Karley Beckman, Claire Rogerson and Tiffani Apps look at how kids under 13 use social media. Earlier this week (September 2024), the federal government announced it is going to introduce a social media ban for children. It hasn’t nominated a minimum age yet, but the focus of...
Denise Norton can find no explanation for her son’s fascination with weapons. Lying in the summer grass, gazing at the clouds taking shape across the sky, I ask my four-year-old son what he can see. “That one is guns,” he says, pointing at the cloud directly above,...
Here’s why they do it, writes Michael Nagel As someone who has spent most of his professional life studying how children develop, I’m often asked by parents (especially mums) why children (especially boys) are prone to pick up the nearest stick, pencil, soft toy or even...
Researchers Susan M. Sawyer and Nandi Vijayakumar look at what brain science tells us. The age at which a child can be arrested, charged and jailed in Australia is back in the spotlight. Last year, the Northern Territory became the first jurisdiction to raise the age of...
Timothy McKenry advises that there are many reasons why a child should learn a musical instrument. Not only does it give them the opportunity to make music, a significant body of research points to benefits for cognitive and academic achievement. This is why a current New South...
Kylie Ladd writes about family responses to chronic illness in grandparents. When Julie Anderson’s mother was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease, one of Julie’s first thoughts was of her own daughter. “Mum had been forgetting things and getting a bit muddled for a while, so the...
by Genevieve McArthur During Book Week, we will see countless photos on social media of happy kids dressed as characters from their favourite books while schools hold daily events celebrating the joy of reading. It’s a fun time for many children, who relish the chance to dress...
We hear a lot about women’s biological clock and how age affects the chance of pregnancy, writes Karin Hammarberg. Here’s what’s more likely when dads are over 50 New research shows men’s fertility is also affected by age. When dads are over 50, the risk of...
For good health, write Vaughan Cruickshank, Brendon Hyndman, Matt Sharman and Tom Hartley. You should try to eat at least two serves of fruit every day. Eating oranges at half-time has been a popular and long-standing tradition at junior sports in countries such as Australia, the...
Linda McIver comes to the conclusion that sometimes, near enough is good enough. This morning, I picked a fight with my six-year-old, Chloe. I didn’t set out to fight, of course, but she was really pushing my buttons. Her claim that she had finished her writing...
