Coronavirus. COVID-19. Lockdown. Isolation. Homeschooling. All these phrases have become second nature to parents worldwide who are living an experience not seen for over a hundred years – and perhaps not even then, since the world is a very different place today to what it was during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. With the news…
As Australia faced its first day of official online education today, disaster befell multiple families as Queensland Education’s online education websites crashed. This happened in our house too – happily Year 6 kicked into gear after several attempts. But even if it hadn’t, it would have been ok. Why? As parents we worry so…
My own homeschooling journey began a quarter of a century ago. I was a young mum, with a gifted first born, a pre-schooler, a toddler and a newborn. I endured judgement and ridicule, especially from interaction with various nurses as I delivered and established the feeding of baby number four. However the journey proceeded smoothly,…
Among memes, elbow bumping and toilet paper stockpiling, Coronavirus has led our society to ask: Should we send kids home from school? The simple answer is yes. School closure will most likely significantly decrease the spread of the virus. It seems pretty obvious: close the schools and let everyone chill at home, away from festering…
“Man will work from dawn till dusk but a woman’s work is never done” The above was a favourite saying of my mother. I don’t remember her quantifying the statement either…..all I remember really is my tightly run home, and how beautifully in order it was. Though poor, we were organised and clean, everything was…
Dismantling the myths around Family Tax Benefits The Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a stimulus package of $750 for eligible Australians has been met with criticism – most vocal is the cry that ‘dole bludgers’ do not deserve another handout. “What about the people who actually work hard?” “Why give it to people who will…
“Raising children is a worthwhile investment into society” The key word here to consider is ‘investment’. Dictionary definition: The act of putting money, effort, time into something to make a profit, gain an advantage, or the money, effort, time, used to achieve this advantage or profit. We can see from the definition above that for…
In a day and age where family structure and roles are becoming increasingly fragmented, and where the cost of living is rapidly increasing, we can ask: How do we ‘have it all’ (a phrase now so overused it has been parodied)? My younger sister, who is now 11, once wished to be a bikie, or,…
My grandmother goes through her life with a sense of purpose, which is served every moment of the day. Whether she is paying a bill or attending a concert, it is what she is doing. Nothing will distract her from her task. From rising at 5.00 am, whereupon she immediately sets to work doing…
Definition of marriage and family Fundamental to the position of the Australian Family Association is MARRIAGE defined as ‘the union of a biological adult male (man) and a biological adult female (woman) to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into, for life’ and the FAMILY which is composed essentially of a father, mother and…