Being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has its minuses – and pluses, reports Natalie Ritchie From the time she was little, Lily* could not be apart from either one of her parents, explains her mother, Astrid Friedman*. She didn’t like the outdoors, or anything bright, out...
Parenthood brought about an elevated awareness of hygiene in Caroline Illingworth. As for non-essential germ-sharing environments, one of the biggies for me is play centres. I generally avoid these places, but have been a few times to meet friends on a rainy day, and have even...
Dr Sam Tormey discusses the medical and ethical issues surrounding infant circumcision. For the majority of males, the presence or absence of the foreskin will make little appreciable difference to health, self-image or sexual function. On a steaming hot day in the middle of the wet season...
Research in a new study by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute found that it’s very common to experience difficulties with infant sleep at some point in the first year, with about 60 per cent of mothers reporting mild or fluctuating problems. But for 20 per...
Penni Drysdale feels the heat of rejection as her four-year-old son adjusts to the arrival of his brother. He is jumping around like a crazed monkey amid myriad plastic toys that he’s pulled from a box that was out the back of the house. As is...
The best vegie burgers Vegetables can be at the forefront of nearly every recipe, with a few meat options thrown in if you like! Ingredients 1 x 400g (14 oz) can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup (150g/5¼ oz) firmly packed grated...
Choc-fudge popsicles - simple to make and perfect for the holidays! Ingredients 1¾ cups (430ml/14½ fl oz) coconut cream, at room temperature 75g (2½ oz) dark (70% cocoa) chocolate, melted 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 6 soft fresh dates (120g/4¼ oz), pitted Method Place the coconut cream, chocolate, vanilla...
Everything was going smoothly with toilet-training – until Nicola Wells’s daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia. I deal with my three-and-a-half-year-old son’s wet pants. I know he won’t be toilet-trained in a week, but he will get there. Some kids seem to be toilet-trained in a few days:...
Finding a vacation-care program for a child with special needs is a hard job, writes Heather Golding. It is because of my son’s autism that I have had to continually search for alternative vacation-care programs. “I would like to book my child into a vacation care program...
A little-known form of child abuse - parental alienation - is tearing up Australian families and denying children the love of both their parents. Melbourne dad Stan Korosi hasn’t seen his 18-year-old daughter for 10 years. He went through a difficult divorce and was horrified when his...
