Bad Parent

I Lie About My Child’s Age

Seven minutes. That's how long it takes Playground Mummy to make her move. "He's so cute," she says, touching my son's curls. "Still not walking?" His chubby fingers clutch mine as he inches towards the swings, wobbly as a newborn foal. "Oh, you know. He's getting there," I say, as if everyone walks around with a 13-kilo-toddler death-grippin... read more

Parental Advisory

Breastfeeding While Pregnant

I am almost 8 weeks pregnant and I have an 18-month-old. I wanted to wean before I got pregnant, but that didn’t really work out. I was already more than ready to stop, but he was showing no signs of losing interest. Plus he won’t drink milk from anywhere but me. Now I’m feeling nauseous and my boobs are sore and my son is driving me crazy, w... read more

Celebrity

Elka Whalan

Elka Whalan (nee Graham) spent the best part of a decade at the top of Australian swimming. A dual Olympian, she won Olympic silver in the 4 x 200m Freestyle relay in Sydney and has 10 Australian and numerous Commonwealth records under her belt. Since announcing her retirement after the 2006 Commonwealth Games Elka has forged a successful media... read more

Insight

Do Kids Make Us Happy?

Recently, parenthood has taken a hit in the media. Multiple studies published in the last few years have concluded that having children decreases our well-being and leads to stress and conflict in the couples’ relationships. But should we believe the research? Evidence That Kids Reduce Happiness Take this article from last year’s Journal... read more

Insight

Boyfriend Genes

Recently, my boyfriend's good friends Tom and Jessie had their first child, a healthy, chubby-cheeked little boy that they couldn't wait to show off to their friends. So, we picked out a fuzzy outfit, wrapped it up in pastel paper, and drove out to the suburbs to do the traditional ooh-ing and ahh-ing. When we arrived, we walked in on a scene of fa... read more

Style

Got Milk?

Being pregnant or breastfeeding need not condemn one to shapeless, daggy underwear. Wearing supportive, beautifully made lingerie gives as much as a boost to confidence as it does to the cleavage. Whether you've got large breasts or small, want to cover the tummy or show off the shoulders, the boom in maternity lingerie means there's a style out... read more

Insight

The Lego Dilemma

For my five-and-a-half-year-old son, Zachary, it's all about Lego. After obsessions with Thomas the Tank Engine, Disney's Cars and the sea creatures from BBC's Blue Planet series, he has turned all of his attention to the iconic Danish bricks. His love of Lego has seen a Tribble-like explosion into all corners of the house. We have handed out L... read more

Parental Advisory

Is Prenatal Massage Safe?

I went for my first prenatal massage today and the woman refused to massage my lower back. I was so annoyed! Lower back pain was the main reason I went, so this totally defeated the purpose. I basically begged her but she said there was a slight risk of dislodging the placenta so she avoided that area in pregnancy. Also she was barely even touching... read more

Insight

MySchool

Since its launch on January 27th, the Federal Governments MySchool website has proved a huge hit, with nine million hits on the first day alone. The website contains a report on every primary and secondary school in the country (public and private) and shows results from national literacy and numeracy tests among other information. While educ... read more

Insight

Most Embarrassing Kid Moments

It's Saturday morning, and my five-year-old and I are on line at Target. I've let her rummage through my purse as I check my e-mail. "Mummy, what is this?" Sabrina says. I look up to see her holding a tampon. "It’s for mummies," I mutter and toss it back into my bag. But she’s not done: "Mummy! I see you in the bathroom using that!" I shove... read more