If you spend time around little kids, writes Catherine E. Wood, you may notice one topic seems to be more interesting and hilarious than any other. Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images Children of all ages love to make comments and jokes about bums and poos (as...
Her songs are simple, repetitive and often interactive, writes Elizabeth Coombes. They encourage children to respond, copy gestures or sing along. For many parents of babies and toddlers, there is one YouTube channel that is a household name. Ms Rachel and her Songs for Littles has attracted...
Forget superfoods – the biggest boost for your brain and body could be sitting right at the dinner table. CQUniversity educational neuroscience experts Dr Ragnar Purje and Professor Ken Purnell say family meals are one of the most powerful and overlooked rituals for boosting wellbeing. “Family meals...
Each year, thousands of babies are born with congenital anomalies — structural or functional differences that can affect development. While modern medicine has advanced dramatically, many families still face the uncertainty of a child’s undiagnosed condition. In Part 1, Clinical geneticist Dr Susan White reflects on...
From cooperative space adventures teaching neurodivergent teens collaboration to VR taking biology students inside the human body, educators are harnessing the power of play. Educators Ben Loveridge, Matthew Harrison, Dr Alexander Bacalja, and Jess Rowlings each look at different ways to encourage student motivation, engagement, and collaboration...
‘I was 170th on their list’. Marg Rogers, Margaret Sims and Michelle Gossner report on the growing regions in “childcare deserts”. Imagine living in a town where three or more families are competing for a single early learning place. This is the reality for many families in...
Carmel Hobbs reports that Australian teens need adults to help them recognise red flags for potentially abusive relationships. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates 2.2 million adults have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence from a partner since the age of 15. Almost one in three...
Emphasising function over form will help to encourage a positive body image in children, writes clinical psychologist Renee Mill. Why Body Image Matters At a mums’ group late last year, Grace shared she had read the government was planning to monitor magazines for their depiction of skinny...
‘Thriving Kids’ could help secure the future of the NDIS, report Helen Dickinson, Anne Kavanagh and Catherine Smith Mark Butler, the minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), announced a new plan to “secure the future” of the NDIS. Central to this plan is...
As Australia navigates rising ADHD diagnoses, expanding pharmaceutical interventions, and new support frameworks like Thriving Kids, critical reflection and transparency remain essential. The Therapeutic State: When Morality Becomes Medicine Where people were once judged for simply behaving badly, psychiatry now often treats those same behaviours as medical...
