Jennifer Finney Boylan writes "We want to shield our children, but it’s the worst thing we can do." She talks about her son’s exchange trip in his senior year to Cape Town, of allowing him to bungee jump and sky dive, and knowing that in allowing our children to take calculated risks we build resilience, "the courage they need when those perils arise." We need to be mindful that when we grapple with how to provide our kids with opportunities to experience calculated risk … what we are often talking about is less a problem than a product of our privilege. Read full post

From news.com.au this week came the headline ‘Noisy kids? You should pay extra on planes’ – an opinion piece by Claudia Connell. She rejects one airline’s new offer that she can pay extra to travel in a quiet zone free from under-12s. Instead, she suggests that families with noisy children should pay the higher penalty, not the people like her "just wanting a quiet journey". Claudia writes that she is “not a person who hates kids,” has “nieces, nephews and godchildren that I adore”, and has “made peace” with the fact that she won’t have her own children. She’s just not fond of crying kids on planes. She’s “sympathetic” of a mother struggling with a bawling baby, but refuses to “accept that it’s now my lot to have my quality of life diminished by having other people’s families forced on me.” Her ticket price should not include “13 hours of hell”, she asserts. Read full post

Today I read about the short shorts dad. A Utah father tired of his daughter wearing “skimpy” shorts decided to turn the tables on her by cutting up a pair of jeans, and going out on family night in his own pair of “skimpy” shorts. The mom shared the photo of dad in shorts on her blog and of course the story went viral. Dude, what about talking to your kid? Read full post

This is a very personal manifesto about the purpose of piano lessons. You may not agree. You may disagree vehemently. But what you – a piano teacher, parent, or piano student) believe piano lessons are for will affect your level of satisfaction with the piano lessons you are giving, or you or your child is receiving. This manifesto is written from the perspective of a piano teacher and former piano student, although I also suppose that these days my perspective includes that of prospective parent of a piano student (my son, Tom, is now three-and-a-half years old.) Read full post

As reported on news.com.au yesterday, the major free-to-air stations are lobbying the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to drop the time zone restrictions for broadcasters – a change that will allow adult-rated shows to be aired at any time of day or night. ACMA is considering the submission as part of its review of broadcasting regulations. Read full post

Wolper Jewish Hospital together with Friends of Wolper are proud to present a Q&A: Investigating the Effects of Social Media and IT Addiction on Mental Health. Join a panel of experts at this free event moderated by journalist, television anchor and radio broadcaster, Steve Liebmann. Read full post

It is true: decisions are made by those who show up. But where to show up? I’m a busy mum of three kids, and I work. I’m on the P&C at my children’s school and give as much time as I can, but that’s such a small part of the bigger picture. Where do I show up to make a difference on issues such as junk food advertising to kids? Or food labelling that is easy to understand? Or making sure every kid is immunised? Where do I show up to make the most difference on the issues that matter to me? Read full post

Do you feel stressed keeping up with your children’s after-school activities? Is there a chance they might be "over-scheduled"? A quick video to make parents consider whether their kids have too many commitments outside school. And there’s no connection between a child’s ‘success’ and the number of these activities. Read full post