Why the French are 'better' parents

Amity Dry In the Wall Street Journal article, author of ‘Bringing up Bebe’ Pamela Druckerman writes about the differences in children’s behaviour she noticed while living in Paris. What are the French doing 'better'?

Enter the dragons: why birth rate will soar

Glenda Kwek Once every 12 years, something very big happens to China's birth rate ... about 2700 more babies are born every day.

Barnardos Australia’s Mother of the Year Awards 2012

Help Barnardos champion good parenting. Nominate a great mum for Barnardos Australia’s Mother of the Year Awards for 2012.

Justine Davies

Getting into shape in 2012

Christmas is now a distant dream, so too are those New Year resolutions. Was one of your resolutions to get fit for 2012?

The child king

Amanda Hooton Is modern motherhood ruining women's lives?

Retro revival

Blast from the self-help past

Victorian-era sex tips, anyone? Or Mr Darcy's financial advice? Samantha Selinger-Morris explores a retro reading revival.

If she died, everything would be OK....

Amity Dry One woman’s powerful story on her battle with PND.

Relationships

Two's company, three's hard work

Jacinta Tynan Kids don't bring couples closer, they come between them, writes Jacinta Tynan.

The families miners leave behind

Cosima Marriner It's the other side of the mining boom: the partners of fly-in fly-out workers who are left holding the baby. Now the families are fighting for more help.

New research: Mums afraid to speak up about depression

Staff writers New research by beyondblue: the national depression initiative has high levels of stigma surrounding antenatal and postnatal depression among women, which stops them from asking for help.

Comments

When your parents aren't the grandparents you hoped for

Amity Dry How much help or advice do you get from your parents or in-laws on parenting? Are they the grandparents you hoped for?

Home is not the answer for all

ADELE HORIN Stay-at-home fathers are becoming a significant phenomenon in the US and Europe where the recession has hit men harder than women.

Lost in divisions of labour

Amy Cooper Why can't women be more supportive instead of taking sides over the methods of motherhood?

Why can't women be more supportive?

Amy Cooper As it turns out, motherhood is many clubs. Each has its own philosophy on everything maternal, from birth method to feeding to pram choice to nappy brand. And each has zealots so extreme they should be on a no-fly list.

Doing it all. Is it driving modern mums to depression?

Amity Dry Are you pushing yourself too hard to care for your family and have an active career?

Parenting

Motherhood x 2: still easy?

Motherhood was a breeze first time around for Jacinta Tynan. But are things different with baby no.2?

Childless by choice

Shelly Horton ''Look, I like kids - I just couldn't eat a whole one.'' That's my favourite line to use when asked if I want children. It's easier than saying ''no''.

Walking back to slim

Cosima Marriner When Kate Maidment's fourth child, David, was born six months ago she had no choice but to start walking. Her car didn't fit three small children and she couldn't afford a bigger one.

Are Aussie mums frumps?

Amity Dry Aussie mums must stop being schoolyard frumps and become yummy mummies, a Melbourne author and mother says.

Designer career for these mums

Staff writers Ever fantasised about a creative career? Two mums have discovered a new passion in life after studying design at the International School of Colour & Design.

'Having it all': not possible

Isobel King Working mums can lose the guilt - but it will take a change of mindset.

Comments

Children in crisis. What can we do?

Amity Dry Lately every time I read or watch a news report I am left feeling so despondent about the state of the world I don’t know where to begin.

At peak hour it's all aboard for the stress express

Dewi Cooke Negotiating phones, bags and the peculiarities of human behaviour during the rush-hour commute can be struggle enough. Try throwing a small child into the mix.

The value in bringing up boys

Adele Horin When I gave birth to my second son quite a few people felt sorry for me. At my age, I was unlikely to have a shot at a daughter, and visitors offered their condolences.

Body image

Children's diet book leaves bad taste

Max Mason An "inspirational" children's novel promoting weight loss has come under heavy scrutiny before it has even become available.

Is he man enough to have a vasectomy?

Kylie Orr When my husband and I agreed that we’d reached our threshold with four children, decisions needed to be made about family planning.

Daffodil Day

Joseph Kelly Cancer is not something to be scared of, but it is something you need to be aware of.

Avoiding additives in food and what to look for

How easy is to make sense of food labels if your child has a problem with additives?

Combating family coughs and colds?

Discover the key facts you need to know about cold and flu: the symptoms they cause, how they are different, and — most importantly — how you can help to protect yourself, your family, and those around you from spreading these germs.

Germs: What to know and how to avoid them?

What are germs? What's the difference between a bacteria and virus? How are germs spread? How can germs be eliminated? We're glad you asked. Find all this and more.