Parenting

LatestUnhealthy truth about toddler snacks, milks

New research finds parents are being misled by toddler foods marketed as healthy.

Susie O'Brien

Best of the bunchPerth’s top mummy bloggers

From amazing business women to ethereal earth mums, Perth is home to some of Australia’s most inspirational mummy bloggers. Here’s some of the yummiest mummies to grace the social pages.

In pursuit of perfectionHow our obsession with school success hurts our kids

Kindergarten is increasingly becoming academic. Now a growing cohort of teachers, child development experts and occupational therapists say the trend has led to highly anxious and disengaged students.

Rhianna Mitchell

Common WildRaising children is a team effort

The local village has never been more important. And that’s where you come in.

Paula Kuka

THRILLS AND BILLSParents spending up to $10K on kiddies’ activities

As if raising children wasn’t already expensive enough, parents are forking out more than $10,000 a year to pay for their kids’ extracurricular activities.

Rhianna Mitchell

Case complicationsDelays threaten parents who ‘faked kids’ sickness’ case

The defence lawyer of Perth parents accused of tricking their three children and doctors into thinking they were sick have threatened to file for the case to be dismissed.

Daryna Zadvirna

Common WildWe think our kids are single-minded, but so are we

Parental guilt, and how to shed it, is a subject close to my heart. Despite developing a healthier relationship with guilt over the past few years, there is one thing I cannot shake.

Paula Kuka

Kate EmerySmacking kids is wrong, but so is making it illegal

While it might come as a shock to those who have called me a bleeding heart over the years, I don’t think WA should make it illegal for parents to smack their children. Here’s why.

Kate EmerySenior Reporter

Deadly risksHousehold items poisoning Queensland kids

Queensland parents are being warned common household products pose a serious poisoning threat these summer holidays. Here are the top dangers at home.

David Aidone

Deadly risksHousehold items poisoning NSW kids

Parents in NSW are being warned common household products pose a serious poisoning threat these summer holidays. Here are the top dangers at home.

David Aidone

Deadly risksHousehold items poisoning South Australian kids

Parents in South Australia are being warned common household products pose a serious poisoning threat these summer holidays. Here are the top dangers at home.

David Aidone

Deadly risksHousehold items poisoning Victorian kids

Victorian parents are being warned common household products pose a serious poisoning threat these summer holidays. Here are the top dangers at home.

David Aidone

Parent’s anguishToddler’s driveway death sparks reverse camera probe

The Road Safety Commission is investigating the potential roll-out of a subsidy scheme that would retrofit WA cars with rear-view reverse cameras following the death of a 19-month-old Perth girl.

Emily Baker and Michael Traill

First villain of 2021‘Bean dad’ roasted over daughter’s 6-hour life lesson

A dad who used baked beans and a can opener to teach his hungry nine-year-old a lesson and then boasted about it online has emerged as the internet’s first viral moment of the year.

Bethany Hiatt

Budget painBack to school costs to rise by ten per cent

Australian parents will be slugged with a 10 per cent increase on back-to-school supply costs as retailers fight to fulfil their demands for items like stationary and technology.

Shoba Rao

child protectionSmacking ban ‘not an election promise’

While the WA Attorney General is investigating reforming the law involving the corporal punishment of children, a senior government minister today said it wasn’t a priority of the government.

Josh Zimmerman

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It pays to play
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Sweeping changes to daycare focus on ‘play’ learning

Play-based learning will be a key part of formal early learning in Australia under the first curriculum changes to daycare education in a decade.

Natasha Bita & Kate Ryan

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Australia-first plan
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Call to make smacking children illegal in WA

A new campaign wants to make WA the first State in Australia to ban parents from smacking kids, with the WA Attorney General asking the Justice Department to consider concerns raised by advocates.

Annabel Hennessy

happy startDiva makes entrance as first WA baby of 2021

Born at King Edward Hospital via emergency caesarean weighing 3.5kg, Diva — which means sacred lamb — was one of the first babies born in WA in 2021.

Brianna Dugan

Common WildA year of learning

This was the year we learnt that when politics and science and big business come together with a single goal, they can achieve the unthinkable — a lifesaving vaccine.

Paula Kuka

Price hikeParent pain as childcare fees to ‘spike by 16 per cent’

The cost of childcare is expected to leap by more than 15 per cent by 2024, with dour Federal government modelling showing significant price hikes could begin within months.

Charlotte Elton

sad dadsOne in 10 new dads get postnatal depression

A man’s identity is challenged when they become a father, often losing contact with friends because of parenting demands. And the effects on their mental health, say experts, receive little attention.

Raquel de Brito

Christmas wishlistTop 10 presents Aussie kids want this Christmas

There's less than one week to go before Christmas, and Aussie boys and girls have revealed what presents they want to find under the tree.

Sophie Elsworth

Where’s the love?No love, no sex — The rise of the ‘platonic co-parent’

In the year 2020, romance truly is dead with wannabe parents opting to find mates purely so they can fulfil their parenting dream — without the dating and courtship.

Rhianna Mitchell