Happy Parent = Happy Kid

Does My Kid Love Her Dad More Than Me?

Dear Dr Happy My nearly-three-year-old daughter seems to prefer my husband to me – and she makes it very plain, indeed. When I go to pick her up from day-care, she cries and says: ‘Daddy! I Want Daddy!’ Apart from it being really embarrassing, it also breaks my heart! I’ve been back at work now for about a year and before, when I was at ho... read more

Bad Parent

I Hate Calling My Kids When I’m Away

Spring is here, which means a lot of us are hitting the trail to teach, speak, meet, and conduct all manner of business that keeps money and professional mobility flowing in our households. My slate is full this year and while I'm excited to be on the road — - all those Bliss Spa beauty products and random chats with cab drivers - I dr... read more

Giveaways

Win A Double Pass To Advance Screenings Of Genova!

COMPETITION CLOSED - WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL! From singing cheesy Swedish pop with Meryl Streep to walking out of lakes in soaking wet breeches all the way to romancing the brilliant Bridget Jones, Colin Firth's done it all. But the Brit actor's latest filmic jaunt is a return to his more serious side. Directed by fellow countryman Mic... read more

Angry Dad

Telly Tubby Nation

Apparently the Australian government is about to recommend that kids under two years of age shouldn’t watch any television. The new “guide-lines” are part of the “Get Up and Grow” report on healthy childhood eating and exercise which is about to be released by the Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon. The latest government report wil... read more

Harassed Mum

Beauty Boot Camp

Summer’s coming. Our great skies are opening up and filtering through that glorious light, which on the one hand is cheery, resplendent and jolly good for picnics – and on the other highlights every stray whisker old age and androgens (boy hormones) have bestowed on my once peach-perfect complexion. Yesterday I caught my reflexion – werew... read more

Insight

Jump Start Language Skills

A nine-month old child is typically developing if he can speak even one word. With the benefit of proper scaffolding, he'll know fifty to one hundred words within just a few months. By two, he will speak around 320 words; a couple months later - over 570. Then the floodgates open. By three, he'll most likely be speaking in full sentences. By the ti... read more

Parental Advisory

I’ve Got The Working Mum Blues!

I'm a working mother of a 20-month-old girl. Recently I've been having a very hard time with the reality of being away from my daughter. It's never been particularly easy, but now that my daughter can talk I can literally hear her call out for her daytime caregiver when she's hurt or hungry instead of me. And it makes me so sad. Though I am glad sh... read more

Angry Dad

Celebrity Sex Crimes: Roman And Kyle

They don’t need punishment. They need gunishment. This week I really feel like following up on my column about paedophilia hysteria. The column generated a very interesting and often quite sophisticated debate. Since then paedophilia hysteria has hit the news big time in the form of the film director Roman Polanski. Polanski was recently arres... read more

Harassed Mum

Aussie Sexism Gives Work/Life Balance No Chance

How many times have you heard phrases like 'the work/life balance' and 'having it all' being bandied about the place? Too many to count, I'd hazard a guess. And they're usually sneeringly uttered in the workplace, by people who aren't remotely interested in your pursuit of either. Yep, that's right, I'm talking about you lot up the back, swinging o... read more

Happy Parent = Happy Kid

I Dread Pick-Up At Pre-School!

Dear Dr Happy My daughter and I get along well most of the time – we sometimes even laugh and dance and sing together, which is great fun. But I’ve started back at work full-time, now, so she has to go to pre-school five days a week for 10 hours a day. Which is fine, I suppose – it’s just that every afternoon, precisely five minutes afte... read more