Parenting

In the wake of the tragic death of home birth advocate Caroline Lovell, a mother of eight home-born babies and one who chose to have a caesarean section discuss their birth experiences. The case for hospital births Emma Macdonald, journalist and mother of two, who elected to have a caesarean for her second birth. The […]

Home birth hit the headlines worldwide this week when advocate Caroline Lovell died after delivering her baby daughter at home. Caroline, 36, is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after giving birth to baby Zahra on Monday, January 23. She was already “critically ill” by the time paramedics arrived at her north Melbourne […]

The internet can be a dangerous place for children — here’s how you can make it safer. Julia was a trusting girl. She trusted her school friend when she suggested that they make a video together after school. Julia trusted that it was like a game. And Julia trusted that, when asked to wear garish […]

As children head back to school, parents breathe a collective sigh of relief — but that relief may be short-lived as the bills start to pile up. Get an 'A' in budgeting wih these handy tips.

These teenage mums were once the girls that society shunned. Now, they are taking control of their lives and forging a new future, writes Michael Sheather. Bethany Zasi was just 15 when she found out she was pregnant. She was just a day older when her boyfriend denied the child was his and said goodbye. […]

For many parents, getting kids out of bed and ready for school is a daily battle, but new research suggests tired children aren’t just being lazy — they could have chronic fatigue syndrome. Researchers at Bristol University in the UK found that many children who were too tired to go to school had the condition. […]

Children are consuming too much salt — with disastrous consequences for their health now and in the future. An alarming study published in theEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutritionsuggests that nearly three-quarters of eight-month-old babies have an intake of salt that is significantly higher than the recommended level. In pictures: 10 things not to say to […]

Parents who claim they love all their children equally are lying, a new book has sensationally claimed. Author and father of two Jeffrey Kluger’s new book The Sibling Effect: What Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us claims that all parents have a favourite child, no matter how much they deny it. “Ninety-five percent […]

Little girls love pink — or do they? Peggy Orenstein looks at the influence of marketing and asks whether girls are born wanting to be princesses or have had princesshood thrust upon them. Here is my dirty little secret: as a journalist, I have spent nearly two decades writing about girls, thinking about girls, talking […]

Little girls may be sugar and spice, but they are anything but nice when friends let them down. A new study conducted by Duke University has proved that movies like Mean Girls are not as exaggerated as people might think. While previous research suggested young girls were better at forming and maintaining friendships than young […]