![<i></i>](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/t/f/y/z/image.related.landscape.380x253.gvtfxd.png/1493253105502.jpg)
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![Can preschoolers be sexist? When is it that children are aware of gender differences – and what makes them act on it?](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/e/q/a/2/image.related.landscape.300x200.gveptn.png/1491450532175.jpg)
At what age are children aware of gender differences?
The Victorian government has announced it plans to teach its Respectful Relationship program to preschoolers as a way to target and prevent sexist behaviour.
![Shannon Wright and her children, Alexandra, 8, who has learning difficulties and Christian, 4, who has a speech disorder.](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/c/l/q/z/image.related.landscape.300x200.gvcnbh.png/1491264043431.jpg)
A third of teachers overlook speech disorder
Four-year-old Christian Wright can speak, but hardly anyone understands him.
![<i></i>](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/z/3/i/2/image.related.landscape.300x200.guz39l.png/1489611166221.jpg)
Study finds dressing as a superhero actually makes your kids more super
Teaching kids perseverance and determination can be tough in a modern world. With screens and devices on offer, they can pretty much find instant gratification anywhere. So how do we give our kids the grit they need to set themselves longer term goals and lead a happy life?
![Frozen's original ending was very different from the version people saw in cinemas.](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/k/b/8/s/image.related.landscape.300x200.gukb44.png/1490925005152.jpg)
The moment I realised my daughter's Elsa obsession was bad for her
The Washington Post
!["Use your big girl voice"](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/e/p/t/image.related.landscape.300x200.gujdyr.png/1487828154418.jpg)
What’s up with baby talk?
Your perfectly articulate child is suddenly talking like a baby. Is it just an annoying game or an indication of something deeper?
![Digital innovator Shane Hill, surrounded by the Canberra Skoolbo team. New product Preschool Play will launch in February.](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/h/e/m/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.gth1lt.png/1484027053369.jpg)
Inspired by Sesame Street: Canberra start-up secures $4m funding to educate preschoolers
Preschool Play is a brand new online content platform, designed to give preschoolers and their teachers a "really brilliant start to the day" by encouraging learning through a nine-minute burst of singing and dancing.
![Professor Tom Lowrie of the University of Canberra's STEM Education Research Centre plays with children from the ...](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/v/s/9/o/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsvslx.png/1480370538923.jpg)
STEM setting preschoolers up for workforce success in 2030
How do you capture the inquisitiveness of four-year-olds and transfer that to the workplace? And what will the workplace of 2030 even look like? A University of Canberra project is hoping to bridge the gap.
![Amy and Justin](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/x/b/4/7/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsxb57.png/1480032892440.jpg)
Long lost childhood sweethearts matched by dating site 30 years after pre-school crush
Little did newlyweds Amy Giberson and Justin Pounders know, they were sitting next to the love of their life in their pre-school photo 30 years ago.
![Back to basics phonics test to be rolled out in Australian schools.](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/1/3/v/x/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsvoxs.png/1479931812913.jpg)
How fake words can help kids learn to read
A five-minute reading "check" for first-graders that includes made-up words like "beff" and "shup" that has dramatically improved early literacy rates in the UK is set to be adopted in Australia.
![Dyslexia today affects a disturbingly high proportion of kids across the country — some estimates put this number as ...](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/d/4/b/g/image.related.landscape.300x200.gspmh7.png/1479249506379.jpg)
I conquered my dyslexia: every kid should have the same chance
My overworked primary school teachers concluded I was just not very bright. But I was lucky. I had a mother who would not accept such a bleak diagnosis for her son.
![Children with at least two years of preschool achieve much higher scores than those who attend no preschool or only one ...](/web/20170606005907im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/f/2/g/l/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsf2d6.png/1477962400190.jpg)
Two years of preschool have more impact than one, research shows
Children with at least two years of preschool achieve much higher scores than those who attend no preschool or only one year.
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