News
Why we should all do this ‘childish’ activity more often
2+ hour, 16+ min ago (574+ words) A remarkable thing happened to me recently. Sitting on a chair in my living room one weekday evening, I did something I've never done before. I cried while reading a book. The story wasn't particularly sadder than others I've read,…...
Sometimes, childlike wonder points to something adults don’t allow ourselves to see
18+ hour, 46+ min ago (435+ words) I got my son an Elf on the Shelf this year. Do I regret it? Absolutely. But it reminded me of something this holiday season, something too easy to forget in our modern age. For an otherwise bright child, my…...
Who’d dare put a dumb phone under the tree for a kid? You should do it for adults, too
4+ day, 22+ hour ago (659+ words) I wonder how many parents might be tempted this Christmas to place a dumb phone under the tree for their freshly TikTok-estranged 14-year-old to unwrap. To try that, given the government's social media ban for under-16s, would probably be rubbing…...
‘You can’t remove swimming from water safety’: New PE syllabus to be reviewed
5+ day, 2+ hour ago (783+ words) NSW's new Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) school syllabus will be reviewed following concerns that it would encourage schools to run school swimming and lifesaving lessons in the dry of a classroom, without children entering the water. The…...
Concern for terminally ill children as Qld’s only hospice facility closes
6+ day, 16+ hour ago (516+ words) Staffing issues have forced the sudden and extended closure of Queensland's only hospice facility for children, with fears the service won't reopen as planned in the new year. Hummingbird House in Chermside provides paediatric palliative care services for babies and…...
Ban on kids’ gender care in Queensland public hospitals extended
6+ day, 20+ hour ago (195+ words) Queensland's ban on gender-affirming care for children will continue until at least 2031, the state government announced, as it prepares to release a long-awaited review into public hospital gender services. The Crisafulli government called an immediate halt to hormone treatments for…...
All I want for Christmas is for the Elf on the Shelf to disappear
1+ week, 10+ hour ago (258+ words) Children are encouraged to write a letter to Santa, but why shouldn't grown-ups also express their hopes and dreams? As usual at this time of year, I'm sending my wish list. Elves ready for duty " and various shelves.Credit: AP…...
Kids’ social media accounts are banned. Should this parental practice be next?
1+ week, 20+ hour ago (1000+ words) I've always held the stance that I have chosen a profession that requires some degree of public exposure, but my children haven't, and it's my responsibility as a parent to safeguard their privacy," she says. Actor and mother of seven,…...
Want your school-leaver to thrive? Think twice about giving them this advice
1+ week, 1+ day ago (1056+ words) The phrase "follow your dreams and everything will fall into place" was one that 18-year-old Brigitte Lee often heard from family and friends in her final years of high school. While she says it was well meaning, it wasn't exactly…...
Our college dumped the ATAR – because it doesn’t measure anything useful
1+ week, 2+ day ago (509+ words) By the end of this week, year 12 students from Victoria and NSW will have received their official examination results. As they begin to make decisions about their futures, whether that involves university, vocational pathways or entering the workforce, the conversation…...