Former teacher Sarah Pietrzak finds herself a little tested by her son’s reaction to the impending literacy and numeracy assessments. “Please Mum, don’t make me do it. I’m going to fail, aren’t I?” My eldest child looked at me imploringly. And in that moment I understood....
Damien O'Meara and Liam Burke report that Aussie kids’ TV has been leading the way in queer representation Peppa Pig’s first same-sex couple, a pair of lesbian polar bears, were recently introduced after a petition to include a same-sex family received nearly 24,000 signatures. Children’s television has...
Here’s what they said, writes researcher Sharon Bessell What does a “fair go” look like for Australian children? We asked 130 children aged between seven and 13 years what makes communities strong, supportive, and fair. Many felt communities are about care and connection. As one ten-year-old girl...
Researcher Sharon Bessell asked children how they experienced poverty. Here are 6 changes needed now An eight-year-old boy is often hungry, but knows if he tells his mum, she will eat less herself and go hungry. He hates the thought, so he stays quiet. An 11-year-old girl...
Overweight and obesity is the second-largest contributor to Australia’s disease burden and health costs, including significantly driving Australia’s high-cost diseases (for example, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers). It’s estimated to cost the Australian economy $11.8 billion, and if obesity rates continue to increase, will cost Australia...
How you can get your kid to eat breakfast before school and yes, it’s OK to have dinner leftovers or a sandwich, writes researcher Evangeline Mantzioris The cereal bowl is sitting there getting mushy and gross. You ask your child to eat for the 20th...
A study by psychologists at UNSW Sydney’s Parent Child Research Clinic reveals that children who display aggressive, destructive and non-compliant behaviour appear to respond positively to a new behavioural therapy aimed at both parents and children, The research could give worn-out parents new hope after it...
Deborah Cooke compares the terrible twos with the unwitting feral 14s A lot has been written about the ‘terrible twos’, when your adorable gurgling cherub suddenly morphs into a bewildering admix of Norman Bates from Psycho, that nice girl from The Exorcist and Kim Kardashian (without...
Most people who use social media have different levels of comfort about sharing photos of their kids. However, in the past few months this has blown up again when parents started commenting on an American toddler and her Wren Eleanor TikTok account. Her mother set up her...
It’s hard for parents to help kids with homework without doing it for them, writes Joanne O'Mara It can be especially difficult to work out where to start when your child is preparing a speech for school. You might find your child is procrastinating more about getting...
