COMMENT: Parents need Govt to fund help courses, writes Deborah Hill Cone.

It's hard to learnt lessons without experiencing pain first, says Deborah Hill Cone.

We learn gentleness and empathy from experiences not a whiteboard

Like many people, Deborah Hill Cone admired Jono Pryor's courage in sharing his feelings.

COMMENT: 'I would like to proffer a list of some of the good things that have been making life worth living', says Deborah Hill Cone.

COMMENT: I've had a lot of love affairs. Years of crushes, hangovers and hookups; silly, slutty, unrequited, quick and dirty, writes Deborah Hill Cone.

COMMENT: New research suggests our "thinking brain" plays a more prominent role in emotion than previously acknowledged, writes Deborah Hill Cone.

COMMENT: At a time when consumers are flexing their muscles, empowered by social media, Sky has done little I can think to inspire loyalty.

COMMENT: I see his traits in me - but at least I'm getting therapy.

COMMENT: I always find around the summer holidays there are two quite different, yet equally vivid, realities going on in my head at the same time.

COMMENT: Me, I like to flirt with dangerous ideas. Here are a few for the new year.

COMMENT: The fact I have my gut feelings - and my gut - back is actually a good thing.

COMMENT: This year I want to be that one person out of ten who at least tries to stay conscious, to be truly alive.

DEBORAH HILL CONE COMMENT: I know my father loved me. It just didn't feel like he did. I recently came across an old photo he took of me.

COMMENT: In midst of all the crud, here are a few fluorescent-lit, hand-wavy things that I learnt this year.

COMMENT: The day after he announced he was stepping down as Prime Minister, John Key was asked about his biggest regret.

COMMENT: Note to Minister of Social Development Anne Tolley: Try stopping being a politician for a minute, and just listen.

COMMENT: Insights of younger generation could show they have got it right more than the grown-ups.

COMMENT: Libraries are not in decline because of some natural progression, but because of the cultural vandalism of cost-cutting.

COMMENT: Okay here goes. Another doily of insubstantial drivel written in my pyjamas. I feel weirdly scared writing this.

COMMENT: Questioning NZ is enough to make you think you're mad.

COMMENT: It seems to make more sense clipping the real estate ticket rather than making money by working hard.

COMMENT: Some evenings when we are peevish and cranky, which is quite often, I grab towels and tell the kids we are going night swimming.

COMMENT: No matter how many warnings we put on things, we can't protect our children from pain, rejection, anxiety, fear or frustration.

COMMENT: I hope we will do a better job of helping these people to stay offence free so we can keep children safe. But first we have to try to understand.

COMMENT: I did click on the Facebook ad for makeup tips for older women. Personally, I prefer badass Lady Danger.

COMMENT: In his famous "You didn't build that" speech, Barack Obama said no one becomes successful without help.

COMMENT: It's clear our laws protecting tenants have not kept up with changes in the market which have tipped the balance further to landlords' benefit.

COMMENT: Getting better is like that old hair ad - it takes time but it will happen.

Local cast of Real Housewives of Auckland are funny and smart, but I don't envy them, writes Deborah Hill Cone.