![It can be tempting to rely on a few too many wines to get through the school holidays.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/z/z/a/c/image.related.landscape.380x253.gty920.png/1485485938990.jpg)
Top Resources
![friends](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/0/z/c/2/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.20zb8.gjzqgv.png/1444345197633.jpg)
Friendships and social skills
Making friends can be harder for some kids than others but there are ways you can help develop your child's social skills to ensure they can build healthy friendships now and in the future.
![How do you explain dementia to kids?](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/3/k/6/8/k/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.11kyjs.gjzqgv.png/1444366350150.jpg)
How to talk to children about grandparents with dementia
Helping children understand why their grandparent can no longer remember their name is a hard conversation to have, but here are ten practical tips to help guide you.
![Julia Roberts in the 1998 film, <i>Stepmum</i>.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/u/d/h/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.2udde.gjzqgv.png/1444345197633.jpg)
![Finding time to nurture your marriage after kids.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/3/3/d/x/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.33dua.gjzqgv.png/1444345197633.jpg)
![Kids made us stronger.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/3/n/t/n/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.12l09w.gjzqgv.png/1444654020791.jpg)
![Kimberley O'Brien](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/1/v/h/0/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.254el.gjzqgv.png/1444345197633.jpg)
Kimberley O'Brien
How to tell the kids you're separating
Latest
![Thomas Haden Church, left, and Sarah Jessica Parker in a scene from Divorce. But getting divorced may not bring you the ...](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/q/1/i/n/image.related.landscape.300x200.gts0jg.png/1484603400337.jpg)
All set for divorce? Maybe think it through a bit longer
Unbeknownst to me, family lawyers apparently call January "divorce month". As the Christmas tree is thrown out and the wrapping paper cleared away, the empty champagne bottles taken out behind the garage, Google searches for terms like "divorce lawyer" and "file for divorce" spike.
![Can these songs help you through the last weeks of school holidays?](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/r/y/4/h/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtry3f.png/1484510774988.jpg)
School holidays top ten playlist - for parents
Enter the last couple of weeks of the holiday and everyone's looking forward to the beginning of term. The end is in sight, normality will soon resume and your sanity may still be in tact….just.
![There are ways to avoid falling into the 'dadsplaining' habit.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/r/x/z/f/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtrxzd.png/1484508754160.jpg)
Kids, let me tell you all about how dadsplaining works
I've noticed a new subgenre of mansplaining raising its patronising head. Let's call it dadsplaining.
![Aaron Coping and his eight-year-old daughter Pippa. Pippa goes to work with her father, as he balances a work and ...](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/o/u/u/h/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtozqz.png/1484505448254.jpg)
When it comes to a family-friendly workplace, dad's the word
Are you an "irritable" dad? Yeah, us too sometimes. But the culture of long working hours in Australia isn't helping dads, new research finds.
![Christine and John Snelling with their grandson, six-year-old Cassius.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/j/z/d/u/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtq99t.png/1484658238171.jpg)
Caring for grandchildren can increase lifespan by five years, study says
Grandparents who care for their grandchildren live five years longer than those who don't, remarkable new research has found.
![Illustration: Paul Rogers](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/p/g/7/2/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtpdi1.png/1484249991802.jpg)
Is 150 times a day too much smartphone usage?
The near-universal access to digital technology is transforming modern society in ways that can have negative effects on health, neurological development and personal relationships.
!['I have watched my son stand at the window and wait, I have watched him cry.'](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/o/n/n/t/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtonmc.png/1484006621477.jpg)
An open letter to absent parents on behalf of their children
I am a single parent and have been for six years. In that time I have watched my son stand at the window and wait, I have watched him cry.
![Phoebe Adams, left, and Donna Armstrong, right, want to encourage parents to spend more time with their kids, away from ...](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/l/r/i/o/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtlw8a.png/1484250075405.jpg)
Start-up launched to address digital distraction
Two Sydney mums are encouraging families to ditch their digital devices and spend more time together.
![Mad Men's Betty Draper.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/z/b/k/y/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtmsml.png/1484774337647.jpg)
What happens when narcissists become parents?
Parenting is a gaping hole in our understanding of narcissism.
![To outsiders it looked as if Packer was enjoying the life of a wealthy playboy businessman](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/w/7/s/g/image.related.landscape.300x200.gt4sa6.png/1484301962038.jpg)
The art of the prenup
Terms about weight loss, fines for being unfaithful, a man surprised with a contract the day before wedding - prenuptial agreements offer a glimpse into the secret life of couples.
![It's okay for mums to have a rest.](/web/20170128095905im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/l/q/3/2/image.related.landscape.300x200.gtlpu1.png/1483496150592.jpg)
In 2017, I’m aiming to be a worse mum
New Year's resolutions are all around, and I'm surrounded by people with lofty goals to improve themselves.
Search pagination