Rnz: It Takes A Village

Youth Development lecturer Pat Bullen from the University of Auckland says all too often young people are stereotyped, stigmitised and discriminated against. Her ongoing research debunks the myth that adolescents are rude, lazy, self-entitled risk-takers who need fixing.

What is tongue tie surgery and is it needed? Wellington Speech and Language Therapist Christian Wright thinks it is being recommended in cases where it isn't needed.

With university and secondary school students heading towards end of year exams, what are some key reading tips for study success?

Parenting commentator and educator Nathan Wallis with advice for parents worried that their kids are not making developmental milestones? When to be worried and seek help, and when to relax and let kids find their way.

Dr Mohamed Alansari speaks with Kathryn Ryan about how devices have changed the way children relate to each other at school. He says while technology is expanding children's horizons in the classroom, it has changed the dynamics of human connection, learning and teaching. A research fellow at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Education and Social Work, with a doctoral degree in educational psychology, Dr Mohamed Alansari's teaching and research focuses on classroom practices and relationships, and how they impact on how well children at primary and tertiary level socialise and learn. He's also involved in the I Have a Dream project, which looks at the impact of significant others on kids' lives. Dr Alansari is speaking at a free Raising the Bar event in Auckland next Tuesday.

John Marsden, Australian educator, principal and acclaimed author of more than 40 books for teenagers and children, talks about his new book The Art of Growing Up.

More young people than ever before are accessing pornography, and with more frequency, according to research by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

Kathryn talks with Auckland writer and body positivity campaigner and educator Angela Barnett who says the number of teens manipulating their own images using smartphone apps is on the rise. The apps photos to be tweaked to achieve blemish free skin and model-like features. Angela is the founder of the website FABIK, and of the Pretty Smart talks which she delivers in schools to 11 to 15 year olds.

Education consultant and parenting coach Joseph Driessen says it's understandable when parents give in to anger, frustration and even depression when dealing with difficult children. But he says over reacting, or responding by being either authoritarian or overly permissive are not the way forward. He shares his toolkit for breaking the cycle, and starting afresh in a new way.

Helping children to reduce their screentime can be as simple as remembering what you did as a child - encouraging outdoor play. In the US, there is a growing demand for screen-free parenting coaches. Parents are hiring professionals to help come into their homes to help them wean their children from spending excessive time online staring at the screen of their tablets, phones and other devices. Here, the Ministry of Health guidelines for screen time usage is less than one hour each day for children aged 2 to 5 years. To examine some strategies for helping cut down on screentime, Gloria DeGaetano is a private coach working in the Seattle area helping families to deal with the issue.

The past nine months have been a rollercoaster of emotions and change for Ashburton parents, Jo and Deane Taylor. Last year their 13 year old son Tom, was diagnosed with stage 4 hodgkin lymphoma. In our parenting slot this morning we are focusing on the realities and practicalities of looking after a sick child, the effect it has on family dynamics, and the sorts of things that can make a tough and worrying situation a little easier to bear.

Ivana Mlinac speaks with Kathryn Ryan about helping children overcome stigma and separation anxiety when their parent is in prison. Ivana's research into parental incarceration inspired to her write children's book Stardust - we always share the same sky. It's a magical book encouraging children to explore their feelings about missing their mum or dad. In New Zealand 23,000 children have parents in prison, and are often living with financial hardship and bullying in addition to separation anxiety. Ivana describes these children as having been handed a "secondary sentence". Ivana has an MA in Criminology, and is a Research Programme Coordinator at the University of Auckland.

Every parent knows the difficulties in trying to discipline their children and the feeling it's not working properly. Clinical therapist Anna Martin's new book Listen to me! Taking the conflict out of child discipline aims to provide parents with some effective strategies that put the listening and wellbeing of children before lecturing.

There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your looks, but being confident about the things you can do is what will really make you feel positively towards yourself, says Turia Pitt. The Australian author and motivational speaker talks to Kathryn Ryan about the advice in her new book for teens Good Selfie.

Speech and Language Therapist Christian Wright with more tips and tricks for parents of five year olds with speech sound errors, such at 'tat' for cat, and 'hostible' for hospital.

Aaron Hendry has worked as a youth worker for a number of years and says fathers need to be particularly careful about the messages they give their sons. He says the "get hard" or "toughen up" message is literally killing young Kiwi men, because it's preventing them from seeking help when they're at their most vulnerable.

CEO of Spectrum Education Karen Boyes says the job of mums and dads is to ensure that kids can parent themselves by age 18 - and that one day, they leave home! She says the path towards this starts as early as two years old.

Kiwi-born teacher-turned-author of the internationally well-received I Feel Brave book series, Avril McDonald, writes 'little stories about big feelings' for four to seven year olds. Additionally Avril has devised a couple of programmes which have been taken up in schools in New Zealand, to help primary school children learn to deal with difficult emotions like anxiety, and to have empathy for others, in a bid to guard against bullying. Avril tells Kathryn Ryan about the range of tools in her arsenal, which also include videos and this song 'Nothing Like a Good Friend' which encourages children to become more empathetic.

A new survey of 1200 parents around the country finds three quarters are worried they don't spent enough time with their children. Parenting commentator, researcher and educator Nathan Wallis talks to Kathryn about this and other insights from the survey which asked parents about everything from sleep, diet, and digital devices to how much they spend on birthday parties.

Susan Sawyer is a Professor of Adolescent Health at the University of Melbourne and a practising paediatrician. She talks to Kathryn about whether the age range for adolescence is too narrowly defined. She believes adolescence should be up to 24 years old .Throughout the world, youth and health agencies differ on the the age group that qualifies as adolescence.