These are tricky times for everyone when this happens, writes Gail Smith It's natural to get caught up with your own emotional roller coaster and reflecting on your child's emotional state can be secondary. Often, a child will go quiet when separation occurs. In their minds,...
Every childhood experience has an impact on the body and mind and some are more lasting and meaningful than others, advises Gail Smith. Sometimes due to circumstances that may be out of your control as parents, your child may experience severe trauma. This could be because...
The minute we start talking we reveal a lot about ourselves, writes Gail Smith. The intonation of our speech and the expressions we use are learned habits and, no surprises, become learned habits for your children. We can use language to build relationships with our children,...
From the farm to the plate, the modern day food system has a waste problem, reports Mark Boulet, Each year, a third of all food produced around the world, or 1.3 billion tonnes, ends up as rubbish. Imagine that for a moment – it’s like buying...
Parents, take the school holidays pressure off yourself! writes Monica Thielking. If you’re a parent feeling a modicum of dread about the upcoming school holidays, you’re not alone. Many parents will be working from home over the school holidays and wondering, “how am I going to...
With almost 60% of Australians again in lockdown the pressure on Australian families is building more than at any other time since the start of the COVID pandemic according to the latest statistics from The Separation Guide’s online Q and A. Figures released by The Separation...
It may come as no surprise to dog owners in lockdown, writes Jessica Oliva, but walking the dog can be the highlight of the day. With exercise being one of the few reasons for leaving the house for millions of Australians, walking the dog clearly benefits...
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards can push the envelope a little too far, as Kylie Ladd discovered. At the preschool my children attend, there is a rather touching Mother’s Day and Father’s Day tradition: personalised cards. No, not the standard gloopy-handprints-and-generic-poem version, but one based...
Today’s Australian fathers are believed to be more “hands on” and engaged with their children than the stereotypical absent breadwinner of generations past. Kate Murphy and Alistair Thomson studied 100 years of Australian fatherhood. However, their research exploring Australian fatherhood between 1919 and 2019 has found...
Men’s feelings about fatherhood found new expression in a study into contemporary Australian parenting, write Marie Ann Nelson, Claire Halle and Kathy Hennessy. “Don’t think you can cope … you can’t. Don’t think you can keep your old life … you won’t. Hope that when he...
