Kids Development
Can kids and alcohol ever mix?
Paul Chai After a hard day’s work it is traditional to head to the pub for a drink and a dissection of the day’s events. Is it so wrong if one of those people is a five-year-old?
Benign neglect is good for kids
Karen Malone In Japan, kindergarten kids walk home from school without adults.
There's no such thing as a good divorce: the kids always suffer
ADELE HORIN EVEN a ''good'' divorce may not protect children from the fall-out of a marriage breakdown.
Who wants to be a stage parent?
Joseph Kelly Every parent wants the best for their children and to see them excel in any field they choose to tackle. That should be a given. But there are some parents, particularly with kids who have a flair for the arts, who perhaps want it just a little too much.
Embracing spontaneity helps make holidays child's play
Damon Young Parents stand to learn a great deal by dabbling in the art of creative uncertainty.
It's a boy, after years of mystery
THEY referred to the baby as ''the infant'', allowed the child to play with only ''gender-neutral toys'' and alternated between girls' and boys' outfits for their offspring.
Aussie school-girl rocks Youtube
Staff Writers This Aussie eight-year-old looks set to take the hardcore music scene by storm.
Betraying our girlhood
Clementine Ford What's wrong with ponies and dolls? How did "girl" become an insult? It's time to reclaim the power of pink.
Fat, apps and angry kids: The best of 2011
From Joanna McMillan's advice on all things nutritional to Nick Broughall's tips on what's best in apps for kids here are the top ten articles of 2011.
Are you the real deal or do you fake it?
Kylie Orr The Christmas tree is a tradition that holds a special place in every inner child's heart, writes Kylie Orr.
All I want for Christmas is ... a role model
Paula Joye While Barbie might not have been perfect she was a far cry from the sexualised Bratz dolls millions of little girls will be unwrapping this Christmas.
Shelter from the storm
Foster parent Claire* shares her diary of the last year. What emerged was a powerful insight into the joys and heartbreaks of those who refuse to give up on our most vulnerable children.
Can you fight consumer culture?
Cassandra Hill Even toddlers can be tech-savvy, brand-aware mini-consumers these days. Can you bring up your children free of consumerism – or is it possible to reprogram them as they get older?
Staying together for the kids
Heidi Davoren When home life is toxic are you really doing the kids a favour?
Pool safety pointers
Katie Carlin With the weather warming up and summer fast approaching we are about to enter the most dangerous months for kids around the pool.
Why I love Halloween!
Justine Davies Whether you do or don’t agree with the tradition or the commercialization of Halloween, the fact is that it can be a really fun few hours for the whole neighbourhood.
Child support dodgers our national disgrace
Heidi Davoren If you chose to bring a child into the world, you commit to providing for them. The marriage may have ended but your parental responsibilities haven't.
Hair today, gone tomorrow, only the dream counts
Andrew Daddo IT'S not quite having someone throttle one of your children, but I wonder if it's the same kind of thing.
Helping kids with grief and loss
QUIRKY KID When a child experiences the death of a loved one, be it a close relative, friend or even pet, it can often be difficult for adults to help the child deal with their loss and grief.
Little white lies
Bern Morley I recently came across my daughter's weekend journal from Year One. In it, she makes out that her parents are divorced and teaching her to speak ghetto.
How to help kids transition after divorce
Kimberley O'Brien To prepare children for overnight access, it is important for both parents to put their differences aside in the best interests of the children.
Garden variety playgrounds come in for spray
Melissa Davey SWINGS and slippery dips are facing stiff competition from a new generation of ''smart playgrounds'' to capture the attention of children in the digital age.
Forming friendships and keeping them
Katie Carlin It may have been awhile since you dealt with the dilemmas of playground politics but forming friendships and keeping them is a learning curve your kids are facing every day.
To bed with my kids, perchance to sleep...
Heidi Davoren I’m not a morning person. Then again, I’m not really a night person either, but I definitely hate getting up early.
Managing attention difficulties
Quirky Kid Not all children with attention difficulties have ADHD. All children will have periods of inattention at some point for various reasons such as being tired, hungry or disinterested in the current task.
Milestones ahead for your kids
Brooke Tasovac Children of this age usually enjoy taking part in a variety of new experiences, like to attend school, and will learn by watching, imitating and listening.
Social & emotional changes
Brooke Tasovac Children of this age gain self-confidence from acquiring new skills and like to tell people about their achievements.
Children struggling to catch up
Brooke Tasovac There are certain signs that could possibly indicate developmental delays in children aged between 5-8 years.
The age of independence
Emily Dunn Understanding when your child is ready to do certain activities on their own can be complicated.
Child development between 4-5 years of age
Brooke Tasovac This is the time to concentrate on instilling the fundamentals of reading, writing and basic math for when your child goes to school the following year.
Child development between 5-6 years of age
Brooke Tasovac Most children begin school at five because it is by this age that children have developed enough autonomy to be able to pay attention, concentrate well and be away from the home for extended periods of time but some children may still struggle with certain aspects as it is a big transition emotionally.
A bit of shoosh please: we're making magic
Maggie Dent Everyone is very busy and technology constantly interrupts our days in small ways, so small that we may not in fact see the impact this constant chaos is having on our children, or ourselves.
Be honest, who's your favourite child?
Kylie Orr My favouritism towards my children is variable and completely transient. My love, however, is solid and given freely and unconditionally, to each one of them.
Could my son be gay?
Justine Davies He has always been a very gentle kid and prefers playing with his sister’s dolls house and dress ups than kicking a ball. DH worries that he will get picked on at school as he gets older.
You are your child's most important teacher
School age children spend 70% of their waking hours (including weekends and holidays) outside of school, making you, the parent, their most important teacher.
Lack of sleep akin to behaviour disorder
Paula Goodyer Sleep deprivation can affect a child's mood, behaviour and academic performance, writes Paula Goodyer.
Teaching religion in public schools. Why bother?
Kylie Orr I support an education in religion – open the young boy’s eyes to the many different belief systems in the world; teach tolerance and understanding and perhaps he will find something that rings true for him.
Is your child ready for school?
Amber Robinson Your pre-schooler might know their alphabet and be able to count to 20, but are they ready for school?
How to tackle sibling rivalry
Dr Emma Little Is World War III playing out in your lounge room? Do you feel like a referee in an ultra lightweight division fight?
The guilt-inducing indulgence of me time
Kylie Orr "Me time" is a fairly recent phenomenon, I am led to believe. My mother's generation was reared with significantly fewer options than we have today. The expectation was that the role of mother and wife was part of life rather than a choice made.
Encouraging co-operation from children
Carole Disseldorp Nagging and yelling is ineffective and is frustrating and annoying for children, teenagers and parents. Here's some more positive strategies to encourage your child do work with you, not against you.
Children and friendships
Dr Emma Little Children’s friendships are a complex web and one that is difficult for adults to understand and unravel. From an early age children establish a social order and intricate rules about social interactions, and often do not take kindly to adults inflicting their own values and beliefs on them.
Just another chardonnay-sipping stay-at-home-mum?
Kylie Orr Labels can be dangerous. I'm not referring to the ones we sew on our children's school jumpers so we can relocate them for the 14th time this week, although with my sewing skills there could be a possible hazard.
Pressure to raise a 'tough boy'
Kylie Orr This week's word: Implacable; im-PLAK-uh-bul; (adjective). Meaning: not placable : not capable of being appeased, significantly changed, or mitigated
