Catherine Page Jeffery looks at the pros and the cons The surgeon general is the “nation’s doctor” in the United States. They are tasked with giving Americans the “best scientific information” about their health. Late last month, the current US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned 13 is...
Early literacy doesn’t always equal an easy path at school, as Judith Ware’s son found to his detriment. No-one could have been prouder than I was when my son began to recognise his alphabet. I took it for granted, this being my first child, that this...
Learning grammar is just as important as it always was but the way we teach it has changed, writes John Munro Many students returning to school this year face a renewed focus on grammar. Just before Christmas, the NSW curriculum was overhauled to include the “explicit...
Educators Graham Parr, Fleur Diamond, Anne Keary and Kylie Bradfield look for some answers The recent report by the Australian Educational Research Organisation (AERO), Writing development: What does a decade of NAPLAN data reveal? , has caused quite a stir in Australian news...
Here’s why that won’t necessarily work, writes Mischa Bongers It’s commonly understood that having a baby can be a primary cause of later pelvic floor problems, such as bladder leakage. While giving birth can be a very special and joyful time, it can sometimes be difficult...
New research has found frequent GP visits improve health outcomes for children with asthma, however they are often irregular and inconsistent leading to an increase in hospital readmissions. The studies found only 39.2 per cent of GPs knew their patient had been readmitted to hospital for...
If a child draws a scientist, what do they draw? asks Professor Moira O'Bryan If your answer is a young woman in a high-vis vest and hard hat, looking for dark matter in a cavernous physics laboratory one kilometre down a gold mine, then that is...
Catherine Wade looks at what parents can do during their child's 'tweenage' years The teenage years can be among the trickiest times for a parent. You have been used to being your child’s voice of reason. Then, all of a sudden, your authority is challenged by...
Sarah Hamilton examines the epidemic of parents oversharing online. If a baby takes their first steps in a quiet family room and nobody Tweets about it, did it happen? Technology has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives, leaving our children little chance of sliding under...
What do most people mean by “happiness”? asks Dr Caroline West and other philosophers. Is maximising pleasure and enjoyment really our ultimate aim, as some studies argue? Some influential studies show that the decision to have kids leads to greater suffering — at least for parents....
