Mary Pearl recalls seeking sweet relief from her toddler’s supermarket tantrums. There was a toddler having a tantrum in my local supermarket. He gulped and he sobbed. He took deep hiccoughing breaths and he shrieked. The shrieks became howls of rage. His cheeks puffed and his...
Amber Hamam finds herself in murky water as she overhears some bath-time whispers. I’m not conservative or a prude, but is it too much to ask that my daughter have an innocent childhood? I was at a children’s party recently, and since it ran late into the...
After years of not fitting in, Brooke Lumsden’s son finally finds his feet. Entering the hall, I look around for signs of reassurance. There are only a few children – an upper-primary-age boy practising his spotting, a confident teenager full of rhythm who kicks up his...
Clinical psychologist Renee Mill explains that the apprehension that many children feel about starting a new school year can be relieved by following some simple strategies. Listening to a message left by Reeva Simons* on my voicemail, I noted some anxiety in her voice. I called back...
Nicole Thompson considers how we teach our children that manners matter. A single voice pierced the muffled sounds of the airport terminal, and my ears pricked up instinctively. “Lucy, no! Remember your manners,” the voice shouted. “Say, ‘Please, Mummy’.” My son and I turned to fix...
When Karen Eriksen’s son began refusing almost all food at the age of two, it would take five years and several specialists to establish what the problem was. My child lives on air alone. You might think I am exaggerating, but I’m not really. My seven...
Spasmodic croup in young children is an alarming condition, writes Caroline Illingworth. When most people arrive at their holiday destination, they usually unpack, go into town, head to the beach or just kick back and start to unwind. On our last trip, the first thing we...
When Eliza Johnson’s son was hit by a car, her first-aid skills steered them through the shock and adrenalin. my first-aid training gave my fear a practical focus. About a year ago, I was paying the restaurant bill while my husband took our one and two-year-old sons...
It’s time to kill the outdated platitudes around what it takes to be the perfect mother. Or at least tune out their noise.
Despite years of research, Lara Silko discovers you can never pre-determine what type of parent you will become When I was doing my psychology honours research in the mid-1990s as a fresh-faced 20-something, parenting looked pretty simple. I learned it could be conceptualised along two lines:...
