Our house is a funny old place. One of the reasons we bought it was that it had a secret passage. This so appealed to my Enid Blighton sense of childhood that we spent a lot more money than we could comfortably afford. As we sat down to yet another dinner of spag.bol. the other night, I realised there were a couple of extra kids at the table that did not belong to me, one of whom I had never seen before. Read full post

The Benevolent Society runs a program called Partnerships in Early Childhood (PIEC) with preschool and child care organisations in New South Wales and Queensland.Central to the program is the Circle of Security map, which helps parents and other carers to follow children’s relationship needs and so know how to become more emotionally available to them. Parents choosing a childcare centre or caregiver should think carefully about the quality of relationships available to their child. Read full post

We were going to Ipswich to see the much anticipated Play School concert. A 10am start would normally be a reasonable time of day for me. A forty-minute commute would be easy. The persistent rain would have been annoying but not unwelcome. The four block walk from the nearest car park to the venue would have been slightly tiresome but manageable. But there is one small detail – actually, two small details - I have neglected to mention. I gave birth to identical twins just over two weeks ago. And yes, vying for the role of Superwoman (look out Megan Gale) I decided to take all three of my boys to the concert. Read full post

Music is a big part of life in our family. From when the children were tiny there was a often music playing in some form - either in the background, or big and loud on a Friday afternoon waiting for Dad to come home We would dance around the house to the beat of Sergio Mendes or ACDC. Eclectic tastes here, you see...They were singing “Get on down, I’m a sex machine” from a very early age. (Reading this, I find it a little disturbing.) So it’s not surprising that they now all play instruments and sing. Read full post

Just like your kids, my two sons are entirely different individuals in every possible way. One of them loves fish, the other doesn't. One likes jelly snakes, the other likes chocolate. OK, they both like chocolate. One of them loves every conceivable sporting activity, the other likes to read and draw. One of them had a dummy as baby, the other didn't. And likewise the bedtime companion. Read full post