Talking to your children about consent and sexual violence can be hard.

While we tend to focus on building adolescents’ knowledge, starting conversations about consent as early as possible, and having them as often as possible, is the best approach.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Girls can play anything now — so why are women in sport still judged by their bodies?
Girls have more sporting opportunities than ever, but women are still judged by appearance. What message does that send to young athletes?
Editor
01 October, 2026
When family relationships break down: understanding estrangement
Family estrangement can be painful for parents and adult children alike. As “going no contact” becomes a more familiar phrase, relationship experts say the reasons families stop speaking are usually far more complicated than choosing sides.
Editor
24 September, 2026
School Holiday Survival Guide
School holidays are a welcome change of pace — and a good chance to spend time together, try something new and break up the usual routine.
Editor
17 September, 2026
Healthy, low-waste and actually eaten: why packing a school lunchbox isn’t so simple
For busy families, the “best” lunch may not be the one that looks perfect on paper. It may simply be the one that is reasonably nutritious, manageable to pack, fits the school day — and comes home mostly empty.
Editor
10 September, 2026
Year 12 Final exams are coming: what teenagers really need from parents
As Year 12 students head towards final exams, Professor Ken Purnell writes that it can be tempting for parents to push harder on study. But protecting sleep, keeping pressure in check and offering steady support may be far more useful. For many Australian Year 12...
Editor
03 September, 2026
Puberty at Eight? What Parents Need to Know
When her eight-year-old daughter developed her first breast bud, Donna Reis wasn't quite ready for the answer. She set out to find out more about early puberty – and discovered that children don't always develop according to the timetable parents expect.
Editor
27 August, 2026

Celebrating Mothers

Balancing study and motherhood: what I hope my kids learn
Balancing study, work and family life takes being organised to a whole new level. One mum shares the exhaustion, guilt and unexpected lessons that come with returning to study while raising three children.
Editor
01 October, 2026
Vitamin K shots stop internal bleeding in newborns. Why are some parents refusing them?
Babies aren’t born with enough vitamin K, which is essential to clot blood, report Zohra Lassi and Engida Yisma. This is why it’s recommended in Australia that all newborns receive a vitamin K injection at birth. Without it, they’re at risk of vitamin K deficiency...
Editor
18 September, 2026
What’s a doula? What do – and don’t – they do during childbirth?
A birth doula is a support person a woman can privately hire during pregnancy. They usually attend the birth and provide non-clinical comfort measures such as massage, assistance getting into different birth positions, and emotional reassurance.
Editor
17 September, 2026
How motherhood reshapes the brain
Becoming a mother also brings about an extraordinary shift in priorities. As the late British psychotherapist and author Naomi Stadlen wrote, “motherhood can be relentless. The dependency, the need, the constant pull of being someone’s entire world…”
Editor
17 September, 2026