A new trend in Instagram is user generated beauty contests and it has to be one of the most concerning trends of 2013. Within a short space of time, Instagram has become so much more than a platform for sharing harmless snapshots of pets and holidays. Now there are online beauty contests that encourage teen Read more…
In a fantasy world, children (of all ages) would tell their parents everything. “I am not really sick today – I really just want to catch up on some TV!” “Erica isn’t just my study mate – she is my girlfriend and we have been together for 6 months!’ “I know I am only 12 Read more…
Last year McAfee undertook some quite revealing research into the online behaviour of Aussie teens. Entitled ‘The Secret Life of Teens ‘ this research report taught us that 95% of our teens are accessing Facebook daily, 31% have broken the law through piracy and a shocking 6% have met up with a stranger they met Read more…
Communicating with tweens and teens can be super challenging. Some prefer to simply grunt, others go with the monosyllabic strategy and the rest will only speak if it’s about food! I find that I really only have a few minutes a day to share ‘key agenda items’ with my teen boys and it is usually Read more…
Like all doting daughters, I adore my mother. However, I have to confess – I haven’t yet purchased her well-deserved Mother’s Day gift. But I am not short of gift suggestions, no way. In fact, I have an inbox full of emails offering me fabulous gift options from knives to nighties. So all is well, Read more…
Get out your diary, there is another day that you have to work into the schedule – Change Your Password Day! And no – there is no obligation to buy a flower, pin or a wristband – not that I ever have a problem with purchasing them! Tuesday 7 May 2013 is Change Your Password Read more…
Regardless of your IQ remembering your personal collection of passwords is hard work. With experts telling us we need a different password for each site and that we then need to change them every 6 months, well – it all becomes too hard!! There is absolutely no doubt that a strong and complex password is Read more…
My four boys detest cleaning up. The groans, grunts and comments come thick and fast: “No-one else’s mother makes them clean up like you do”. “I’m sure the UN would consider this illegal – it’s forced child labour”. Well, too bad boys – clean-ups are here to stay!! But with school holidays just a few Read more…
Some days my children make me proud and other days, well – let’s just say they give me palpitations! But after 16 years in the job, I have resigned myself to the fact that the big highs and big lows are just part of the parenting rollercoaster ride. But as far as lows go – Read more…
Now – it is essential that you are totally honest with me. Promise! So, tell me – do the Facebook photos of your friends’ holidays and ‘fabulous’ social gatherings make you feel a little down or de-energised? Does the talk of restaurants and over-achieving children ever make you feel jealous? Well, if your answer is Read more…