Can a Children's Playground Really Be Too Safe?
Some researchers have suggested that the very safe playgrounds of today are depriving children of the opportunity to challenge themselves - they say a playground is a place where children can...
View ArticleMummy, Are You Beautiful? - What Would You Say?
"Mummy, am I beautiful?" - "Yes, you are so beautiful!" - "Mummy, are you beautiful?" Children don’t realise how confronting, or how relevant, their questions can be. When my three-year-old daughter...
View ArticleRaising Barry - an Unconventional Parent Raises a President
Ann Dunham (Soetoro) Sutoro’s life is changing the course of history, yet most people have never heard of this remarkable woman. When I first met Ann in Jakarta in March 1981, I had no idea how great...
View ArticleConfidence is Not Everything - Encouraging My Child
My daughter had an audition for a local youth orchestra and, not surprisingly, she was nervous. "You are playing your pieces beautifully," I told her after a particularly trying practice that ended in...
View ArticleWhat My Mother Whispered In My Ear
This is a conversation my mother and I had last week. What started as a conversation about the current economic climate in Greece, soon turned into reflection for my mother who was born in rural...
View ArticleLooking at Teenage Girls Through New Lenses
As we stand up for International Day of the Girl Child, October 11, I have decided it’s time to celebrate that often dreaded period of a girl's development: her teen years. I want to inject a new word...
View ArticleShaming Teen Mums is a Bad Idea
What if instead of deciding to shame teenagers out of 'choosing' to become parents with a questionable 'public health' campaign, New York City instead focused their efforts on ending the 'epidemic' of...
View ArticleInterview with Megan Mitchell – Australia's National Children's Commissioner
This week, happychild had the privilege of speaking with Megan Mitchell, Australia’s first National Children’s Commissioner. We were interested to understand more about her role and what she has to...
View ArticleTeens Learn Their Model of Romantic Relationships from Parents
A new study from University of Alberta relationship researchers, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found the quality of the relationship between an adolescent and their parents was...
View ArticleFive Top Tips to Help Your Child Overcome Shyness
Shyness in kids is very common, and “everybody can feel shy in certain situations,” says Professor Jennifer Hudson, a clinical psychologist and research fellow from Macquarie University’s Centre for...
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