The following is a revised version of an article published in The Geelong Advertiser “Education Guide” supplement on May 13, 2008. Chris Mackey responded to questions put to him by journalist, Margaret Linley, who edited the original article. Additional input has been provided by Laura Capitanio, Child Clinical Psychologist.

As parents we can struggle to know what is the right thing to do if our child encounters seemingly insurmountable problems at their school and is miserable and frustrated. Should we tell them to stick it out or do we transfer them to another school? Is there a right time to bail from a school or are we just teaching our children to run away from their problems?

Chris Mackey, Geelong psychologist, looks at some big issues and discusses way to tackle them.