Amity Lawrence searches for meaning over money. Growing up middle class in Australia during the 1970s and ‘80s was reassuringly predictable. Fathers worked a five-day week and were home in time for dinner. Mothers were the stay-at-home kind, or took a part-time job with school hours...

Little kids love hearing books read to them, it helps them learn their language. All these new books have a wonderful message to share.   Meanwhile Back on Earth written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, pub. HarperCollins, H/b RRP $27.99. Ages 5+ Following on from his two previous books...

You Don't Know What War Is The Diary of a Young Girl From Ukraine by Yeva Skalietska, pub. Bloomsbury  Children's Books. P/b RRP$19.99 Everyone knows the word 'war'. But very few understand what it truly means. When you find you have to face it, you feel totally lost,...

Visual artist and lecturer Naomi Zouwer advises how to set up a kids’ art studio at home (and learn to love the mess) Many parents want to encourage their children to be creative. This is not just about training the next Archibald Prize winner. Young people...

Bring a plate!  Lauren Ball, Amy Kirkegaard, Breanna Lepre and Emily Burch look at what to take to Christmas lunch that looks impressive (but won’t break the bank) Christmas lunch is at your friend’s house this year, and they’ve asked you to bring a plate. Money...

Choice overload is a real problem, but these tips will make your life easier, writes Janneke Blijlevens It’s been a long day. Your partner messages you: “let’s just order in, I don’t feel like cooking”. With a sense of relief, you open your usual takeaway app and...

Jayne Kearney finds a way to steer her daughter through the mysteries of multiplication. When I was training to become a teacher, our class was presented with two ways to motivate our future students: extrinsically and intrinsically. Extrinsic motivation is when a child will do something in...

Annie's ice cream pudding Prep time: 15 minutes plus four hours freezing Cook time: nil Serves: 6-8 Ingredients 4 cups (1 litre] good quality vanilla ice cream 1 cup (125g) frozen raspberries 1 Cup (140g) Vienna (toffee) almonds roughly chopped 1 cup (80g) roughly chopped chocolate coated honeycomb Mixed berries and apricot coulis to...

‘I feel guilty about not being good enough’ by Nick Parkinson (from the Grattan Institute) School education in Australia needs a circuit-breaker. Student performance continues to stagnate and teachers report excessive workloads and alarming rates of stress. Our new report from the Grattan Institute, Ending the Lesson...

‘What am I supposed to do about all this really bad stuff?’ Phoebe Quinn and Katitza Marinkovic Chavez report that many young people feel anxious, powerless, sad and angry about climate change. Although there are some great resources on children’s eco-anxiety and climate distress, the vast majority...