Kids
That's not what lifesavers are for
LIFESAVERS are under enough pressure as school holiday crowds flock to the beach, but they've been lumped with a new unwanted role.
Radio star weighs in on smacking
AS THE Prime Minister and Premier back parents' right to smack, a radio personality and mum-of-three weighs in. Guess which side she's on.
Kidnappings jump at Christmas
TWO children are abducted by a parent and taken out of Britain every day, authorities said, warning kidnappings are expected to spike after Christmas.
Mother: 'Why I smack my children'
THIS mum says she should be able to smack her kids when it's needed - but agrees with a UN move to put laws in place on disciplining children. COMMENTS 110+
Parents rely on granny nannies
GRANDPARENTS are babysitting nearly half Australia's young children as their parents work, a new Institute of Family Studies report reveals.
The five sports that will make you smarter
WE ALL know exercise is good for us, but which exercises are good for the brain, too? These are five best sports to improve a kid's learning ability.
Push for stay-at-home parent pay
STAY-at-home mums could be paid to look after their own kids, in a "cash for care'' plan to ease the nation's day care shortage.
How 40,000 strangers helped Noah wear glasses
NOAH Fisher is four years old. When his mum told him he had to get glasses, he broke down and cried. Then the world joined the party and made him a star.
Mother who took her child guilty
A MOTHER, who sparked an international search after she absconded with her son, is found guilty of taking the child without permission.
Which toy promises a snappy Xmas
IT WON'T shut up, doesn't have an off switch and drives parents crazy. Naturally it's on many kids' Christmas wish lists.
Toddler shoots girl, 3, with rifle
TWO adults have been charged after a toddler accidentally shot a three-year-old girl with a .22 calibre rifle at a house in North Carolina.
Parents 'tried to exercise girl to death'
THE parents of a 10-year-old girl in South Africa are facing attempted murder charges for forcing her to swim extensively.
Cranky dads stressing kids out
HARD working parents can put their kids under as much stress as those with a mental illness, new research shows - and dads who work longest are crankier with their kids.
Parents urged to stop smacking
SMACKING should be discouraged and drinking banned until the age of 21 to protect Australia's kids, the nation's top childhood experts will tell the Abbott Government.
Study: kids evolved to hate veggies
PARENTS struggling to get their kids to eat their greens may be fighting a losing battle with evolution, according to a new study.
The funniest trick ever played on kids
THESE parents go to a lot of trouble each night to make it look like their kids' plastic toy dinosaurs came to life. We're talking utter destruction. Welcome to Dinovember.
Life lessons from your five-year-old self
REMEMBER what you were like when you were young? Your views on what makes people fall in love and how much money we all need would be so funny if you could hear them now. Well, you can!
When kids think you've hit old age
IF you love the news on TV, like heading off to the gym and are always tired, kids think something of you that you'll hate.
Let kids be kids, and limit their apps
THAT tablet computer might keep your child quiet for a while, but too much screen time can ruin kids' creativity and stunt their social skills, experts warn.
LED toddler lights up the room
WELL, that's one way to celebrate Halloween. This DIY dad crafted an LED suit for his baby daughter, killed the lights and filmed what happened next.
Screwed up? This is what your folks did wrong
DO YOU struggle with relationships? Just can't get a grip of adulthood? Well maybe your parents screwed you up. Here's what today's adults reckon mums and dads are doing so wrong.
'Keep kids in booster seats until 12'
CHILDREN should be in booster seats up to the age of 12 unless they meet a minimum height requirement, according to new child restraint guidelines.
'Take your kids out of cotton wool'
GROWING up, everyone I knew had a scar, a broken bone or a near-death story. Parents are overly protective of their kids now, writes Angela Mollard.
'I want you to eat my poop and die'
IT'S undeniable that adoption is an act of selflessness. But what we often don't hear are the stories about how hard adoption is, and what happens to families who don't 'click'. This is one very brave couple's story.
Is childcare doing more harm than good?
CHILDREN who spend time in childcare centres are "more likely to be hyperactive, have peer problems", according to research conducted following the "dramatic increase" of working mothers.
This is your mind, explained in lollies
DID you know your skin weighs twice as much as your brain? Or the brain is the fattest organ in the body? Or that you could explain these complex matters using lollies?
Toddler tantrum depression link
EXCLUSIVE: Toddlers who hit, kick or break things when they throw tantrums have a higher risk of mental illness, groundbreaking new research reveals.
Kids drive demand for web content
THE latest online revolution is being driven by the content tastes of youngsters, claims an industry expert speaking at a conference in Cannes.
Would you send your 3yo to CrossFit?
A CROSSFIT gym in the US is recruiting kids as young as three. Is it forming healthy habits or has the WOD squad gone too far?
Here comes another summer of tragic drownings
YOU would expect a drowning child to thrash about. Often they don’t. That message was soberly reinforced when I worked as a lifeguard, writes Angela Mollard.
Meet the average Aussie student
THE average Aussie student starts the day with cereal, travels by car to school and relaxes online; gaming if they are boys, networking for girls.
Child beauty pageants banned
FRANCE has approved a ban on beauty contests for girls under the age of 16 to prevent the "hyper-sexualisation" of children.
Ban kids from quad bikes: doctors
DOCTORS and medical experts want children to be banned from riding quad bikes, with 19 deaths in the past decade.
Vegetarian stops carnivore dad seeing son
A VEGETARIAN mother refused to let her five year-old son have any contact with his father for more than a year - because she feared he might feed him meat.
Pole dancing for children. It's a thing
WOULD you let your little girl pole dance? Meet the women who are all for it, and the mum who is getting her daughter a pole for Christmas.
The best TV for kids
IT'S an increasingly vexing question in an ever-changing modern world: what should you allow little kids to watch on TV, and how much is too much?
Daaaaaaad! Ten best dad jokes
TO CELEBRATE Father's Day yesterday, we pulled together ten of the best dad jokes. Are you ready to cringe?
Kids' flavoured water leaves bitter taste
A NASTY spat has broken out over drinks marketed to children, with Nutrition Australia calling for a new flavoured water to be pulled from store shelves.
Finding a happy family life
CHILDREN should be allowed to pick their own punishments and family dinners should be scrapped, a new book suggests.
PARENTING PHOTOS
Prince William turns 31
The 31 best (and cutest) images of everyone's favourite king-in-waiting as he celebrates his 31st birthday.
The school with 24 sets of twins
A school in the Chicago suburbs is going for a Guinness World Record for the most sets of a twins in a single academic year, a mindboggling ...
The baby and the bulldogs
Heart-melting pictures of a French bulldog and a ten-month-old French baby could be the cutest thing you're likely to see today.
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Why your kids' disappointment is a good thing
PARENTS want to make life better for their kids. It's only natural. But children need to learn how to deal with disappointment, writes Angela Mollard.