Two schools in Tasmania have started using standalone unisex toilets as part of a startegy to reduce bullying. But is it really the unisex toilet that is reducing bullying or is it the ease of supervision that is really the answer. Listen to thos discussion and let us know what you think? Read full post

My older son starts high school this year, transferring to a school where he will know no others students on his first day ...I have been giving some thought to what advice I would give my son if he asked me. Not that he is likely to, of course, given that he is now All-Grown-Up-and-Not-A-Child-Anymore, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared, just in case. Read full post

Our family was camping on the NSW South Coast last week, which is always a great time to do very little apart from swimming, fishing and eating, and reading – especially those books you’ve wanted to read for ages and haven’t had the time. One afternoon, just back from the beach, I looked across at the rest of the family, and they were all reading books they had been given for Christmas ... What struck me was that the books our kids were reading were ones they hadn’t read before, which was pretty unusual – even for our 14-year-old ... For our kids, repetitive reading was at its height when they were first starting to talk. Read full post

Will was lovingly placed on the couch by his Aunty last week. While all five of our backs were turned for a split second, Will decided to try his hand at some ‘couch diving’; enter horrible crunching noise and blood-curdling scream ... Read full post

In a way I talk to my friends more than ever: Facebook, Twitter, text messages and email mean it’s easy to communicate with them. I can show all my friends what’s happening in my life with a quick status update and a photo, and they can do the same. I can show them I’m thinking of them by writing on their wall or ‘liking’ their status. We get to know the facts of each other’s lives ... But sometimes knowing these facts feels lonelier than ever. Read full post

I recently came across a blog post about the potential for mobile phones to weaken kids’ conversational skills. The post at the 21st Century Fluency Project (originally posted by Katherine Bindley at Huffington Post) talked about the positive and negative influence of mobile phones and technology in general on the ability of children and teenagers to communicate effectively. The topic caught my eye as my 12-year-old son was going to be receiving his first mobile phone for Christmas. Read full post

I do wonder who is raising whom, sometimes. My elder child is a night owl (or "night hour", as she would say). Sleep has never come easily for her; she seems to fight it, and we’ve wrestled through many long evenings with her bouncing out of bed and up the hallway time and time again. This time I decided to bring the message home with a role play ... One afternoon I sat them down on the sofa. Read full post

The funniest video I've seen recently and too cute - a father asks his toddler daughter who her favourite parent is - so funny. Read full post