by Marina Passalaris     “The hardest job kids today face is learning good manners without seeing any.” – Fred Astaire...  In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven society where emails and texts have largely replaced face-to-face interactions and rude behavior such as people texting at the dinner table are increasingly  ...read more »

by the Editor     Parents praise their children in a variety of ways. They might say, "You worked really hard" after completing a challenging task or "You're a very smart girl." Or they might offer general comments such as "Great" or "You got it." While all of these phrases sound positive, research has shown that they have different effects.  ...read more »

by Dr. Justin Coulson     More than two thirds of girls under the age of 10 are bullied, according to a study recently completed by the Girl Guides Association of Australia. And according to a report in the SMH "68 per cent [of children] aged between five and nine report[ed] that that they had been bullied, many of them online." So it’s not just girls that are copping it.  ...read more »

by Michael Parker     We all spend so much time being busy with our children that sometimes the big conversations fall right away. By the time we have done the dinner, helped out with the homework, baked the cake for the school’s charity drive and generally kept the ship of state afloat, the end of the night can roll around without any actual conversation having happened with your children.  ...read more »

by the Editor Getting to know your children’s friends, helping out at school and practising school-day routines with young children will help families manage the back to school period and throughout the school year, according to Australia’s first charity The Benevolent Society.  ...read more »

by Jessica McGarrity     Thanks to the continual advancement of modern technology, the world is a much different place than it was even a single generation ago. Socialization for children of past generations was limited to the contact found face-to-face or through letters or telephone calls. However, thanks to the Internet and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the face of social interaction has changed drastically.  ...read more »

by Angie Wilcock Do you look at your young son or daughter and wonder who they are? Are they preparing for the big move to high school and you are wondering how they will cope with new friends, new environment, new teachers, new and different subjects, more homework....and they're not really talking to you?  ...read more »

by the Editor     Australian kids’ internet use builds to a peak at age 13, when around 7 per cent are excessive users, then declines quite sharply over the next three years, researchers say.

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by Dr. Justin Coulson     More than almost anything else, our children want to be understood – by us... and if not us, then whoever will understand them. When our kids feel understood, they cope with the world better, they regulate their emotions effectively, and they think more clearly.

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by Dr. Martha Heineman Pieper Parents are at a loss when the inevitable happens and their child wakes them in the middle of the night upset by a bad dream. They may tell their child that, "It was only a dream," show the child that there are no scary creatures under the bed, or tell the child to try to dream a different dream. None of these strategies work because they don't help the child understand or process the cause of the bad dream.  ...read more »