If you decide to allow your child to drink some alcohol, be aware that the younger they commence risky drinking, the greater the downstream threats. Steve Allsop looks at the impact of alcohol on developing brains. Young Australians are exposed to a range of risks from...

It could be their superpower! Write Chloé Diskin-Holdaway and Paola Escudero Australia is a multicultural society. There are different traditions, cultures, accents and languages all over the country. The latest Census data show almost 30% of Australians speak a language other than English, or English and another...

You would assume that with the rise of the internet and social media platforms our young people are feeling more ‘connected’ than ever? Report Associate Professor Janet Scull, Associate Professor Terry Bowles and Daniela Russo. But emerging research suggests that we are now facing a...

Some fun books this month for the littlies with plenty of favourites to choose from. What Do You Call Your Grandma? by Ashleigh Barton and Martina Heiduczek (HarperCollins publishers H/b RRP $19.99) Every Grandma has a special name and that’s part of the fun when you become a...

Yang Yang shares how encouraging her daughter to ‘live bilingual’ carries on her culture. Communication has become difficult since my daughter Yolanda turned four last year. She switches to English when she feels she isn’t understood or can’t find the right Chinese word to convey her...

The expanding vocabulary of a child at mothers’ group leads Luci Temple to think a little more about her own choice of words. … who doesn’t let out an expletive every now and then? One of my daughter’s friends recently began saying the ‘f-word’. At least, that’s...

That voice in our heads can get pretty nasty, can’t it? It just loves to tell us what we’re doing wrong, what we aren’t capable of, how terrible we look. Today we talked to trainer and author Lizzie Williamson about how to silence the negative...

Why do so many schools have cupboards full of musical instruments gathering dust? Dr Alexander Crooke looks for possible answers. Musical participation in schools has been increasingly linked to a range of benefits deemed critical for today’s students. This includes fostering creativity, offering unique ways of...