The weird world of Christmas traditions

From wrapping presents to decorating a tree, writes Dr Hannah Harewood Gould, some of the traditions many of us associate with Christmas get their own cultural spin in different countries around the world. As a near-global celebration, Christmas has an extraordinary capacity for reinterpretation. On one level, Japan appears to have embraced Christmas with great zeal, with...

EDITOR’S PICKS

Christmas survival guide to beat asthma risks
Who doesn’t love the Christmas break? Bare feet and the family winding down after another busy year. But if your children have asthma, the National Asthma Council Australia says the holiday season can bring its own hidden dangers. Between hot weather, pollen and bushfire smoke,...
admin
28 December, 2024
Christmas Nougat
A festive favourite enjoyed by all ages, write Paul Allam & David McGuinness An old school friend of Paul’s, Daniel Zanello, of Italian heritage, told him his nonna swore that you could judge good nougat by its chewiness. It should be soft and chewy in...
Vanessa Fairweather
22 December, 2024
Giving the gift of reading for Christmas
Giving the gift of reading is a great way to get children into books. It makes books feel extra-special when they’re wrapped up as a present for Christmas and given with love. We have listed some of the great books that we have reviewed for...
Editor
19 December, 2024
Food can play a central role in the celebrations at Christmas
To help you out with food ideas for Christmas, we have reprised some of our Childmags Christmas food articles in case you missed them. The cost of food is top of mind for many at Christmas, especially this year. If you are trying to find...
Editor
12 December, 2024
What parents should know about Meningococcal
Medical experts Phoebe Williams, Monica Lahra, Rae-Anne Hardie and Saskia van der Kooi outline Meningococcal and what you should know about this potentially deadly disease affecting Australian children. Three children in far north Queensland have recently become unwell with meningococcal disease, a life-threatening infection caused by...
Editor
05 December, 2024
6 Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension
Try these tips to help your child develop stronger literacy skills Have Them Read Aloud This encourages them to go slower, which gives them more time to process what they read and in turn improves reading comprehension. Plus, they’re not only seeing the words —...
Editor
28 November, 2024

Celebrating Mothers

A grandma’s legacy looms large over Kate’s family
The legacy of Kate King’s grandmother looms large over her family. My grandma died this year. I always considered myself very lucky to have my maternal grandmother in my life for so long, and now she isn’t. I was there when she suffered heart failure,...
Editor
30 December, 2024
Confronting The Past
Sarah Pietrzak is caught unawares when she is forced to confront an old, but lasting, family tragedy. I was instantly transported to my childhood when I entered the room. My team member was practising resuscitation on the baby mannequin, under the eye of an assessor....
Editor
05 December, 2024
Baby ready or not: new fertility service helps Australians get on the front foot
Doctors says concerns about being able to have children are becoming more common as people start their families later in life and awareness increases about the impact conditions such as endometriosis can have on fertility. In response to these concerns and strong demand from women...
Editor
24 November, 2024
Going Through The Motions
Megan Howe hits a hurdle in her son’s toilet training. The Struggle Begins: Toilet Training Challenges The bathroom had become a battleground. We’d pleaded, cajoled and offered every reward under the sun, but there was no way our four-year-old son was going to do a...
Editor
14 November, 2024