Sarah Jameson faces the first major challenge of her son’s school year: coming up with a costume for ‘colonial’ day. Our first child started school this year, and it has been the most wonderful experience. The first hurdle, however, presented itself on Tuesday in the form...
Chris Zomer and Sumudu Mallawaarachchi show you 3 things you can do about it. Ever found yourself unable to resist checking out a social media notification? Or sending a random picture just to keep a Snapchat “streak” going? Or simply getting stuck staring at YouTube because it...
Some children just aren’t that into parties, writes Clare Wishart. Why do we have parties? What are we celebrating in that nebulous notion of ‘turning’ a new age? When I was growing up, I wondered what all the fuss was about. Now, I am a mother myself,...
Here are some new books for the middle school readers. Two of them give lots of information about animal conservation and care and two books are for young sports fans, with missing koalas in the mix. Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold, illus. by Levi Pinfold, pub. by HarperCollins...
Reluctance turns to relief when Andrew Bartholomew finds that helping at his daughter’s school is actually quite enjoyable. “Don’t we pay fees?” I demanded. “We pay fees, go to meetings – I even do the occasional Saturday morning working bee!” My wife had just told me the...
Lisa M. Given looks at how it would work The South Australian government is moving ahead with plans to ban children under 14 from social media. Under the proposal, teens aged 14 and 15 would also need parental consent to have social media accounts. South Australian Premier...
And without having a massive fight every time? Elizabeth Westrupp, Christiane Kehoe and Gabriella King have some great ideas. If you’ve ever opened the door to your child’s room only to be greeted by a sea of clothes, toys and who knows what else, you’re not...
Karley Beckman, Claire Rogerson and Tiffani Apps look at how kids under 13 use social media. Earlier this week (September 2024), the federal government announced it is going to introduce a social media ban for children. It hasn’t nominated a minimum age yet, but the focus of...
Denise Norton can find no explanation for her son’s fascination with weapons. Lying in the summer grass, gazing at the clouds taking shape across the sky, I ask my four-year-old son what he can see. “That one is guns,” he says, pointing at the cloud directly above,...
Here’s why they do it, writes Michael Nagel As someone who has spent most of his professional life studying how children develop, I’m often asked by parents (especially mums) why children (especially boys) are prone to pick up the nearest stick, pencil, soft toy or even...
