Parenting
Understanding Toddler Behaviour
Understand what your toddler is trying to tell you, and respond in ways that teach rather than punish.
NZ$24.99Buy
Parenting courses for calmer days at home with tamariki
Understand why young children behave the way they do, and build routines, words and plans that make everyday family life run more smoothly.
- 12 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
Tantrums, big feelings and bedtime battles are a normal part of growing up, especially between one and four, when children have strong feelings but few words for them. Knowing what is typical for each age, and what tends to set a child off, takes a lot of the heat out of hard moments. In New Zealand, physical punishment of children is not allowed under the law, so the courses focus on calm, practical alternatives that work.
Routines help too. New Zealand's activity and sleep guidelines for children encourage plenty of active play, regular bedtimes and wake times, and keeping recreational screen time low. For parents of under-fives, your Plunket or Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse is a good first contact, and PlunketLine is free on 0800 933 922 at any hour. If you are separating, the Ministry of Justice funds a free Parenting Through Separation course.
Our six parenting courses, written by Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar, PhD in Nutrition, give you diaries, charts, scripts and planners for real days at home. They are for parents, grandparents and anyone in the wider whānau who helps raise tamariki.
All parenting courses
Parenting
Understanding Toddler Behaviour
Understand what your toddler is trying to tell you, and respond in ways that teach rather than punish.
NZ$24.99Buy
Parenting
Helping Children Manage Emotions
Practical emotion coaching for parents and whānau, with a feelings chart, calm-down corner checklist and a breathing game to share.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Helping Children Manage Emotions
Practical emotion coaching for parents and whānau, with a feelings chart, calm-down corner checklist and a breathing game to share.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Handling Toddler Tantrums
Spot the triggers, head off many meltdowns and handle the rest calmly, with in-the-moment cards for home, the supermarket and the car.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Handling Toddler Tantrums
Spot the triggers, head off many meltdowns and handle the rest calmly, with in-the-moment cards for home, the supermarket and the car.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Bedtime Routines for Children
Swap the nightly bedtime battle for a predictable routine, with a picture chart your child can follow and scripts for the tricky moments.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Bedtime Routines for Children
Swap the nightly bedtime battle for a predictable routine, with a picture chart your child can follow and scripts for the tricky moments.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Screen Time and Family Life
Agree screen rules as a family, not a fight, with a weekly tracker and a list of screen-free ideas kids will actually enjoy.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Screen Time and Family Life
Agree screen rules as a family, not a fight, with a weekly tracker and a list of screen-free ideas kids will actually enjoy.
NZ$29.99Buy
Parenting
Parenting After Separation
Practical tools and scripts for separated parents, with signposts to New Zealand family support services when you need more help.
NZ$34.99Buy
Parenting
Parenting After Separation
Practical tools and scripts for separated parents, with signposts to New Zealand family support services when you need more help.
NZ$34.99Buy
Which parenting course fits your family
Toddlers and young children
- Understanding Toddler Behaviour explains what is typical at each stage, with an ABC behaviour diary to spot patterns.
- Handling Toddler Tantrums gives you a calm in-the-moment response card and a plan to prevent the next one.
- Helping Children Manage Emotions uses a feelings chart, emotion-coaching scripts and a calm-down corner checklist.
Routines at home
- Bedtime Routines for Children builds a picture-based bedtime chart and a child sleep diary.
- Screen Time and Family Life helps the whole whānau agree on screen rules, with an audit and a family media agreement.
Family changes
- Parenting After Separation covers co-parenting plans, handovers and calm communication, with signposts to free support.
What the parenting tools do
- ABC behaviour diary and trigger checker: what happened before, during and after, so patterns become clear.
- Tantrum tracker and response card: what to say and do in the moment, and what to try next time.
- Feelings chart and daily mood tracker: help children name feelings and notice good days.
- Bedtime routine chart and screens-off planner: a picture sequence children can follow themselves.
- Co-parenting plan and shared calendar: agreed routines across two homes.
When to ask for more support
Get in touch with your GP or your Plunket or Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse if:
- you are worried about your child's speech, hearing, development or behaviour, or they lose skills they had
- behaviour is putting your child or others at risk, or making daily life very hard
- you feel close to losing control; put your child somewhere safe, step away and call PlunketLine on 0800 933 922
If anyone is in danger, call 111. For your own stress or low mood, free call or text 1737 at any time.
Parenting courses: your questions
Are tantrums normal?
Yes. Tantrums are very common between about one and four years old, as children learn to manage strong feelings. Most children have fewer as their language and self-control grow.
How much screen time is okay for young children?
New Zealand's guidelines for under-fives suggest no screen time for children under two and less than one hour a day for two to four year olds. For older children, the guidelines suggest keeping recreational screen time under two hours a day.
What is the best bedtime for my child?
There is no single right time, but a regular bedtime and wake time help. New Zealand guidelines give recommended sleep hours by age, and the bedtime course helps you work back from wake-up time.
Where can I get free help after separation?
The Ministry of Justice funds Parenting Through Separation, a free course for separating parents, and can explain other family justice services. The course points you to these when you need them.
Is smacking allowed in New Zealand?
No. New Zealand law does not allow parents to use force to correct or punish children. The courses focus on calm, practical ways to guide behaviour instead.
Can grandparents or other carers use these courses?
Yes. Anyone who looks after tamariki can use them, and the tools are easy to share so everyone follows the same routines.
Official sources
Start with a three-day behaviour diary
Three days of notes are often enough to see what sets things off, and that is where the change begins.