'No mullets, no mohawks, no ‘awkwardly contrasting colours’. Researcher Kayla Mildren looks at disputes over school uniform policies and why they often involve hair. A Queensland dad recently took his four-year-old son out of the Gold Coast’s A.B. Paterson College because the school had ordered the...
Marilyn Campbell and Elizabeth J Edwards looked at all the recent evidence on mobile phone bans in schools – this is what they found. Mobile phones are currently banned in all Australian state schools and many Catholic and independent schools around the country. This is part...
Linda Gallo and Shelley Wilkinson are concerned too many people are relying on “pink” multivitamins. Growing a healthy baby relies on getting enough nutrients while pregnant. But rather than following a healthy diet to provide those nutrients, we’re concerned too many people are relying on “pink” multivitamins. These...
Taking her children to the hairdresser is no longer a hair-raising experience for children's author Katrina Germein My sister-in-law recently told me a story about taking her three-year-old daughter to the hairdresser. Her daughter was perched on the stool, ready for a haircut, while she fussed...
Mattel’s new athlete Barbies might seem like a win for feminists and young girls – but they’re not, write Lauren Gurrieri and Suzie Gibson Mattel released a new range of Barbie dolls this week honouring nine trailblazing women in sport. The recognised athletes include Matildas soccer...
Australia will trial ‘age assurance’ tech to bar children from online porn. What is it, and will it work? asks Paul Haskell-Dowland Responding to a resurgence in gender-based violence and deaths in Australia, the National Cabinet has committed almost A$1 billion to a range of strategies. Tackling “online...
Monash University researchers have identified several barriers that people experiencing infertility face in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and have proposed practical solutions to address these challenges. The study highlights that individuals with infertility often lack knowledge and opportunities in the following areas, which impede their ability...
Body dissatisfaction is stopping nearly half of young people in Australia from going to school. The Butterfly Foundation's recent Body Kind Youth Survey has highlighted a troubling trend in body dissatisfaction among young people in Australia. The survey, involving nearly 3,000 respondents, revealed that over half...
Maxine Clarke admits to using deception as a parental ploy. I remember the first time I realised that my mother could be deliberately dishonest. I was only about seven, but the exact details are almost as clear in my mind as if it happened five minutes...
Jessica Kean, Helen Proctor and Kellie Burns look at the history behind one of the biggest debates in education. When students walked through the sandstone gates of Sydney’s Newington College for the first day of school earlier this year, they were met by protesters. A group of...
