Australia has dedicated ministers for aged care and seniors and youth and early childhood education. But there is no federal minister with a sole focus on children. Why? asks Kate Fitz-Gibbon Child safety and wellbeing is never far from the headlines, and no more so than...
In part 2, Lisa Buring explores how life on the farm has become an unexpected teacher, offering her boys lessons about empathy, grief, routine and resilience. [caption id="attachment_73602" align="aligncenter" width="599"] Luca with Aurora Knowing Your Limits Not all our farm adventures have been smooth. There was the time...
Many families find feeding children a constant challenge. But turning to social media for advice may do more harm than good, write Georgia Middleton, Eloise Litterbach and Emily Denniss SolStock/Getty Image A favourite food is suddenly refused, someone is grumpy after a long day, and siblings fight...
Kylie Ladd contemplates her son’s gentle nature and wonders how he will cope with the harshness of life. A Boyhood Shaped by Indiana Jones Yesterday I taught my nine-year-old son about the Nazis. It wasn’t planned, and it certainly wasn’t well executed, but I had no warning...
On their semi-rural property, Lisa Burling’s sons rise at dawn to feed the goats and collect eggs. They’ve gone from city living with no connection to the natural world, to life in-tune with the seasons, and for Lisa, as a single parent, it’s been an...
How can I help – without making it worse? Celia Harris and Penny Van Bergen have some suggestions. As school gets back, parents and teachers might each be faced with the familiar chorus of “I can’t find my school jumper” and “I left my hat at...
Susan Macciocca finds common ground with other parents while chatting at the park. The playground: a rare space for connection We avoid making contact with strangers in our society. On the bus, we avert our gaze. In the lift, we stare blankly at the walls rather than...
Kylie Ladd recalls the unplanned and rather fortuitous ways in which her children became toilet trained. Forget the Books—Toilet Training Doesn’t Always Go to Plan When it comes to toilet-training, less is definitely more. That is, the less time and effort you have to spend on it...
Labubu plushies aren’t just toys, reports Ming Gao. They’re a brand new frontier for Chinese soft power One of the most sought-after items of 2025 isn’t a designer handbag or the latest tech gadget. It’s a plush elf with a snaggle-toothed grin. Labubu (拉布布) is a global...
Jennifer Dudding reflects on the competitive undercurrent of modern-day children's parties. The Cake That Broke Me My legs were aching, pins and needles creeping through the soles of my feet, and my upper arms were starting to seize up. I felt elation and exhaustion in equal measure,...
