A week or two of lazing about doing not much at all is brilliant. Six weeks of it is ironically exhausting and definitely not the way for kids to shake off an old school year and get ready for a new one. The best way to make the most of the break is to structure the...
The teenage years see many dramatic changes our kids' health and development. In 2020, these dramatic changes have been compounded by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research has shown that young people have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and...
Remember when you used to suffer through the 27th showing of Finding Nemo, just to do the whole 'family movie night' thing with the kids? I reckon I can still quote that movie from beginning to end (and we still all laugh at how my middle used to be terrified during...
It occurred to me that so many of the books we recommend here are not Australian books. They are generally the popular 'best seller' books that parents are keen to get a review on. So, I went searching for some Australian books for teens to recommend and found this...
Dealing with frenemies was hard enough the first time around, but here we are, going through it all over again with our kids. There's something so confronting about a mean friend and it's certainly one of life's more treacherous waters to have to learn to navigate. As...
Video games tend to get a bad rap from media, parents and society as a whole as the world laments the impact they’ve had on a nostalgic world of books, board games and outside play. Yes, they can while away many hours from a child’s day, promote violent play and...
While everyone is very keen to get back to 'normal' schooling, reduced classroom attendance can also offer a wonderful opportunity to catch up on some reading. Margot Hillel, Professor of Children's Literature at the Australian Catholic University, has prepared a...
During lockdown, finding projects for older kids was basically the best way to make the most of a really tough situation. No kid enjoys being stuck at home 24/7 with their family, least of all older kids. It's sheer torture, really. We get that. Newsflash: we're not...
Some parents worry a lot about which high school to send their child to, while most don’t have a choice and go local. Parents analyse schools for their results, attitudes, cohort, reputation, ‘values’, uniforms and much more. Just remember what’s important to you...
We love it when our kids want to hang out and be social. We don't love it when they have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to have fun with friends. Every now and then it's great to go to a water park, shopping, laser tag, eating fast food or seeing a movie, but...
It's the hooooolidays. Hello holidays! Cue head scratching to figure out some good things for tweens to do at home! I work from home which is a holiday blessing and a curse. A blessing because hello kids and a curse because hello kids. My kids are older now and...
I’ve seen a lot of articles around about ‘staying sane during school holidays at home' and I get it, I really, truly do. The holidays at home are hard work because they force us away from the everyday family routine that makes life easier for us. Holidays then have...
It’s no secret that we love a scavenger hunt around here. Variously called scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, nature walks and trail challenges, we love ’em all. This is a super simple nature hunt. A here-we-are-on-a-lazy-holiday-morning kind of one. The kind you can...
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