Building resilience in children is an important learning objective for parents as they raise their children in today’s uncertain world.

CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes (CCWF) hopes to assist parents with this by bringing Happy Families podcast’s Dr Justin Coulson to western NSW in March following on from a successful series of talks in 2023 hosted by CCWF.

‘Resilient Kids: Building Stronger Kids Through Life’s Challenges’ will be delivered by Dr Coulson in evening sessions in Forbes, Condobolin, Narromine and Parkes.

The free sessions, funded by CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes will be fun, interactive style talks providing parents with the tools to help create resilient kids.

According to Dr Coulson, adversity with parental support creates resilient kids.

Dr Coulson co-hosts his Happy Families podcast with his wife Kylie and is also well known as co-host and parenting expert on Channel Nine’s Parental Guidance.

While parents work hard to shelter children and lessen their struggles and stress, Dr Coulson says challenges, with parental support to guide, are a part of growing resilience by experiencing developmentally appropriate adversity and providing the skills to get through.

CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes Family and Relationship Services delivery leader Rebecca Lee, says the organisation wants parents to feel supported and empowered. [Image supplied]

“Parenting doesn’t come with a manual, and many parents quietly struggle with the pressures of raising children,” said CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes Family and Relationship Services delivery leader Rebecca Lee.

“These free sessions with Dr Justin Coulson are about normalising those challenges and giving families practical, realistic strategies they can use every day.

“We want parents to feel supported, empowered, and confident,” said Ms Lee.

“Everyone wants their children to feel safe and happy, but unfortunately there are elements of the world that take that away,” said a western area mother of three.

“We really need to build resilient kids and if Dr Coulson can give us the skills to assist with creating a resilient child, I will be first one at the door to listen to his advice.

“As parents, we want the best for our kids so they can cope with real life,” she said.

The talks will take place from 5.30pm-7pm on:

• • Monday March 2, 2026, at the Narromine High School Hall

• • Tuesday March 3, 2026, at the Parkes High School Hall

• • Wednesday March 4, 2026, at the Forbes North Public School Hall

• • Thursday March 5, 2026, at the Condobolin Public School Hall

Interested community members are kindly requested to RSVP to assist with planning the event, and can click here for further details.