No Bad Kids, Just Big Emotions: A Fresh Look at Childhood Behaviour, with Billy Garvey

The Parenting Couch

Welcome to today’s episode, where we’ll dive deep into the world of child mental health— a more pressing issue than ever.
Did you know that 1 in 7 children aged 4 to 17 meet the clinical criteria for a mental illness over 12 months? Yet, despite these staggering numbers, only half of these children will see a clinician. Access to professional help is limited, and waiting lists can be painfully long.

To help guide us through this complex and often overwhelming issue, we are joined by Dr Billy Garvey, a developmental paediatrician, senior specialist at one of Melbourne's largest paediatric hospitals, and host of the Pop Culture Parenting podcast. With his new book Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child’s Mental Health, Dr Billy is on a mission to arm parents with the knowledge and tools they need to support their children, whether they’re grappling with anxiety, low self-esteem or behavioural challenges.

Dr. Billy believes there is no such thing as a "bad child." He emphasises the importance of understanding the critical foundations of good mental health—from attachment and social skills to self-esteem and anxiety management.

Join us as we explore the strategies that can help foster hope and resilience in our children’s lives.

‘Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child’s Mental Health’ is Dr Billy Garvey’s first book, and it’s out now.

About Dr Billy Garvey

Dr Billy Garvey is a developmental paediatrician with over 20 years of experience working with children. He is a senior specialist at one of the largest tertiary paediatric hospitals in the world, where he sees families, trains clinicians and other professionals working with children and conducts research in child development and mental health. He is also the founder of Guiding Growing Minds, a social enterprise that aims to allow all children to reach their potential and live rich and meaningful lives. The Pop Culture Parenting podcast is a part of this vision.

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