Is your child ‘overscheduled?’

Elise Waghorn looks at how to get the balance right on extracurricular activities for your child. It’s a weeknight, parents rush through the door from work, grab a snack, and then speed off in various directions to children’s extracurricular activities. As they do, they are managing tired and hungry kids as they all move from...

EDITOR’S PICKS

Parties don’t need to be flashy to be fun
Children’s parties are the number-one method used by competitive parents to outdo each other. Philippa Macken finds that you don’t need to be flashy to be fun. Harry was beside himself. I held his tiny hand as he hopped alongside me, barely able to contain...
Editor
24 April, 2024
How to Find Time to Read as a Family on Busy Weeknights
Setting aside time to read during the week can be challenging. Fortunately, you only need 20 to 30 minutes of reading a day to boost your child’s literacy—and it’s up to you how you want to structure it! Here are six expert-backed ways to read...
Editor
18 April, 2024
5 things grieving children want to know about the death of a loved one
‘Why did he Leave Me?’ is one, reports researcher Lauren Breen, Death and grief are not easy to talk about. Talking to children about these can be harder still. Our instinct to protect children from harsh realities means we might avoid these topics altogether. But,...
Editor
15 April, 2024
5 ways to get the most out of watching Bluey with your kids
A bumper Bluey episode is about to hit screens, writes Divna Haslam. This special episode of the hit kids show will premiere on April 14. The episode will run for 28 minutes, which is four times the usual length of a Bluey episode. My kids...
Editor
11 April, 2024
Easter Books for the small children you love
Looking for some Easter-themed books for the younger kids? Here is a selection of new and some older ones to look for. Bluey: Hooray, It’s Easter! Published by Penguin Random House. Board book. This is a lift-the-flap board book based on the hit ABC KIDS TV...
Editor
21 March, 2024
5 questions your child’s school should be able to answer about bullying
5 questions your child’s school should be able to answer about bullying, write researchers Nina Van Dyke and Fiona MacDonald As children returned to classrooms in 2024, school communities confronted bullying in person and via technology. In-person bullying and cyberbullying affect significant numbers of children and...
Editor
14 March, 2024

Celebrating Mothers

What’s the difference between ‘Free birthing’ and planned home births?
‘Free birthing’ and planned home births might sound similar, says Hannah Dahlen, but the risks are very different. The death of premature twins in Byron Bay in an apparent “wild birth”, or free birth, last week has prompted fresh concerns about giving birth without a...
Editor
30 April, 2024
Mother’s Little Helper: women and their relationship with alcohol
‘Mother’s little helper’: interviews with Australian women show a complex relationship with alcohol by Maree Patsouras, Cassandra Wright, Emmanuel Kuntsche, Gabriel Caluzzi and Sandra Kuntsche Men have historically, and still do, drink more than women. But in recent years there has been an uptick in...
Editor
27 April, 2024
Stronger regulation of the marketing of infant formula called for
News for New Parents: Australian Government Calls for Stronger Regulation of Infant Formula Marketing The government released a report about how infant formula is marketed here, and it’s a big deal for families with babies and toddlers. You might not have heard of it, but...
Editor
22 April, 2024
Living with a Hyphen: liberation or complication?
Tamara Heath wonders if liberation equals hyphenation – or is it just more complication? For want of a better solution, my daughters have a hyphenated surname. And I am the first to admit the ‘double banger’ name can be more than a little annoying. It...
Editor
04 April, 2024