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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.
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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.
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![Kimberley O'Brien](/web/20170608040131im_/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
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Breaking up with your spouse? Don't forget to take a divorce selfie
Couples are posting selfies on their way to divorce court, as they sign their divorce papers or the day their divorce is finalised and posting them to social media with the hashtag #divorceselfie.
![Head off problems before they blow up.](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/g/x/y/r/image.related.landscape.300x200.gwgxw2.png/1496638618648.jpg)
The everyday behaviours that can harm a relationship
The decline of a relationship is rarely something that just happens overnight. More often than not, issues have been brewing beneath the surface for a while.
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Why you shouldn't try to be your teen's friend
Parenting teens is way harder than it was a decade ago and it's getting more complicated.
![<i></i>](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/f/b/1/9/image.related.landscape.300x200.gwfb1p.png/1496156008244.jpg)
Are these really the best reasons to date a single mum?
As a single mum, I'm all for men talking about how awesome we are to date.
![<i></i>](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/d/w/p/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.gwdwst.png/1496019438025.jpg)
'Nasty' divorces expose children to toxic stress
"It is not the break up itself that has negative effects on the children's health, but improper handling of the situation by the parents."
![Illustration by Greedy Hen/The Jacky Winter Group.](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/b/s/b/e/image.related.landscape.300x200.gwbsa7.png/1495960766231.jpg)
Cradled
Soon after Benjamin Ludwig got married, he and his wife adopted a 12-year-old girl. As the new family evolved, she made an unusual request.
![Jenna Price's three children, then aged 6, 3 and 1.](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/c/o/p/u/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw2y54.png/1496027171826.jpg)
The gift from my children that blew me away
I've never been the person who says of gifts, "it's the thought that counts".
![<i></i>](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/8/s/b/s/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw6p3j.png/1495169533108.jpg)
Friend or boyfriend: What should kids call a divorced parent's new partner?
A few weeks ago, I overheard my 7-year-old telling his friend a story about his "mummy's friend." My 8-year-old tends to do the same when referring to my boyfriend, whom, for the record, they like very much.
![Identical twins, Maria and Paulina, celebrate their 100th birthday.](/web/20170608040131im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/8/m/h/v/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw8jr1.png/1495168719667.jpg)
Identical twins celebrate turning 100 with gorgeous photoshoot
Meet the gorgeous twins celebrating their 100th birthday.
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Dad's viral Disney photo captures the beauty of co-parenting
When seven-year-old Maddie visited her "favourite place", Disney World, it wasn't just the "best day ever" for her, it was also a statement about co-parenting that has touched hearts around the world.
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How we survived our seven year itch
It can come as a shock when real life gets in the way of romance and it suddenly seems you’ll struggle to make it to the next anniversary. Helen Russell describes how she tackled the problem head on.
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