Happy new year friends! They say how you spend NYE night sets the tone for the year. If that’s the case, I’ll be eating Indian takeaway with my girlfriends and going to bed at 9:30pm. I’m VERY ok with this plan after the eventful couple of years we’ve had. I followed up the quiet start with […] … learn more→
New year, new Bullet Journal!
Your style of social media use may be connected to your wellbeing
Are you a doom scroller or a frequent Tweeter? Do you pass the time by flicking endlessly through others’ posts on social networking sites, or perhaps you use these platforms to share your own content? Psychologists believe our style of social media usage has important effects on our psychological wellbeing, but we’ve struggled to measure people’s online […] … learn more→
Kids driving you crazy? Try these science-backed anger management tips for parents
You’re running late for work, your eight-year-old can’t find the homework they were supposed to have put in their school bag last night, your four-year-old objects to the blue t-shirt you’d prepared and wants the other shade of blue, and then you step on a Lego piece that didn’t get packed away when you asked. […] … learn more→
Better sleep for kids starts with better sleep for parents – especially after holiday disruptions to routines
Everyone knows that sleep is critical for growing children and their mental and physical health. Regular, high-quality sleep habits help children consolidate memory and learn better. A lack of sleep contributes to childhood depression, anxiety and even risk of suicide, along with physical health problems, including risk of injury. The challenge is making sure kids log those valuable zzz’s. There are three […] … learn more→
Parabens and phthalates in chemical hair straighteners
It is relatively common for products to contain carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals). Two of the most common carcinogens are parabens and phthalates. These chemicals are part of a category known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These chemicals can cause quite a few different health problems, not just cancer. Revelations of EDCs in a certain product causing cancer […] … learn more→
Adults ‘hunting’ for minors on the internet: four basic rules to avoid falling into the trap
Any boy, girl or young person with a smartphone in hand has the possibility of receiving and exchanging messages with any unknown person anywhere in the world. Relationship, information and communication technologies allow new forms of communication and interaction for minors, but also the appearance and increase of new forms of abuse . Online sexual requests and interactions […] … learn more→
Wind turbines are already skyscraper-sized – is there any limit to how big they will get?
In 2023, some 100 miles off the coast of north-east England, the world’s largest wind turbines will start generating electricity. This first phase of the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm development uses General Electric’s Haliade X, a turbine that stands more than a quarter of a kilometre high from the surface of the sea to the […] … learn more→
Student and teacher involvement in reforming schooling matters — how Montréal schools are tackling this
If you could redesign high school, what might you change? How could the schedule be more flexible? What if teachers worked together as teams? What if groups of students were combined based on interest and given the opportunity to connect learning to their everyday lives? Noel Burke, the founder of an educational reform initiative in […] … learn more→
What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?
The new year often means a new season of kids’ sports. Many families may be pondering whether to commit to another season or discovering their child is now saying they’d like to quit their usual sport. My husband and I faced this dilemma last year when our nine-year-old wanted to quit Nippers (junior surf lifesaving). […] … learn more→
The importance of knowing starting skills for teaching writing
What do we think when someone asks us how we write? Probably, if our handwriting is legible or if we follow the spelling rules… but writing goes much further. Writing is representing thought through graphic symbols in a coherent, orderly and meaningful way, following a common thread and using language appropriate to the reader. Thus, the difficult […] … learn more→