Play
All tech and no play for our tots
Alex McClintock Oliver Roach is 20 months old but he already knows how to put on and play a DVD. He is among a growing band of toddlers teaching themselves to use computers, games consoles and other devices.
No hat, no play
Kidsafe Summer is almost here and families around Australia are getting ready for long, hot days and searing, scorching rays of the Australian sun.
Life after school: all homework, no play
Ainslie MacGibbon The children arrive home from school, you offer them a snack while asking about their day before sending them off to play until dark. Hardly.
League tables can play to fears of parents
Anna Patty National testing has a critical role to play to improve the performance of Australian schools, says Ken Boston, who was England's former curriculum chief, and the director-general of NSW education...
No time for play
Anna Patty Homework for infants is crowding out the good times of being a kindergarten kid.
The importance of play
Maja Pitamic As adults we often underestimate the value that play has in developing children both mentally and physically.
Games to play with toddlers
Play is a vital part of growing up and helps your child engage and learn about the world! Here are some games toddlers love to play, each involve simple items from around the house.
Part 4: When boys play with Barbie
John Bastick My son's taken to wearing his mother's high-heels. And, to give the boy his dues, for a 20-month-year-old he totters about the place better than I could if I pulled on a pair of four-inch heels.
Play it safe with car seats
Fiona Surtees The rules are out of date, exposing our children to danger because they are not in appropriate car safety restraints, Fiona Surtees warns.
Shush, folks, we're trying to read
Anna Patty Children with language difficulties could make big improvements if their parents changed how they read to them, study finds.
Teaching kids to get organised
Sonja Walker Parents and teachers commonly complain about kids’ inability to plan and execute even the simplest of tasks.
How to beat the first-day blues
Ann-Maree Moodie It's your little one's first day of school. She's standing beside you at the school gate wearing a uniform that makes her look so grown up. Her backpack is almost as big as she is.
Try walking and talking
Ben Rossiter As another school year begins, the roads will become a lot busier. Not because the streets will be full of children walking to school, but because the roads around schools will be packed with cars...
Encouraging your pre-schooler to rest and sleep
Carole It is to every family member’s advantage if we can encourage sound resting and sleeping habits in our youngsters.
Cricket and footy face competitive challenge
Alex McClintock So-called alternative sports - such as badminton, skateboarding and triathlons - are threatening the dominance of traditional pastimes such as cricket or footy.
Summer activities for the kids (Victoria)
Annalisa Giudici Theatre, shows, films and games, workshops - getting out and about in Melbourne, Victoria this summer.
Boys are not as tough as they appear
Jen Vuk The Salvation Army, one of the Wishing Tree's three charities and its longest-running partner, has consistently identified a particular group - boys aged 10-13 years - above all others as missing out...
Spoiling Christmas
Mindy Laube Australian parents intend to spend an average of $584 on Christmas gifts for their children this year according to this week's "Toy Treasure Trove" report from BankWest.
A world of their own
Jim Kellar Welcome to the world of autism, a lifelong developmental disability that affects one of every 160 people in the general Australian population.
Disappointment comes with the territory
Adele Horin Whether 'tis the season to be jolly depends in some households on how the kids have rated: better or worse than expected, better or worse than their peers, their cousins, their father's boss's...
