One of the mums on our Boarding Schools Expo team is having trouble communicating with her teenage son. She’s fallen into the trap of lecturing and, while she knows he wants to hear less of her voice, that’s not how she’s wired. When their son returned home from school camp recently, she took her husband’s…
Blog – Parenting
When organised sport isn’t enough
Today was National Walk Safely to School Day. This coincided with the release of the Active Healthy Kids Australia report card, which reproted that more than 80% of Aussie kids aren’t getting enough exercise. The broad message of the report was “Sport isn’t enough”. Less than 20% of our 5-17 year olds do the recommended…
Are you living your life through your child?
Footy training, music lessons, swim squad, dance rehearsals, maths tutoring, leadership programs… the list goes on. Some children these days seem to have every minute of their day accounted for. But who sets these busy schedules? The child or the parent? Some parents are living out their own dreams through their children – and may…
What does your teen do after “lights out”?
Dan Haesler Special Guest at Dubbo and Wagga Expos
There’s a school of thought that too much praise is harming our kids. They think they are great singers and should win X Factor or play professional golf without too much effort. A study in the Netherlands suggests that high praise is actually affecting children with low self-esteem the most because they are too afraid…
Your Trust is in Their Hands
When you choose a boarding school for your child, you are putting a lot of trust in the hands of the school and, in particular, the person responsible for boarding. A boarding master or house mistress has a big impact on your child’s emotional and personal needs while they are living away from home. The…
Dealing with homesicknes – part 2
Introducing our guest blogger: Mrs Judy Duffy, current Head of Boarding for Kambala Girls’ School in Sydney. We know its getting to that tricky time in Term Two, where the newness of everything has worn off and boarders can start getting a bit homesick and holidays seem far away. We asked Mrs Duffy to share…
Dealing with homesickness – Part One
Homesickness affects people in different ways and often at different times. Sometimes it’s fleeting, other times it can hang around for a while. Everyone experiences it at one point or another and it is completely normal. But it can lead you to be tearful, upset, grumpy, moody and off your food. You can feel like…
ABC… Easy as 123
We look at why education is a precious gift and why reading aloud to our children is so important. If any of you happened to read the Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend Magazine this week, you might have come across a fascinating article called School Behind Bars by Tony Wilson. This article asked the question:…
Smart Thinking About Smart Phones And Your Child
We take a look at the debate around giving children their own phone/smart phone or tablet. Almost everyone these days has a mobile phone or some type of smart phone or tablet. And inevitably, more and more children are becoming the owners of these devices. In 2012, forecast sales of media tablets were expected to…
Top 5 Kids-Friendly Holiday Activities
The Princess Myth
Bring a Princess is not really a job…. On television today, our kids are bombarded with advertising, product placement and all sorts of mixed messages about body image, gender roles and early introduction to sexual themes in television programmes. Our kids would have to live in a cupboard not to be aware of the English…
HSC Boarder Parent Guide
The HSC is upon us. Year 12 is a challenging time for kids as it comes at a fairly stressful time for students as they consider what they will be doing when they finish, university, travel, careers, moving into the adult world. For many families, especially parents of boarders, it can be hard to know…
Generation Next : Ten Ways to Be A Good Teen Role Model
We are a big fan of the blog by Generation Next – an online resource aimed at protecting and enhancing the wellbeing of our children and teenagers. We recently published our own article on this topic but thought it would be good to share another viewpoint on the issue. Dr Ramesh Manocha has developed Generation…
Paralympics – Celebrating Ability with a Difference
Watch the UK Channel 4 Promo Video to see a different side of the Paralympics Do you know that the Paralympics are on? Are you watching? Do you encourage your kids to watch it? The Paralympic Games have begun in London and are undoubtedly a strong testament to dogged perseverance and unyielding determination. The Paralympian…
Good Sportsmanship – Learning to lose gracefully
In our Boarding Schools Expo blog, we have placed a lot of emphasis and research in our articles on setting a good example and the importance of role models. For many Australians, athletes and sportsmen and women are important role models for them and their children. Most young boys and girls have their favorite footballer;…