we try again?”
- The giggle you choose over the lecture
- The cuddle at the end of a hard day

Perfection tells us “Get it right or you’ve failed.”
Connection says “Come back. Repair. Try again.”

You don’t need to parent perfectly to be who your child needs you to be. đŸŒ™đŸ€

— Justine Lamont, Parent Coach

Ditch perfection and choose connection, one gentle step at a time.

07/12/2025

Parenting through hard times teaches us something: our bonds don’t strengthen despite the struggle—they strengthen because of it. And the magic happens when curiosity shows up. When we ask questions instead of making assumptions, when we wonder what could be rather than dwelling on what went wrong and we are vulnerable.

Curiosity isn’t just a nice to have it’s how we build strong relationships. The power of curiosity in parenting transforms challenges into growth opportunities.

06/12/2025

✹The magic is in the moments✹

They’re there when we least expect it.

A bird or a butterfly 🩋

It’s not always about the flashy things or grand gestures.

What’s important are the things that make your family smile.

A sprinkle of cotton wool snow.

A toy safari in the living room.

The moments that matter most are often the simplest ones. đŸ’«

Pay attention to the small things. They’re the ones that stay with your kids forever.

05/12/2025

Learning isn’t something that happens in the easy moments.

The way we find out our child’s character is through difficult times. What we want for our kids is for them to know that even in those tough times they will ALWAYS have our support.

100 percent of the time.

When our children do strike out on their own it can feel daunting, for them and for us.

People and circumstances are beyond our control.

The only thing we can do is to make sure that we’re ready to catch them when things do not go their way.

It can be difficult to watch and it’s also essential for them to learn what they are good at, what they need to work on and which things do not suit them.

Wishing you and your family all the best in the run up to the holiday season.

04/12/2025

What does an ideal day look like for your kids?

04/12/2025

What’s the definition of resilience? How much resilience does my kid need? What’s the best way for a parent to offer them some support without smothering them?? It can be different depending on our child and the sorts of challenges that they’re going to face.

We want our kids to bend without breaking so they need to be adaptable and flexible.

03/12/2025

What's a way to get your kids to listen to you?

03/12/2025

Gardens like parenting involve seasons. They are changing all the time. Finding the right soil and preparing the beds, creating the conditions and making sure there’s enough rain or watering to suit the plants.

You can’t force growth. A child’s development unfolds naturally in its own way over time đŸȘŽ

Often we have to weather storms ⛈ and unpredictable events.

By showing up consistently and removing old patterns (weeds) we get to help create connections and patterns that help kids thrive.

The intention is to be patient with them, but this is not passive. We are actively engaging in a process that wills them towards making choices that serve them.

Let’s be curious about what we can do to encourage fresh growth. đŸŒ±đŸŒ±đŸŒ±

02/12/2025

What's the most fun thing you do with your kids?

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