What can parents do? Tim Olds, Amanda Watson and Carol Maher have some suggestions. The sun’s shining and there’s a trampoline in the backyard. Yet your kids want to spend their summer holidays lying on the couch playing computer games all day. So what can you do to...
These stories with diverse characters can help kids develop empathy Gifting children books can be about more than just giving them something to read, writes Helen Joanne Adam. Books are portals to adventure, imagination and new experiences. Importantly, books can help children understand and appreciate themselves,...
Having Mastered all things pink, Robert Burns gets his first taste of parenting boys. I’m the proud father of two daughters, a headstrong 10 year old and baby-voiced seven year old, and finally feel pretty confident coping with little girls. I’ve engaged in conversations about my...
Having suffered unimaginable loss, Julie Cini now supports others experiencing the devastating effects of spinal muscular atrophy, writes Sue White. Like any proud mum, Julie Cini readily shows photos of her two daughters. Montanna and Zarlee stare out from the pictures, their blue eyes intent, their...
Headlines about the impact of the pandemic on youth mental health have left many parents worried about their children and unsure what they can do to help. Report Marie Yap, Anthony Jorm and Mairead Cardamone-Breen. Now, as restrictions are eased – and school, home and social...
The holiday season can be especially hard for separated families but experience says it doesn’t have to be. THE FAMILY LAWYER Greta Haywood, the director of Haywood Solicitors in Melbourne, says...
Over the years, Jayne Kearney’s resolve has been swamped by a wave of mass merchandising. Toys are an iconic part of childhood. They have been immortalised in much-loved children’s literature such as Raggedy Ann and Andy, Enid Blyton’s Noddy (and his adventures in Toyland), and even...
Philip Britton, Louise Baur and Nicholas Wood report that it might be uncomfortable to talk about. Vaccinating children against COVID-19 is on parents’ minds, now Australia’s rollout is open to those aged 12 and over, and regulators are actively considering vaccination for five to 11 year...
Miranda Francis looks at Channel Nine’s 'Parental Guidance' and the quest to find the ‘best’ way to bring up kids Channel Nine If you believe the promos, there has just been a “groundbreaking” new program on Channel Nine. This is Parental Guidance, a reality program promising to...
Jane Nursey, Professor Helen Cahill, Professor Jim Watterston and Professor Lisa Gibbs look at the changes to schooling needed to respond to the current challenges in learning. Since early 2020, Australia’s bushfires and then the pandemic have rapidly altered our ways of living and learning. As...
