Dr Ginni Mansberg and Jo Lamble look at strategies for friendships and bad influences Your teen’s friends Now your child is a teen, it’s natural that you have less input into their friendships. They won’t necessarily be friends with the children of your own friends, as so...
Zoë Bishop finds it difficult to tone down her enthusiastic responses to her son’s achievements. The first time that it happened was in a ski-hire shop. My son looked at my smiling face and asked me, quite politely, if I could please stop being so excited....
Relationships can be hard work – psychologist Rachel Voysey looks at ways to fall towards each other, not apart. “Over 70 percent of Australian couples report a significant decrease in relationship satisfaction upon the arrival of baby number one.” 1.COMMUNICATION Communication is one of the biggest things that...
ReachOut Parents is partnering with Instagram Australia to launch a new ‘Parents Guide to Instagram’. Mental health service ReachOut Parents has released new research showing that approximately one-third of Australian parents are concerned about their teens' use of social media and are unsure about the role...
Ruth Wajnryb reflects on the usage of euphemisms. When my son was little, I took him to the Boston Children’s Museum. The impact of one experiential display stayed with me long after the event. It was a group picture and the task was to count the...
Some wonderful books have been released recently for parents, step-parents and carers on how to support and help their kids develop into happy and healthy adults. These books cover many of the topics you might need to be confident supporting today's 'Generation Alpha' to flourish. The...
When Ondine Sherman meets another parent at a picnic, she is prompted to wonder about some social vagaries. “We’re going for a picnic,” said my friend Vanessa. “Beautiful spot, heaps of kids, and a riverbank where they can run around.” I agreed. Me, my husband Dror,...
Why First-Borns Rule the World and Later-borns want to change it by Michael Grose, published by Penguin Life, p/b RRP$34.99 (pub. June 1, 2021) Originally published as Why First-Borns Rule the World and Last-borns want to change it, 2003 this is fully revised and republished and updated...
Acclaimed author-illustrator duo Mem Fox and Judy Horacek talk friendship, perfectionism and children’s books. What was your impression of each other when you first met? Mem: I was in Canberra for a literacy conference and Judy happened to have an exhibition there. Judy had drawn the cartoons...
When her daughter was eventually diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Sue McLachlan finally understood the reason for her daughter’s many rituals. When my daughter was about four years old, I was impressed that she had a genuine concern for hygiene. She loved to have her bath each...
