“I’ve packed for you,” he said. A line of garbage bags sat beside him. A failed attempt at counselling led to this moment. I wanted to leave him and he thought he could “get the counsellor to change my mind”. I told the counsellor, “He’s kicked...
Cassandra Charlton’s daughter enjoys a close relationship with her distant cousins. My three-year-old daughter is separated from her cousins by thousands of kilometres – and sees them only once every two years when their family comes to Australia to visit us and their maternal grandparents. On...
This is why it matters – and we can do something about it, write researchers Linda J. Graham Callula Killingly Jenna Gillett-Swan and Penny Van Bergen “School SUX!” We’ve all heard it and some of us have felt it. It’s such a common sentiment that parents and teachers...
Jane Messer looks at Chloe Hooper's recent memoir "Bedtime Story" The fifth book from Chloe Hooper, an accomplished author of fiction and nonfiction, is in part a bedtime story told across many nights to her two sons, and in part a meditation on how stories –...
– but, asks David Burton and Kate Cantrell, is he a lovable larrikin, or just a bad dad? Bandit Heeler is a hero. The cartoon father of Bluey and her younger sister Bingo, Bandit is the much-loved dad dog at the heart of Australia’s favourite four-legged family....
Timothy Heffernan reports on what the online furore #Swedengate, tells us about Swedish food culture and social expectations From meatballs and cakes to soups and seafood, Sweden is known for its hearty cuisine. It’s also renowned for its quality of life, topping many countries in happiness,...
The transition into adolescence can be brutal for kids’ mental health, writes Zara Mansoor – but parents can help reduce the risk The transition from childhood to adolescence is a vulnerable time for the development of mental health difficulties and brings a marked increase in anxiety...
Researchers, Melinda Goodyear and Becca Allchin, look at what this Village means The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” originated – we think – in Africa. The meaning is self-explanatory – parents often need others close by to help them with their kids,...
Carla Pascoe Leahy reviews: Mothertongues - Ceridwen Dovey and Eliza Bell (Hamish Hamilton) Mothertongues creatively responds to the question: what kind of genre and form could possibly describe a human experience that resists language? Is it possible to capture the inexpressible complexity and absurdity of motherhood? Mothering...
With the kids at school, Gemma Rolleman ponders returning to work – whatever that might be… I’m sitting in my close friend Gwen’s living room, glass of wine in hand, amid a colourful array of lingerie and clothing: bras, panties, tummy huggers, stretchy satin pyjamas and...
