Imagine having your period and no money for pads or tampons. Would you still go to school? asks Sarah Duffy, Michelle O'Shea and Patrick van Esch The New South Wales Education Department said last week said it would trial a program to hand out free pads...

US coalition lodges complaint to FTC over maths game Prodigy. At first glance, Prodigy seems like a fun way to interest children in math. In reality, it jeopardises children’s relationships with learning at a time when so much is already working against their success. (Campaign for...

Dr Kurt Gebauer writes about the increasing number of children coping with acne and earlier-onset puberty. 16 per cent of girls and six per cent of boys reach puberty at eight to nine years of age. Children will inevitably morph into teenagers, with all the attendant...

Here is a mixture of new and old mystery books that will please any budding sleuth! The Violet Veil Mysteries: A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly and illustrated by Hannah Peck (HarperCollins, paperback RRP $16.99) Age Group 8+ years The author is known for her Scarlet...

 Patricia Tan and her toddler have an uncomfortable encounter at the park. My son and I are laughing and enjoying a sunny afternoon at our local playground. When he zooms down the slide and lands at my feet, he is approached by an older boy with...

Schools are no different from any other part of society, writes Jane Wilkinson. They have their issues, challenges and a wide variety of human nature. In late October 2019, Victorians were shocked to hear of sustained anti-Semitic bullying occurring in two public schools. The Victorian Education...

Let’s start by putting aside the bugbear that it is even possible to “cancel” children’s author Dr Seuss, writes Kate Cantrell and Sharon Bickle As Philip Bump wrote recently in The Washington Post, No one is ‘cancelling’ Dr Seuss. The author, himself, is dead for one thing,...

 Families come in all shapes and sizes, writes Jacqui Tomlin. Something is happening in our house on weekday mornings. We call it Sock Torture. Our youngest started Kindy recently, and she’s loving it, but at either end of the school day she’s tired, and how shall...

Samantha Allemann enjoyed playing with dolls for a much longer time than her peers.  When I was 10 and about to go into hospital to get my tonsils removed, Mum bought me a present to soothe the pain: Gymnast Barbie. I was thrilled and made her...

Leticia Anderson, Kathomi Gatwiri, Lynette Riley and Marcelle Townsend-Cross look at ways teachers (and parents) can bring the topic of racism comfortably into the classroom. As Black Lives Matter protests rage across the world, many of us are motivated to learn more about racism and talk...