“Of the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 33 offer paid parental leave schemes. Of these 33 countries, Australia is one of only two that fails to pay leave…
How would you react if you opened tomorrow’s newspaper and were met with the headline, “Children of sole parents more likely to be abused”? If you’re socially conservative, you may feel affirmed in your…
Research finds men benefit psychologically from having a large family network.
http://happyfamiliesblog.blogspot.com.au/
Having a wide circle of friends is important to psychological wellbeing, but a network of relatives is more important for men according to new study from the UK. The research, published in the Journal…
Income management is being introduced in part for child protection, but is could make things harder for families.
AAP/Joe Castro
The start of the new financial year has also heralded the start of one of the major reforms of our income support system, yet few know it is happening. The Income Management program quarantines at least…
Quality relationships and time spent together is what’s important when it comes to children’s wellbeing.
Flickr/disgustipado
The media often blame a lot of society’s problems on the break down of traditional family structures and the increase in single parent homes. When fathers no longer live at home, policy makers focus on…
Married people are less likely to commit crime.
Flickr/Marcus Hansson
More than half of all murders in Australia involve family members. The majority of them are committed by men who kill their partners. Here, as in many other countries, violence in the home is a major social…
ABC’s The Slap investigates the complex and very personal views of those at the heart of a smacking case.
ABC
In last night’s ABC program, The Slap, an impulsive slap changed everything. A man struck someone else’s child at a barbecue provoking a legal challenge. In real life, that would be an assault, though…
Boys’ voices break later if their fathers are absent during adolescence, according to new research.
Flickr/Tom A
Boys who grow up without a dad around are more likely to reach puberty later, but father their own children earlier, according to a new study. Researchers from the London School of Economics used data…
Children of separated parents have higher rates of emotional problems but it doesn’t mean these families are bad for kids.
George Patton, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
The mental health and well-being of Australian children is deteriorating and this is caused by a breakdown of two parent families, according to a report released today by University of Sydney Law Professor…
“Fuck you, Wing, your sister has Down syndrome!” These words were once hurled at NSW rugby league star Craig Wing while he was playing for the Sydney Roosters against the Canterbury Bulldogs at the Sydney…
Hypoallergenic formula milk is no better than cow’s milk in preventing allergies, a study found.
Flickr/NerissaRing
Hypoallergenic infant formula is no more effective than regular cow’s milk at reducing the risk a baby will develop allergies, a new study has found. Partially hydrolysed whey formulas (pHWFs), which contain…
Scientists have discovered similarities in the brain activity patterns of autistic teens and their non-autistic siblings, hinting at a new ‘biomarker’ for autism risk within families. In a paper published…
Anxious parents take note: a toddler who develops speaking skills later than his or her peers is no more likely to develop lasting behavioural problems than any other child, a study has found. Two-year-olds…
The new carbon footprint calculator factors in a household’s light sources, heating, washing, food consumption patterns, air travel and more, making it one of the most thorough calculators developed yet.
Flickr
One of the most comprehensive greenhouse gas calculators ever was launched today, allowing members of the public to add up the total carbon cost of their their household set-up, food choices and travel…
A study of blue-footed boobies found that while siblings bully each other badly in the nest, the youngsters grow into adults with normal levels of aggression.
Flickr
Harsh sibling bullying maybe tough to endure as a youngster but victims won’t necessarily grow into cowed and meek adults, a study on birds has found. Mexican researchers studying blue-footed boobies…
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary