Latest News
No time for play
ANNA PATTY |
Homework for infants is crowding out the good times of being a kindergarten kid.
Stay-at-home-dad a myth?
JESSICA IRVINE 26 Mar | The stay-at-home dad is, if not a myth, at least a rarity, as workforce statistics show women continue to shoulder the burden of child care in the home.
Mental health linked to dietary habits
NATALIE PUCHALSKI 9 Jun |
Children who have a poor diet are more likely to have a mental health problem as an adolescent, research has found.
Children helped by imaginary friends
Parents may fret about children having imaginary friends, but researchers say unseen playmates are really teaching infants the art of communication.
Hormone shots: kids at risk
CAMERON HOUSTON AND JILL STARK 18 May |
Short parents are injecting their healthy children with human growth hormone in a bid to make them taller, despite medical experts warning of serious risks.
The junk food rules
KAREN FISCHER 12 May |
Just because you want your child to be healthy doesn’t mean you have to put a lifetime ban on all junk food. However, it’s a good idea to control or restrict how often they consume unhealthy treats because they can promote poor concentration, tantrums and fussy eating habits.
Rise of single-child family is sign of the times
CARMEL EGAN |
The one-child household is now among the fastest growing Australian family models. One in three households surveyed in the 2006 census with one dependent child were single-parent homes.
Are kids becoming phone addicts?
TOM REILLY 27 Apr |
There was a time when children's telecommunications meant two cans connected with string or, for luckier kids, a set of walkie-talkies. But today the mobile phone has become ubiquitous in school playgrounds, with children as young as five having their own.
ABC3: Digital kids' channel
PHILLIP HUDSON 23 Apr |
A new children's TV channel, to be called ABC3, will begin broadcasting before Christmas. The commercial-free digital station will be on air daily from 6am to 9pm and feature popular ABC programs, new drama, animation, news and other programs aimed at primary school children and teenagers.
When is Daddy coming home?
KATH LOCKETT 21 Apr |
Fathers are finding smarter ways to mix work and family life, writes Kath Lockett.
Children and friendships
DR EMMA LITTLE 15 Apr |
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.
Mum launches Australian virtual world for kids
7 Apr |
Brisbane-based mother of two, Karen Orford, has put her house and $300,000 on the line to create an age-appropriate virtual world for 8-12-year-olds.
Kids essentials
Fact sheets
- Preparing for a babysitter
- Money saving tips for your family
- Tips for your holiday travelling kit
- Tips for managing your work-life balance
Diaries
Newsletters
Features archive
- Tips for keeping in touch with your teenager
- Thrifty tips for tough times
- Tips for dealing with sibling rivalry
- The 'evil stepmother'
- The first day of school
- Beating the 'but whys?'
- The family friend
- Eating out with kids
- The world of stepsiblings
- Entertaining kids on a rainy day
- The economics of parenthood
- Videogames and your kids
News archive
- Should children obey their parents?
- Blocking out bullies
- Furnishing kids' rooms
- Is your child being cyber-bullied?
- Dinner time dollar savers
- Cost of kids not so high after all
- Children's changing body shape
- Kindergarten boom as parents avoid childcare
- Tackling childhood obesity - get Mum fit too
- Australian adoptions hit a low
- Call for obese children to be taken into care
- Children of the rainbow need support
- Watch out children: Big Mother is watching
- Pets aren't Christmas toys says RSPCA
- Our kids in class of bullies
- Husbands better second time around
- Junk food ads in school zone
- Boys read if Dad does
- Kick the kids outside
- Pups assist children with autism
- Shared care: quality matters most
- Christmas tips for step families
- Program tames the tantrums
- One fifth of parents "unfit"
- Harder for women to sleep
- Cuddle power
- Busy children shown to do better
- Dad, are you listening?
- Growing up: why it can really get you down
- Pushy parents shown the school rulebook
- Music in our genes
- Stress linked to obese kids
- Study shows junk ads burden
- Child Care Ratio questioned
- Build your child's esteem and independence
- Step-dads get thumbs up
- Mums and Dads play favourites
- Bring back the school nurse
- Blended families step up
- Housework divide is closing
- The lost art of handwriting
- Today's not-so troubled children
- Anti-boozing ads aimed at parents
- Fed up with junk food ads
- Give autistic kids a chance
- Stay-at-home-dad a myth?
Features
School homework: Tips to avoid tears and tantrums
Hated by children of all ages, nightly homework causes stress for parents all over and yet it is an inevitable part of school life for children from Kindergarten through to Year 12.
Obesity and your children
On a daily basis, as parents, we are bombarded by facts and figures concerning the child obesity epidemic. Find out how to build healthy habits so you don't have to change unhealthy ones!
How work is killing the family
Australia has emerged as one of the most intensely work focused countries, but it is creating a human tragedy. Research has found a strong link between long and unpredictable work hours and the breakdown of family.
