Fake Instagram accounts, often referred to as a “finsta” or “spam account”, have become the norm for many teens – but their reasoning for creating these is not as sinister as you think. by Dr Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Technology and Learning, Western Sydney...
Being prepared for year 11 - which in Australia means senior high school - feels almost as daunting as getting your five-year-old ready for 'big school'. Only this time the school is actual big school and your five-year-old is HUGE. My son starts year 11 in three...
Happy new year! I know, I'm slow with my happies this year. We've been away climbing in the (non)snowy mountains (where I achieved the unimaginable) and doing beachy things down the south coast of NSW. Matter of fact, we had so much on in the first few weeks of the...
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...
Right now it's the #1 question we're getting asked via messages to our Facebook page and Facebook group: what are the best gifts for teens for Christmas? We've had aunties, family friends, grandmas, mums and dads message us. Surely, they all say, a gift voucher isn't...
Pre-COVID your teen might have worked in hospitality or retail; if they are one of the lucky ones, they still do. Or they may be one of the 1000’s of young Australians who have lost their casual job altogether. As their parent, perhaps you thought losing their...
If your tween has started being grumpy for no apparent reason, answering back, or crying and doing a lot of extra sleeping, it’s a sign that her hormones have really kicked in and she's in the early stages of puberty. Yep, it's time to sit her down for her first...
A lot of my daughter's friends are using weed. I know this for a fact because I've let the kids smoke at our place when we weren't there. I figured I would rather they were safe in our backyard than bonging on in some park somewhere. If a kid is smoking weed, it's...
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'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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