No, writes Lisa Mitchell, it’s ageist, whatever Bluey says. A child once approached me, hunched over, carrying a vacuum cleaner like a walking stick. In a wobbly voice, he asked: Do you want to play grannies? The idea came from the children’s TV show Bluey, which has episodes,...
While the 'Elf on the Shelf' has been criticised, it's meant to be light-hearted and to encourage kids to be kind at a time of the year when anxiety is high. The Elf on the Shelf is a new Christmas tradition that originated from a children's...
A Senate inquiry, after more than 700 submissions and evidence from 79 witnesses at three public hearings, has delivered its findings, reports David Coghill Around 800,00 Australians live with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is the most common mental health condition in children aged four to...
And it’s way too easy for children to access, report Sonja Petrovic and Milovan Savic Explicit content has long been a feature of the internet and social media, and young people’s exposure to it has been a persistent concern. This issue has taken centre stage again with...
Researchers Nigel Howard and Andrew Bills report that schools are often not empowered by education authorities to respond in their own ways. Earlier this month, the ABC reported an alarming national poll about school refusal. Of the 1,000 parents surveyed by the Greens-commissioned poll, 39% agreed...
National Child & Family Hubs Network Revolutionizes Support Services for Australian Families The network brings together expertise from health, early education, NGOs, community organizations, research institutes, universities, philanthropy, and government to strengthen the capacity of the existing 460 Hubs across Australia. The goal is to ensure...
And a lot of work for children’s advocates! writes Rys Farthing Privacy protections for children are woefully lacking in Australia. Regular readers of small screen will be all too familiar with some of the problems this has led to, from apps that track and use worrying...
But heading overseas comes with risks, writes researchers Ezra Kneebone, Karin Hammarberg and Kiri Beilby Surrogacy offers the chance of parenthood for those who can’t carry a pregnancy for medical or social reasons. In a surrogacy arrangement, a surrogate gives birth to a baby for the intended...
Federal and state governments have just launched a A$10 million advertising campaign to “raise the status” of teachers in Australia and encourage people to consider a career in school education, writes Virginia Beal Called “Be That Teacher”, the campaign features emotive stories from eight real teachers...
Monash University's Innovative Project assists teachers with disruption in their classrooms. Monash University, in collaboration with the Victorian Department of Education, is launching a valuable set of resources designed to assist both teachers and education support staff in managing disruptive student behaviour. The Challenge of Disruptive Behaviour Recent...
