Child Development | Essential Kids

Understanding your child's response to his or her environment is being shown by research to support development.

Dandelion or orchid, you can help your child to bloom

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Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK

Is my child being too clingy and how can I help?

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Photo: Shutterstock

Baby, it's true: 5 ways the fourth child raises itself

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Choosing the right outside school activities for your kids.

Choosing extra-curricular activities for your children

Extra-curricular activities give children the opportunity to develop their skills in various areas so children develop a number of interests and talents - but be care ful not to over-schedule.

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10 signs you're over parenting your child

Over parenting is a new normal for today's mums and dads who, as dedicated as they may be, still succumb to overindulging, overprotecting and overscheduling their children.

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bath time

When siblings inspect each other's bodies

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Leaders and followers are not always polar opposites.

Is your child a leader or follower?

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When do kids get their first kiss?

At what age do kids first 'hook up'?

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Inherited fears: face your fears so your kids don't have to.

How to keep your kids from inheriting your fears

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One in in five girls will have mental-health problems that carry into their adulthood.

Helping teen girls through the dark times

If a girl is going to struggle with her life, you will know it by the time she's 14.

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Closeup photo of a teenage couple holding hands teen lovers teen couple teenage teenagers generic sex

Helping girls find 'happy sex'

It can be hard for mums and dads, but they need to talk to their kids about sex.

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Onlookers admire The Fearless Girl statue in Manhattan.

Girls need to feel connected to feminism

If your daughter knows she is part of a global fight, she'll feel strong not frightened.

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Girls with a reason to be alive don't self-harm or have eating disorders or depression.

The spark that keeps girls alive

Every girl has a reason for being. It should never be about pleasing or impressing others.

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The most important thing a dad can give a girl is the feeling she is special.

Ordinary dads are girls' real superheroes

The most important gift a daughter can receive from her father is the feeling she is special.

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In primary school, social media really has no place at all.

The treacherous journey of friendship for girls

For some girls, peers have taken the place of wiser, older women who are 'too busy'.

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Five reasons 4-year-olds are the best

Four can be the most charming, interesting and amazing of all these early years.

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Would you put your six-year-old in a taxi alone?

Imagine the scene if you will. It's Thursday night. Your six year old is due at a music lesson and you've had a busy day.

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Adele performs at ANZ Stadium on March 10, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.

Why I took my daughters, aged 5 and 7, to see Adele

I hope they remember it forever, and not just because it was a brilliant show.

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'I never, ever, use the word fat to my babies.'

When your perfectly healthy four-year-old thinks they’re fat

One mum got a huge shock when her perfectly healthy four-year-old said she just wanted to be skinny.

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Some kids are raking in up to $40, but the average per pearly white is $2.62.

Kids receiving up to $40 per tooth as Tooth Fairy expectations rise

Warning: potential Tooth Fairy spoilers within.

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