How To…Handle Adolescents’ Mood Swings And Sibling Fighting

Adolescent years can be a turbulent time for children and parents, as teenagers lack the skills and maturity to handle emotional stressors....

18 May, 2021

how a toxic and sexist workplace culture can affect your health

Depression, burnout, insomnia, headaches: Xi Wen (Carys) Chan and Paula Brough look at how a toxic and sexist workplace culture can affect your health As allegations of rape and sexual assault engulf Australian federal politics, several current and former female staffers and politicians have come forward...

30 April, 2021

The Gifts of Asperger’s

Sarah Hayden discovers the challenges and beauty of her daughter’s diagnosis. Looking back, I could see all the signs – now that I know what they are. From a very young age, we always just referred to our daughter as ‘quirky’. Being young, inexperienced parents, and...

28 April, 2021

The questions and answers kids need to have about COVID-19.

Karen Ford, Andrea Middleton and Steven Campbell asked children around the world what they knew about COVID. This is what they said. During the pandemic, children have been separated from family and friends, schools have been closed and there have been limitations on important activities, such...

18 April, 2021

Young people are hungry for good sex education

Shelly Makleff  has found a program in Mexico that gets it right. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition, launched by ex-Sydney school girl Chanel Contos, demanding for consent to be at the forefront of sexual education in schools. The text in the petition states: Those...

05 April, 2021

Why do children with same-sex parents do better at school than their peers?

Children with same-sex parents get higher scores on standardised tests than children with different-sex parents. Report Jan Kabatek, and Francisco Perales.  This is the key finding from our study just published in the journal Demography. We also found children with same-sex parents to be slightly more...

24 March, 2021

5 things all parents of ten-ager daughters need to know.

Madonna King sought the counsel of 500 10-year-old girls, 1,600 mothers, and 100 Year Five school teachers for her new book, Ten-ager. Dozens of school principals, teen psychologists, doctors, researchers and female role models were also interviewed to provide a guide for parents helping tween...

17 March, 2021

COVID forced Australian fathers to do more at home

But at the same cost mothers have long endured! Research by Leah Ruppanner,Caitlyn Collins, Liana Christin Landivar, William ScarboroughandXiao Tan has shown. The COVID-19 pandemic was heralded as an opportunity to restart gender expectations at home. Our research shows Australian fathers have stepped into more participatory...

16 March, 2021

Prejudice In The Playground

 Patricia Tan and her toddler have an uncomfortable encounter at the park. My son and I are laughing and enjoying a sunny afternoon at our local playground. When he zooms down the slide and lands at my feet, he is approached by an older boy with...

10 March, 2021

Same Sex, Same Experiences: 5 questions answered

 Families come in all shapes and sizes, writes Jacqui Tomlin. Something is happening in our house on weekday mornings. We call it Sock Torture. Our youngest started Kindy recently, and she’s loving it, but at either end of the school day she’s tired, and how shall...

10 March, 2021