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Speaker 1: This is the Happy Family's podcast with doctor Justin Coilson,

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Speaker 1: where Luke and Susie and this is the podcast for

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Speaker 1: the time poor parent who just wants answers.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 3: It's quite interesting because we were driving down our street

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Speaker 3: and a six year old went, oh, it's almost Christmas.

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Speaker 3: We're getting ready for Christmas. And he was so excited

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Speaker 3: by Christmas.

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Speaker 1: The house is decorated, the house is.

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Speaker 3: Decorated and so. But then on our way home, his

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Speaker 3: eight year or old brother pointed out, it wasn't Christmas decorations.

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Speaker 3: It was Halloween.

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Speaker 1: It is coming up on Tuesday, doctor Justin Coulson joining

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Speaker 1: us in the studio. And every year, every year, this

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Speaker 1: question rolls around do we or don't we Halloween? And

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Speaker 1: there's such a mix of responses out there because it's

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Speaker 1: never When I was growing up, it wasn't a thing

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Speaker 1: we did in Australia. But as time has gone on,

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Speaker 1: we've kind of adopted it is Halloween. Okay, do we

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Speaker 1: do it? Don't we do it? What are your thoughts?

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Speaker 2: Okay, here we go. Number one. I don't have a

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Speaker 2: problem with it, except that it gets my kids all

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Speaker 2: sugared up. They're going around the neighborhood knocking on strangers doors,

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Speaker 2: and it's this imported commercial concept. But other than that,

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Speaker 2: I'm fine with it. Look, there are some people who'll

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Speaker 2: argue from a faith background that this isn't very good.

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Speaker 2: That's a bit of a furfy because actually it's not

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Speaker 2: even an American tradition. It's actually from Europe and it's

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Speaker 2: based on some All Hallows Saints' Day, so it isn't

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Speaker 2: actually this devilish thing in the US. They don't even

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Speaker 2: make it all about devils and ghouls. They make it

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Speaker 2: about just dressing up and having fun. Even though Ians, yeah, pumpkins,

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Speaker 2: I know. Even though I don't personally like Halloween, I

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Speaker 2: love what it does for communities. And my family recently

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Speaker 2: moved from Wollongong. We lived there for about a decade.

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Speaker 2: It was just such a wonderful place to live. And

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Speaker 2: while we were there, we had some friends who put

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Speaker 2: Halloween on big time, and we would go to their

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Speaker 2: place and they would have this massive Halloween party and

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Speaker 2: it became a great, big community kind of gathering. When

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Speaker 2: we weren't at that party, our kids would hang out

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Speaker 2: with their friends from school and they'd run up and

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Speaker 2: down the streets and any house that was decorated, they

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Speaker 2: knock on the doors and a parent would stand out

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Speaker 2: on the street and wave and say thank you as

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Speaker 2: they got piles of lollies and and all that sort

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Speaker 2: of stuff. And what I actually saw coming from Halloween

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Speaker 2: was wonderful communities and people coming together and sharing and

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Speaker 2: laughing and knocking on their neighbors' doors, Like who does

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Speaker 2: that today?

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Speaker 3: Right?

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Speaker 1: Yes, And that was the thing where we were. We

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Speaker 1: moved at the end of last year, but the few

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Speaker 1: years before that, we were in a community that had

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Speaker 1: a lot of young families in it. Many of them

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Speaker 1: went to the same school and in that little in

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Speaker 1: those few little streets that were one road in, one

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Speaker 1: road out, so that was very safe area. Halloween was big,

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Speaker 1: and it was it was a kind of a if

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Speaker 1: you if you have your light on, you can knock

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Speaker 1: on the door. Some people put notes on the door,

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Speaker 1: but they would because they weren't home, but they'd leave

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Speaker 1: out a bucket of lollies.

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Speaker 3: But it was really big. But it was really big.

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Speaker 1: But the first year I did it that Luke started

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Speaker 1: doing it and he would it was it was almost

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Speaker 1: like it creates a natural opportunity where we can approach

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Speaker 1: our neighbors and ask them what they need.

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Speaker 3: This is exactly what happened. So Susie started to basically

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Speaker 3: give me as many kids as they could possibly give

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Speaker 3: me as one adult to look after all of them

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Speaker 3: while they filled with sugar, which is a great idea.

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Speaker 3: So the mum of some of the kids that we'd

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Speaker 3: invite would hang out with Susie at the house and

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Speaker 3: they'd be there so that if anyone came to her

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Speaker 3: house but they had one on one she had one

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Speaker 3: on one.

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Speaker 1: Time with another mouch we never got.

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Speaker 3: I took all the kids and we had a blast.

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Speaker 3: But then I also took my phone and every door

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Speaker 3: I knocked on, I introduced myself, I got their name,

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Speaker 3: had a little bit of a chat, and then on

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Speaker 3: that phone I would just type some notes. So I

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Speaker 3: didn't forget Number sixteen was that was John John was

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Speaker 3: And so it just for me it was and it

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Speaker 3: was not something I went back to. It was just

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Speaker 3: helped me to remember John at number sixteen private eye.

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Speaker 1: But he would come home and go, you know what,

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Speaker 1: John at number sixteen's just had surgery, do you reckon?

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Speaker 1: We could make him a meal?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Nice? And just it was yes, we knock and

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Speaker 3: we've got the kids and it's only going to be

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Speaker 3: a quick conversation. But I want to grasp a little

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Speaker 3: bit so I can get to know min and that's

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Speaker 3: how I took the opportunity. The kids loved hanging out together.

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Speaker 3: Of course they love the sugar, but I got to

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Speaker 3: know my neighbors, and Susie had some one on one

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Speaker 3: time with another mom that they didn't normally get.

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Speaker 2: I don't have a problem with the fact that it's important.

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Speaker 2: We import lots of things and that's good. I don't

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Speaker 2: love the sugar aspect that I don't love the commercial aspect,

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Speaker 2: but beyond that, I think that there are so many

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Speaker 2: great things about Halloween that we should be celebrating and

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Speaker 2: we should be loving it. And from again, from a

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Speaker 2: faith perspective, because I know that there are some people

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Speaker 2: who are very sensitive and even opposed to it. I

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Speaker 2: think that I've got a friend in Melbourne. He runs

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Speaker 2: a big church down there. I ran a seven ar

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Speaker 2: for him one time and just the loveliest guy. His

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Speaker 2: name is Rob Buckingham, and I love you.

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Speaker 3: They were beautiful.

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Speaker 2: We had Robert Christie, absolutely top notch couple, Absolutely love

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Speaker 2: them to bits, and he's written a blog. I saw

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Speaker 2: it on Facebook a few years ago. He's written a

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Speaker 2: blog about it. Now I don't know what he because

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Speaker 2: that's you know, that's his thing. And I read over

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Speaker 2: it and I was like, yeah, why why is everyone

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Speaker 2: getting up getting their nickers in a not about this?

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Speaker 2: You know? If we were going to adopt a tradition, though,

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Speaker 2: I wouldn't have picked Halloween. Although I think that it's great.

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Speaker 2: I really do think it's wonderful for communities. I would

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Speaker 2: have picked Thanksgiving because I just think we have so

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Speaker 2: much to be grateful for in this country. Our communities

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Speaker 2: are prosperous and abundant, and we even, oh my goodness,

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Speaker 2: even those of us that are doing it tough, for

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Speaker 2: doing it pretty well compared with other people and other

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Speaker 2: places of the world. And I just reckon, you know,

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Speaker 2: I don't know if it's end of October or end

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Speaker 2: of November, but Thanksgiving is something that we need more.

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Speaker 1: Of, another opportunity for a big family meal that you

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Speaker 1: can draw others from the community into.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I think it's clear we like chocolate more than turkey.

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Speaker 3: It's the message we got out of that choice.

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Speaker 2: Let's go knock on some na.

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Speaker 3: This is one of those ones because because we often

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Speaker 3: when it comes to these when we're antie the commercialism,

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Speaker 3: like Valentine's Day and all these things, we say, you

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Speaker 3: should be able to do that every day of the year.

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Speaker 3: And in our relationship, Susan and I can choose to

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Speaker 3: live out Valentine's Day any day of the year.

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Speaker 2: But often we don't.

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Speaker 3: No, and I know we don't. That's exactly right, and

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Speaker 3: that's why I don't mind these things to go. It's

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Speaker 3: a reminder, it's a prompter to go. You've been forgetting this,

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Speaker 3: and so I'm happy to embrace that. The thing is

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Speaker 3: with something like Halloween and knocking on your neighbor's door,

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Speaker 3: it's the only day of the year where everyone's happy

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Speaker 3: for you to knock. Or if they put a sign

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Speaker 3: up to say leave me alone, or they don't enter

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Speaker 3: the door, that's fine. But if they come to the

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Speaker 3: door prepared, anticipating community, and that's the difference between and

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Speaker 3: bracing it on that day. Yes, I can knock on

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Speaker 3: my neighbor's door any day of the year, but this

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Speaker 3: is the one day that actually waiting for me to come,

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Speaker 3: and it's.

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Speaker 1: An opportunity for us to be generous to people who

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Speaker 1: knock on our own door.

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Speaker 2: It feels good, doesn't it?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, feels good.

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Speaker 1: Dr Justin Pilson, thank you for being brave enough to

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Speaker 1: tackle a subject that can be a little.

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Speaker 2: Before we deal with the big issues right here, don't we.

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Speaker 2: I'll talk about Halloween any day over dealing with terrible teens.

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Speaker 3: Well.

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Speaker 1: For more information on how you can get this parenting

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Speaker 1: thing under control, you can go online to Happy Families

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Speaker 1: dot com dot au for more resources there. But if

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Speaker 1: you're interested in having doctor Justin Coulson speak at your

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Speaker 1: community group, organization, or event, you can find out more

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Speaker 1: about that at Justinculson dot com