Chart-topping podcaster’s SILLY STORIES
Sunrise weather man
SUDDENLYONE
Hays Paddock APLAYGROUND
WITHTHELOT
Take time to take stock About Us
IF the return of some sunshine after a long, cold winter doesn’t put a spring in your step, I don’t know what will!
Watching the trees burst back to life and fill with blossoms and new growth feels symbolic - spring is a time of much-needed fresh energy and enthusiasm as the end of the year appears on the horizon.
But as well as looking ahead to the Christmas/New Year rush, spring is a great time to reflect on the year that’s been - a spring clean for your mind, if you will.
We can often wish time away and get caught up focusing on simply putting one foot in front of the other, meeting the next challenge thrown our way.
CONTENTS
IT’S YOUR LIFE
Are we mindful or mind full?
PAGE 4
Mini Maestros offer more than music
PAGE 4
A Wish for Baby is Caz Goodwin’s wish come true
PAGE 5
Steve Biddulph: Make friends with your ‘wild creature mind’
PAGE 6
Dial into new museum to explore our connections
PAGE 7
Kids in the Kitchen: Easy tangy probiotic carrots
PAGE 8
New Prahran Toy Library welcomes families to ‘shop’ sustainably
PAGE 9
Hays Paddock’s new playground has the lot
PAGES 10-11
Podcaster Sam is far from silly PAGES 12-13
HEALTHY LIVING
The Baby Food Bible: Mums make starting solids easy to digest
PAGE 14
It’s valuable to pause for a moment and take stock of what you’ve accomplished not only as a parent, but in your career, friendships, and hobbies.
Did you manage to have dinner with your girlfriends? Or finally finish that garden project? Maybe you aced a work project, or let your hair down at a family celebration.
It’s easy to skim over these little wins when your eyes are always on what’s ahead, or what you haven’t been able to achieve.
Take time, too, to consider how far your little one has come this year - the new skills they’ve mastered, the friendships they’ve made, the adventures you’ve taken together, the times they’ve made you laugh, the times they’ve made you beam with pride.
Fill your cup with these memories and the spring sunshine, take a deep breath, and gear up for the final weeks of the year.
Find us on Instagram or Facebook and let us know what you’ve achieved so far this year.
If you have a story to share or feedback on this edition, hit us up on socials or send us an email. We love to hear from our readers!
Stonnington Boroondara Kids magazine is a Star News Group publication.
Stonnington Boroondara Kids will be published quarterly prior to each of the school holidays.
Stonnington Boroondara Kids Cnr Princes Hwy and Army Road, Pakenham, 3810 PO Box 9, Pakenham, Victoria 3810 Phone: 5945 0666 Fax: 5945 0777
Editorial Melissa Meehan melissa.meehan @starnewsgroup.com.au
Casey Neill casey.neill@starnewsgroup.com.au
Photography Rob Carew Louisa Jones
Group Advertising Sales Manager Mandy Clark mandy.clark@starnewsgroup.com.au Phone: 5945 0608
Vision Camberwell: Set your sights on Vision
PAGE 15
First aid focus on mental health
PAGE 16
Royal Children’s Hospital school opens its doors
PAGE 16
EDUCATION
New focus on phonics
PAGE 19
Sacre Cœur: A leader in total development
PAGE 19
Genazzano FJC College: Open morning welcome
PAGE 20
Box Hill Senior Secondary College: A pioneer in education
PAGE 22
PARTY TIME
Reptile Encounters: Wildly unforgettable parties
PAGE 24
Slumber Tribe: Find comfort in Slumber PAGE 24
Okie dokie! Try these easy cakes PAGE 25
The ultimate party experience with Fizz Kidz
PAGE 25
REALITY BITES
Berwick mum shares suburb switch success
PAGE 26
Lauren Munday helps students master their mindset
PAGE 27
Author Amanda Lecaude on helping kids to get things done
PAGE 28
Support centre for new mums feels like Homb PAGE 29
BOOKS
Suddenly One: Sam Mac celebrates his first year as a parent PAGE 30
Turning symptoms into super skills PAGE 31
Discover new book releases for all ages PAGE 31
Published by Star News Group Pty Ltd ACN 005 848 108. Publisher/Managing Director, Paul Thomas. All material is copyright to Star News Group Pty Ltd. All significant errors will be corrected as soon as possible.
Chart-topping podcaster’s SILLY STORIES Cover
Frankie Galbraith picks stunning sunflowers. (Louisa Jones)
Are we mindful or mind full? IT’S YOUR LIFE
I came across this question a few months ago and it really struck a chord. I even gave a chuckle.
The image that comes with ‘mindful’ is a mind clear of everything. It is a mind that is still and concerned only with the here and now. A mind that is quiet and
fully aware of the present moment.
A ‘full’ mind, on the other hand, conjures images of never-ending to-do lists, juggling multiple hats, thoughts of the past and future, and just a whole lot of unnecessary stuff.
So, while I greatly value mindfulness and continue to work hard at it, I can’t help but feel that my mind is more full than clear!
And I have no doubt that in such a demanding and high-pressure society, most of us are the same.
This also had me thinking about our children and what effect our fast-paced society is having on them and their wellbeing.
With jam-packed schedules - from
sporting commitments to learning a musical instrument, to socialising with their peers, to homework - the busyness of life appears to be as never-ending for them as it is for us!
As a primary school teacher with more than 10 years of experience, I have seen firsthand the impact this busyness has on children’s emotional wellbeing, both inside and outside the classroom.
Of course, children need to play sport, learn a musical instrument, socialise, and do their homework (I am a primary school teacher after all!), but has the opportunity for children to ‘just be’ been lost?
Are we focusing too much on outcomes, on ticking things off the list, and not allowing children to just be in
At Mini Maestros your child will learn how to participate and co-operate with others in a classroom setting. They’ll also learn how to listen and follow directions, and get a headstart on important literacy and numeracy skills.
Mini Maestros also has Online Courses for babies to 5 year olds, so that you have the opportunity to share the learning & fun with your child at home in your own time.
the present moment?
So perhaps, in the midst of ticking off our to-do list, let’s all try and find some time in the day to be mindful and notice what we hear, feel, smell, touch, and taste, and our minds - even for just a brief moment - might be slightly less full.
Fiona is an experienced primary school teacher with a passion for student wellbeing.
She runs mindfulness programs for primary school-aged children, including school incursions, after-school sessions, and school holiday programs.
Each session is designed to equip children with a toolkit of mindfulness strategies to help them lead healthier and happier lives.
Maestros teaches more than music
HAVE you noticed how musical your local community is?
And how many capable and successful people you know had a musical education when they were children?
The Mini Maestros team believes in every child’s potential and giving children the best start in life.
Babies and young children who participate in a quality preschool music education program get a head start on schooling, develop musical skills, and cultivate a life-long love of music.
Mini Maestros’ age-specific classes for babies to 5-year-olds are carefully designed to boost confidence, cultivate essential skills, and unleash creativity.
Its team embraces different learning styles and makes learning fun, ensuring every child thrives.
Making music engages multiple brain functions and stimulates holistic growth.
It’s the ‘superfood’ for your child’s developing brain!
By harnessing the peak neural activity that occurs before the age of 6, babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers who actively learn music effortlessly
achieve crucial developmental milestones.
Mini Maestros classes nurture the whole child, accelerating language and listening skills and boosting physical, social, and emotional development.
Its team facilitates nurturing and inclusive spaces for connection, play, and joyful discovery.
The vital social interactions and dynamic classroom setting of Mini Maestros lessons pave the way for kindergarten and school readiness, and are equally beneficial for the attending adults too!
The learning and fun don’t stop at the classroom door; Mini Maestros also offers engaging online courses to enjoy at home with their carers.
The musical fun and learning can continue in the comfort of your home.
With more 1000 glowing reviews from satisfied parents and carers, Mini Maestros is a firm local favourite.
Don’t miss out on giving your child or grandchild a quality musical education! Enrol in Mini Maestros’ music and movement classes.
Visit minimaestros.com.au or call 9850 5566.
BOOKS
Author’s wish come true
By Casey Neill
THE timing of Caz Goodwin’s tenth book was beautifully serendipitous.
The award-winning Hawthorn author had just penned A Wish for Baby when her son, Tom, revealed Caz was about to become a grandmother.
“It’s like a love letter to a baby,” she said.
“I didn’t write this with a particular baby in mind.
“I channelled my memories of my own children and how when they were born, I’d just stare down and look at them and imagine ‘what are the adventures you’re going to have?’ and ‘I hope you have wonderful friends that support you’ and ‘I hope you enjoy nature’ and ‘I hope you are healthy’ and ‘I hope you’re happy’ - all those natural feelings that come when you’re a new parent.
“All those feelings are coming up again as a grandmother.”
The illustrations by Sara Acton show a child and their father having fun with dress-ups, baking, reading, and giggling with friends.
Tom was thrilled with the book’s timing.
“I remember when I first showed him the manuscript,” Caz said.
“He might have wiped away a tear.
“As a parent there’s nothing quite like your first baby.
“The joy that this little baby has brought has been wonderful.”
Tom confirmed he was very emotional when he first read the book. Little Isla was four weeks old when we met. He felt like Caz was writing to her before even knowing she existed.
“It was very special,” he said.
He was eagerly awaiting a copy, fresh from the printer, so he could read it to Isla.
“We read to her every night,” he said.
“It will be really special when she knows it’s written by Caz Ma.”
Caz started her writing career when her husband’s job took the family to Singapore.
“I was told I wouldn’t be able to work there. I thought I’d do what I’d always wanted to - writing books,” she said.
“I set a goal of writing one within the first year.
“I’d always written and I loved rhyming books in particular.
“I was brought up on AA Milne and Dr Seuss.
“When I was a bit older I loved Jane Eyre’s rhyming poems.
“I would write rhyming invitations to family but never really thought about going about it more seriously and having it published.”
She joined a writer’s group, put pen to paper, and her first book was published soon after.
“That was a book called Dragon’s Egg, which is still in print in Singapore,” Caz said.
“It was a children’s picture book about
a child who finds an egg and a dragon hatches out.
“It won a competition so that was a good way to get into the industry.
“When I came back to Melbourne I kept writing and haven’t stopped.”
Caz’s books generally start with a character, and then she asks questions about them.
“I’m not a plotter; I just start writing and the story seems to evolve organically,” she said.
“I don’t set out with a particular theme in mind or a particular moral I want to tell.
“What if it was a little girl and she was best friend’s with the old man next door, and what if their favourite goat died?
“And what if he was depressed and didn’t want to come out of the house and she had to help him out?
“That’s how my last book developed.
“I do a lot of re-writing, which most writers do.
“I keep exploring until I find a way to make a story work and the characters work.
“The narrative arc has to be appropriate and the conclusion has to have some hope.”
Caz is also a literacy advocate. She runs the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in Victoria and is on the Young Australian Best Book Awards (YABBA) council.
“I really encourage all parents and grandparents to start reading from the
moment they’re born,” she said.
“The research shows that reading to babies is really important and that you can’t start too early.
“There’s nothing you can do to really give your child the best educational outcome before they start formal school other than reading.
“It’s just vitamins for the brain.
“It’s so good for them in so many ways.
“It also helps you feel closer to them when you’re reading to a baby.
“There was some research done that showed reading to babies in utero, their heart rate slowed reading one story versus another story.
“I thought that was some really amazing research.”
Caz recommended rhyming books in particular.
“The children relate to them and do really engage,” she said.
“As they get older they can anticipate the words because they rhyme with the line before.
“There’s something about the rhythm that is calming and almost meditative.”
A Wish for Baby fits the bill.
“This is the sort of book that I think would be a lovely gift to give to a newborn or the parents of a newborn,” Caz said.
“It really contains those universal feelings of joy but also wonder and hope and the dreams for a new little one.”
Befriend your wild mind
Do you know the single biggest enemy of families every single day?
It’s not just a mailbox full of bills, or climate change, though it is certainly tangled up with those. STEVE BIDDULPH
IT is anxiety.
The horrible feeling that grips your insides, keeps you awake at night, and steals your happiness if you aren’t careful.
And who among us hasn’t had a kiddie anxious about going to school, or having unexplained tummy aches, waking with nightmares, or unable to fall asleep in the first place?
Anxiety is what makes some people (often men) fly off the handle, or be controlling. It makes us shout at our children when we don’t want to.
It is public enemy number one.
I was so concerned at the amount of anxiety in kids around the world that I have just spent three years searching for a powerful answer - and I think I have found it.
Some of the best neuroscientists in the world have discovered something
quite amazing, and I have been working to put it in simple language.
So here it goes…
We have two minds!
Yes, you read that right.
We have our regular mind, which prattles on, gets defensive, goes in circles. This mind is still really great - for planning your shopping list, doing your tax, building bridges and hospitals. But it gets out of control so easily, and it keeps you awake at night or too distracted to enjoy or love your children.
But we also have - in the right side of our heads - a silent wild animal mind, which is super perceptive, amazing at reading faces and knowing who to trust, and holds all our memories, even the ones we can’t consciously remember.
This side of your mind knows where you left your keys! It knows what all animals know - leave tomorrow to tomorrow, enjoy the moment, love your life. And usually a growl is all it takes to get the cubs in line!
But this side has no words, so it talks to you in the way that all animals from the dawn of time have, with signals to your body!
You can test this - think of one of your children and notice what happens inside you when you do. Down in your torso, little stirrings or tightenings or softenings or swirls happen. If you think of another of your children (or your parents, or anyone really) then a different set of sensations happen. These are fresh and changing.
This is your ‘wild creature mind’ giving you an update. If you listen to those signals, they always have something to tell you. Often, it is just ‘let your shoulders drop from around your ears, breathe deeply, and know that you are loved’ (even just by an old psychologist writing for you from down in Tasmania).
So, how does it work?
If you are feeling anxious (or you want to help one of your children), then try this. Instead of saying ‘I am anxious’ (or angry, or any unpleasant feeling) say instead, ‘Something in me is anxious’. Notice that this has a different feeling! It kind of gives you some spaciousness and room to move. It’s not ALL of you, it’s just something going on down there, which you can look at kindly.
Then go down in your body and see where that feeling lives. What are the exact sensations, and how would you describe them if you were telling a friend?
As you do this, notice that the sensations begin to change. They either melt away and you don’t feel as bad, or they begin to alter or even move somewhere else. Perhaps you might feel a tear in your eye, or a little shudder. This is the feeling moving out of you. Perhaps you might feel strong and stirred up to do something.
Your ‘wild creature mind’ is like a panther walking alongside you, fierce and strong; or like a soft little kitten needing to be soothed and settled. You will know which it is.
Children can be helped by sitting with them and asking ‘Where is it in your body?’, ‘What is it like?’, ‘Does it have a colour?’ or the best question, ‘What is it wanting to say to you?’.
When you are listening to your body signals, you shift to the right hemisphere of your brain - the one that does not prattle or rush, but connects deeply with those around you. And if your child listens to their body, they feel loved and safe when they are with you at these times. It is the job of us parents to be less anxious than our children, so they can reregulate their nervous system. They just feel better and calmer around us and then, gradually, out into the world. There are sometimes real things to be stirred up about, and our wild animal side knows which they are and gives us the warning signs plus the energy to act on them.
With both sides of our brain working as a team we can be both sensible and wise; fierce when we need to be, and calm when we don’t.
It is a fantastic thing to be able to transform anxiety using these simple skills.
Wild Creature Mind is in bookshops from 27 August.
You can follow Steve’s posts and videos on some of these methods on his Raising Boys and Raising Girls Facebook pages, or at www. wildcreaturemind.com.
Dial into new museum to explore our connections
THE National Communication Museum in Hawthorn will house a raft of programs for children of all ages.
The not-for-profit will open its doors in the old Telstra Exchange Building on Burwood Road on Saturday 21 September.
It brings to life the nostalgia of communication in Australia and showcases the cutting-edge technologies that will connect us in the future.
It spans two levels of dynamic and changing gallery spaces, with a working historical telephone exchange, immersive rooms, interactive experiences, and a dedicated kids hub.
NCM co-CEO Anna Prenc said the museum was a fun destination for children, teens, and their families.
“It really has something for everyone – from curious children and teens to nostalgic young and older adults, from primary and secondary students through to tertiary students and researchers,” she said.
“Through its extensive collection of artefacts and the innovative use of technology - including robotics and responsive artificial intelligence - NCM connects audiences young and old with past and current technologies.”
In NCM kids hub, children follow overhead cables to discover some of the weird and wonderful ways messages are sent and received around the world and beyond.
It also features hands-on interactive experiences to unlock and decode messages throughout the space.
The museum’s remix zone is aimed at teens and tweens, with two large authentic switchboards reimagined by Mosster Studio as interactive instruments, where visitors can build their own unique, telephony-inspired soundscape.
NCM co-CEO Emily Siddons said the museum was also a trip down memory lane for older visitors who remember retro tech like MSN messenger, rotary phones, the talking clock, the iconic burger phone, and the first internet cafes.
“The museum features a rotating collection of technologies and contextual artefacts and exciting temporary exhibitions, as well as a STEM-focused schools program, research and industry programs,” she said.
“NCM answers the questions you have about technology but were too afraid to ask: Is my fridge listening to me? Where exactly is the Cloud? What is the difference between 4G and 5G?
“It invites visitors to engage with the everyday technologies they don’t understand, with experiences that are driven by technology and activated by visitors themselves, letting them direct their own unique experience through the museum.”
Visit ncm.org.au for more information.
Easy tangy probiotic carrots
THESE easy tangy probiotic carrots are a simple way to get fermented or cultured foods into our kids.
Fermented foods are rich in probiotics that encourage beneficial bacteria to flourish in their guts, improving digestive health, immune function, and mood.
They’re also a fun way to get the kids in the kitchen, learn a little bit of science, and explore their senses.
Using just two ingredients, they’re made by immersing carrots in a brine (salt and water solution).
The salt kills the bad bacteria, leaving the good bacteria to convert sugars into lactic acid, which creates a safe environment and preserves the carrots.
Unlike pickling, which kills bacteria, ferments have a more distinct tangy flavour.
My son used to call these ‘fizzy carrots’ when he was little because the carbon dioxide generated during the
fermentation process can produce a tickling sensation on your tongue – now we’re making vegetables fun too!
Chop them up and add to salads, use them to scoop up hummus or guacamole, or just eat them raw.
Well Fed Kitchen is a range of healthy snacks for kids that you can make at home.
Created by Nutritionist and mum, Lucy Stewart, they’re made with only real wholefood and plant-based ingredients – no additives, nothing artificial, and without nuts, dairy, soy and wheat.
Well Fed Kitchen provides an easy snack alternative to the sugar-laden, healthy pro- cessed options, guaranteed to fill kids tummies, satisfy their hunger, provide a steady release of energy and some essential growing nutrients too.
www.wellfedkitchen.com.au @wellfedkitchen_snacks
Ingredients:
■ 1 tsp sea salt
■ 500g carrots
■ Filtered water
Instructions:
1. Trim the carrots, rinse and peel if not organic. Slice into thin sticks about the same size and thickness.
2. Add salt to your jar along with carrots - it’s easier to stack your carrot sticks with the jar laying on its side - and cover with filtered water.
3. Cover the jar loosely with a lid and place on a small plate to catch the overflow that may happen during fermentation.
4. Leave the jar at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours – slightly longer in the cooler months. Once you start to smell the sourness and see bubbles forming, they’re ready to eat!
5. Transfer to the fridge and store for up to one month.
12562706-MS36-22
A sustainable way to play
By Casey Neil
PRAHRAN families have a new toy library on their doorsteps.
Stonnington Toy Library opened a new branch in the suburb in June thanks to Federal Government funding, fundraising efforts, a Bendigo Bank donation, and access to a newly-built space from the State Government.
Manager Jane O’Connell said the library was 45 years old and had been covering a huge area from its Malvern base for 20–plus years.
The Stonnington Toy Library has more than 600 members, with about 150 living in the Prahran-Windsor-South Yarra area the new branch is intended to service.
“It’s not just about servicing existing members,” she said.
“It’s also about reaching families we’ve never reached before.”
Jane said parents regularly walked in the door and let out a deep sigh of relief.
They’d been meaning to get over to Malvern but hadn’t got around to it,” she said.
“They don’t necessarily have the cars and the time.
“It’s good for children’s development to have access to new toys.
“They’re saving money and it’s good for the environment.”
Jane joined Stonnington Toy Library when her now-27-year-old was a baby in 1996.
“I didn’t want my kids to grow up feeling entitled,” she said.
“I didn’t want them to think they could have everything.
“Learning to share and have social responsibility was really important to me.”
She soon joined the committee and has been involved on and off ever since.
When the former manager wanted to retire she approached Jane - who also worked in kindergartens for 10 yearswith a job offer.
“I now recruit and manage 400 volunteers a year to make the wheels turn,” she said.
“We’re really about children reaching their full potential and thriving in their early years.
“Us giving children toys to express themselves is healthy.
“They can express themselves through their play.
“Play is how they resolve all their little issues in life.
“By making it accessible and affordable we all the get the chance to give it our best shot.”
A basic membership is $100 a year, $50 for concession card holders. The library also supports families in need with free memberships thanks to donations.
Members can visit as many times as they like and borrow two toys and a puzzle or game for up to three weeks each visit.
Windsor mum Lucy Stent is a regular visitor with daughters Wren and Stevie.
Wren’s grandparents gifted her a membership when she turned one.
“I asked for it because I didn’t want them buying toys for her birthday,” Lucy said.
“I knew we’d get more value out of it.
“I was visiting the other branch before this one had opened.
“We’re a one-car household. To have this branch open is so useful for us, we can come on foot.
“It’s the opportunity to borrow toys that evolve as my children develop and rely on these guys, who are so knowledgeable on what is the right fit for their stage of life.
“I didn’t know that at one they were in the process of fine-tuning motor skills, so certain posting toys were better than playing with a doll.
“They’ve coached me through what works for their development.”
Then there’s the sustainability aspect.
“We’re not accumulating toys that become redundant after three days or three weeks,” Lucy said.
Clutter is another motivator.
“We live in two-bedroom house and the girls share a room,” she said.
“We don’t have space for toys in many areas of the home.”
Jane added: “Use us as your big toy cupboard and come and swap around as often as you want.
“This is so needed in this community.
“The density of dwellings is full on.”
Lucy said the library brought a sense of community and provided a family outing.
“It makes you feel good about what you’re bringing home to your kids,” she said.
Visit www.stonningtontoylibrary. org.au and follow @stonnington_toy_ libray on Instagram for more information, including activities during Children’s Week, 19 to 27 October.
A playground with the lot
EVER wondered what a playground would look like if the designer said ‘I’ll take one of everything’?
Wonder no more.
Hays Paddock in Kew East has it alland it’s impressive.
The community had been eagerly awaiting the new play space and finally got to put it to the test in early August.
The original playground was one of Australia’s first inclusive playgrounds when it opened in 1998, and the redeveloped space continues this legacy, prioritising side-by-side play opportunities for children of all abilities.
An accessible timber structure leads kids - and accompanying grownups - to bridges, ropes, slides, and viewing spaces.
The soft fall surface underneath creates a perfect space for toddlers to explore, with motor skill and sensory activities within easy reach of crawlers and new walkers.
There are sand and water play zones, plenty of shade, swings, a safe space to watch the ducks in the neighbouring wetland, toilets, sculptures to climb on, and…it’s all surrounded by a fence.
Ben, 2, and Molly, 4, put the playground through its paces on a sunny Saturday and Casey Neill captured the fun.
Silly Sam wins fans worldwide
By Casey Neill
NOW, do you know what will happen to Sam Ramsden on his Silly Stories podcast adventure?
Neither does Sam. There’s only one way to find out…
The Kilsyth electrician and father of four girls - Zahli, 9 months, Brinley, 3, Aubree, 5, and Holly, 7 - entered the podcast scene late last year.
By May, Silly Stories for Kids was topping the worldwide charts.
“It wasn’t my idea. I didn’t even conceptualise it or anything,” he told Kids, clearly still bewildered by his sudden success.
“When Holly, our oldest, was 2 and transitioning from a cot to her own bed, I used to just lay on the floor and started making up stories.”
Fast forward four years, and his father-in-law, Russell Dixon, pitched Sam an idea.
“He said ‘I’ve listened to you tell these stories for a long time now, I think you should turn it into a podcast’,” Sam said.
Russell said he’d been researching the medium for months and wanted to back the project.
“I literally just thought ‘I’ll make a little catalog of stories for my kids to show their kids one day, maybe a few friends will listen to it’,” Sam said.
He and Russell held weekly meetings and learned the ropes of podcasting.
They settled on a name - searchable, catchy - and a logo, and Sam selected a release date…which fell two and a half weeks after his fourth child was born.
“I was just too excited, I didn’t want to keep waiting,” he laughed.
“The first place I started recording was literally a supply cupboard at church.
“I taped blankets up, put up LED lighting.”
He upgraded to a recording studio he built in his back yard using a photo booth he’d bought on Facebook Marketplace.
Then an electrical job for missionary organisation Reach Beyond led to an offer to use its professional broadcast setup.
Each Silly Stories episode begins with, ‘Do you know what’s going to happen in today’s adventure? Me either.’
“That’s genuine,” Sam said.
Listeners send their names to Sam, who embeds them in a wacky story he makes up on the spot.
“I write their name on the tablet in front of me. I might start with a word or a place or the tiniest piece of an idea, and then I’ll press record,” he said.
“I love being creative. I love thinking outside the box.
“Telling stories and being silly is the most authentic version of me there is.
“My brain is exciting, to put it politely.
“When we go on a drive, me and the girls, they’ll often request a character.
“I’ll be driving as (Silly Stories favourite) Pim Pim, making jokes about seeing people on the side of the road.
“We’ll take wrong turns and things.
“To still try and be the fun and the joy in your own family, that’s what my dad did for us.
“I wanted to do that too.”
Sam explained that he has ADHD.
“So much of what I do day-to-day is trying to keep my brain on task,” he said.
“Telling stories is just sitting down, pressing record, and enjoying where my brain goes and really just having fun with it.”
Fans can rest assured that Sam’s story supply is endless.
“I’ve been doing it for five years,” he said.
“There’s never been a time I’ve sat down to tell a story and something hasn’t come out.
“I can’t actually explain how this works.
“If I tell a story, it’s almost like I’m experiencing it like the kids are.
“It flows that quickly.
“When I’m editing it, it’s like listening to it for the first time.”
His life experiences often bleed into the stories, like a story about a girl entering Food Land through an oven that emerged after Sam installed a large oven at work.
“I’m learning that the way I tell stories is fun and I think so many things are dark at the moment and so many things are so complicated,” he said.
“I think there’s a real desire amongst parents to just really help their kids have fun.”
Parents tell him they put on a Silly Stories episode when “everything is really hard”. It gives their kids a few minutes of fun and gives them a chance to reset.
Parents of children on the autism spectrum regularly tell Sam that his stories help their kids to regulate.
“My real hope is that this podcast can strengthen family relationships,” he said.
Sam’s also a church youth group leader.
“I’ve been doing that since I was 17,” he said.
“So much of what I get to do there is just be silly, be fun.”
But doesn’t he ever feel self-conscious about being silly as a grown-up? Nope.
“I think I’ve just had so much opportunity in my life to be that silly, and to be that silly in front of lots of people,” he said.
“My dad was in a band when we were little. They did fun, silly, stupid things.
“I saw people in front of large groups being silly, and people loving it.”
And doing youth ministry reinforced this.
“I’m used to being the dad in a group of dads who is mucking around and doing stupid stuff,” he said.
“I think those kinds of nerves come from putting what other people see of you higher than what should be higher - the joy and the fun and bringing some good to people’s lives is the most important thing.
“If someone thinks I’m weird or strange, I’m OK with that.
“I don’t find self-worth in what other people think.
“I’m created by God, this is what he’s created me to be.
“I love that I’m different.
“We actually need different people to be able to meet the needs of different people.
“You need diversity, you need different people with different ways of thinking.”
Sam never planned to start an electrical business.
“I literally said through my apprenticeship that you’d never find me running my own business,” he laughed.
But the company he was working for liquidated just before he was due to marry wife Olivia, who was then studying full time.
Sam had to find more work, and was soon eating his words and working for himself.
“My business journey has been terrible,” he said with his trademark broad smile, which reaches his eyes and never seems to leave his face.
“I wouldn’t be half the person that I am now if not for all the trials and troubles.”
Olivia is now on maternity leave from her role as a physiotherapist in the Austin Hospital ICU.
“She’s gifted in that kind of stuff,” Sam said, his pride obvious.
“In crazy situations, she’s comfortable and logical.
“I am incredibly blessed with the wife that I have.
“She is so supportive and encouraging of me.
“She’s my biggest supporter.
“We manage the chaos of life together.
“I wouldn’t be able to do any of this on my own.”
Sam and his family were invited onto the field with the Melbourne Football Club cheer squad a few weeks before our chat, after Sam mentioned the club in one of his stories.
“That’s mind-blowing, to think that some idiot sitting in a cupboard talking to himself could lead to these kinds of experiences,” he said.
It was the girls’ first AFL match so the bar was set high - Aubree asked if they’d get to go onto the court if they went to a netball match.
“I was trying to communicate to our kids how abnormal that experience was,” he laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.
Sam’s made connections with other podcasters, who’ve been generous with advice, and now has a manager - “which sounds ridiculous to say” - after performing an electrical safety check at his home.
He is also now working with children’s audio player company Yoto.
“We’re the kids’ podcast they’re partnering with in Australia,” he said.
Silly Stories is mentioned in the company’s press release alongside the likes of Roald Dahl, Sir Paul McCartney, Zoe Foster Blake, and Emma Memma.
“I never would have imagined this stuff in a million years,” Sam said.
“I’m just excited to see where it does go.
“I’m quite the pessimist when it comes to myself.
“There was no glimmer of a thought in my head that it would progress past my family and friends.
“I would love to be known in houses around the world and have a really positive effect, and generate income for my family.
“I’ve got no idea where it could go.”
HEALTHY LIVING
Mums serve up easy weaning
By Casey Neill
TWO busy mums have cooked up an easy and nutrition-packed guide to feeding not only your baby but your whole family.
Nutritionist Julia Tellidis and baby nutrition consultant Lauren Skora designed Baby Food Bible for modern, time-poor parents.
“We’ve streamlined the information to make it easy to digest,” the duo said.
“Our mission is to turn what can be daunting into a fun experience, offering parents clear, reliable guidance from the get-go.
“Our philosophy of ‘food is medicine’ is considered in every recipe.”
Lauren studied baby nutrition when the time came to start daughter Frankie on solids, while clinical nutritionist Jules found her knowledge bank overwhelming when introducing food to her son, George.
“We had countless conversations about the conflicting advice around starting solids and did lots of research between us, determined to get it right from the beginning,” they said.
“We quickly realised we were not alone and that lots of other parents also found the journey tricky.
“Together we developed our own recipes, which were not only balanced and nutrient-dense, but also designed to please even the pickiest of eaters, as well as cater to the whole family.”
They started sharing their recipes online and the response was overwhelming.
“We had found our purpose,” they said.
Baby Food Bible covers how to introduce solids, food safety tips, allergen advice, and recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, sweet treats, and condiments.
“Advice we often come across is that your baby needs to start solids at four months old,” they told Kids.
“Four months is really premature to start solids.
“When babies are ready for solids, they will show readiness signs like sitting up well with minimal support, good head, and neck control, and they should start showing an interest in food, usually closer to six months.”
As for starting the feeding journey with rice cereal…
“It’s certainly not our approach,” Lauren and Jules said.
“Rice cereal is commonly recommended as a first food as it’s fortified with iron, but synthetic iron is not absorbed in the body the way naturally occurring iron is.
“Secondly, rice cereal is really bland. We don’t want our babies’ first foods to be bland.
“We want to set them up to become adventurous eaters from the get-go.
“We have a small pocket of time from when they’re about six to nine months of age to offer a variety of flavours and textures to positively influence longterm eating habits.
“The first five years of a child’s life are absolutely crucial.
“We want to ensure we’re offering foods rich in the nutrients their growing bodies need.
“Good nutrition supports rapid brain development, helps establish a healthy gut and immune system, and, importantly, sets the stage for lifelong healthy eating habits and behaviours.”
This focus on nutrition can have a positive flow-on effect on the whole family.
“It’s like laying a solid foundation for everyone,” they said.
“Whether you’re feeding your baby or yourself, understanding the nutrients our bodies need, crafting balanced meals, and understanding the importance of food quality is key.
“Many parents prioritise their children’s nutrition and sometimes forget to take care of themselves - it’s understandable!
“Yet, being a role model for healthy eating habits sets the tone for the whole family.”
The Baby Food Bible authors Lauren Skora and Julia Tellidis.
VISION
Set your sights on Vision
a great selection to suit every face, personality and lifestyle.
Offering authentic acetate frames, produced from Italian cotton, means Vision Camberwell’s frames are hypoallergenic for people with sensitive skin, while lightweight titanium frames, like Italian-made Blackfin, are refreshingly comfortable for people wanting the ‘barely there’ feel.
Established in 1951, Vision Camberwell Optometrists is one of the oldest independent practices in Victoria, offering an extensive range of high-end optical frames from suppliers that specialise in the production of eyewear.
“What I love about dispensing at an independent practice whose focus is on customised service is the attention and care I can give to every person who walks in the door wanting a new look,” says Sofya, Vision Camberwell’s leading optical dispenser.
“Many people come to us because they’ve spent a lot of money on glasses that have never felt quite right.”
With more than 20 years’ experience, Jaide, Vision Camberwell’s practice manager, says: “It’s the little things that make the biggest difference to longevity, comfort and wearability, that we always get right.”
Finding a frame that fits correctly and is suitable for the individual and their lifestyle is a technical skill that Vision Camberwell’s optical dispensers have mastered, allowing the practice to offer two-year warranties on all frames and prescription lenses.
“When you know you are offering sound advice and reliable products, there’s confidence in offering extended warranties,” says Jaide. “This is especially important when fitting active children into spectacles.”
As Vision Camberwell springs into warmer weather and welcomes its latest collections, the practice is offering $100 off any full pair of spectacles.
Whether you’re looking for a limitededition Blake Kuwawhara, classic Face A Face, exquisitely elegant Masunaga, or a funky Anne and Valentin from their latest collection, the team welcomes the opportunity to take care of you.
To book a free eyewear consultation and take advantage of its offer, call Vision Camberwell on 9882 5666 and the team will be delighted to frame your face for summer.
Camberwell’s oversized showroom is filled wall to wall with bespoke frames by Blake Kuwawhara and Masunaga x Kenzo, alongside classic French models by Anne and Valentin and Face A Face, meaning there’s
First aid focus on mental health
By Mikayla van Loon
AN Australian-first perinatal first aid program is supporting parents through both physical and mental ill health.
Emergcare co-directors Hendrik Gutwirth and Daniel Parks received the Kidsafe Victoria Program Partner of the Year award at the Gala of Enchantment.
Hendrik said the program started with paediatric first aid classes for parents but grew to include mental health awareness from conception to one year post-birth.
“A lot of women after giving birth they go through the maternal child health nurse and so forth in the journey and get screened for any sort of mental health conditions because they’re quite vulnerable in that period,” he said.
“But what was so unique about what we’ve done is you have the dads or the partners sitting in the course with them learning about what to do for bub, but they also learn how to take care of themselves.”
Hendrik said learning how to care for themselves and their partners during pregnancy and post-birth allowed a better bond with their child, forming great relationships and development outcomes in the long run.
Both Hendrik and Daniel are registered paramedics and fathers, so they understand the key medical concerns in young children plus the challenges of “parenthood and the juggle and the transitions”.
The perinatal program covers all of the first aid basics like CPR, choking, identifying red flags, respiratory
illnesses, fractures, fevers, and bleeding, but also emotional wellbeing, and what anxiety and depression look like.
Hendrik and Daniel partnered with the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) to design the program, so it’s informed by the most accurate research and delivery methods.
Kidsafe Victoria is the leading injury prevention agency in the state.
Hendrik said it was quite incredible and unique for Kidsafe to partner with a first aid organisation and to award its program.
“They’ve never really partnered with any first aid provider before,” he said.
“There is that service gap that hasn’t been addressed and it’s another platform to get that message out there about child safety education, which we’re really passionate about as well.
“[Kidsafe’s] whole mission is to reduce injuries and deaths.
“We tell parents ‘we want you to get into your child’s world, get on the floor and crawl around’.
“Grab chemicals out of the cupboard, grab the handle off the kitchen stove, leaving hot drinks on the side of the armchairs and things you don’t even think twice about until you have a little one.
“But the actions can happen fast and can be catastrophic and as a paramedic - and a dad as well - I’ve been on the other end.”
Emergcare plans to expand its program for online access and e-learning, and to launch a course in Mandarin.
Hendrik said it was about reaching as many parents and caregivers as possible.
RCH school opens its doors
THE Royal Children’s Hospital School, Yalingbu Yirramboi, has officially opened, giving children and young people with chronic and acute health issues the opportunity to stay engaged in their learning.
Delivered through a $3.6 million State Government investment, the school will provide hospital patients with a full education from Prep to Year 12.
The school will ensure that children and young people who spend extended periods of time in the hospital stay on track with their learning and can achieve their full potential.
Governed by a school council and led by principal Naomi McBride, the new school will initially employ 22 registered teachers and six education support class staff.
Students will receive individual teaching and learning programs aligned with the Victorian Curriculum and VCE
via flexible teaching modes, including classroom sessions, small group sessions and individual bedside support.
“No child should miss out on the education they need if they’re unwell,”
Acting
“We’re giving Victorian children access to a world-class education, easing the burden on parents to keep their child on track while they are unwell or
recovering.”
Yalingbu Yirramboi will also provide remote learning opportunities for students recovering at home but not yet well enough to attend school.
When a child is well enough, it will support students to transition back to their original school once they leave hospital.
Traditional owners were consulted about the permanent name of the school. Yalingbu Yirramboi means ‘Today and Tomorrow’ in the local languages of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung peoples.
Establishing a registered school at the Royal Children’s Hospital will create a more consistent approach to operating Victorian hospital schools, aligning it with other models of hospital-based education in Victoria, such as the Monash Children’s Hospital School.
Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said.
Emergcare’s Daniel Parks and Hendrik Gutwirth with Kidsafe Victoria CEO Melanie Courtney at the awards gala.
DENTAL
Caring for your baby’s smile
THE focus with new babies is often on breastfeeding, developmental milestones, and sleep, with new parents left in the dark about dental care for their bub.
So the Australian Dental Association (ADA) is reminding Australian parents of the oral hygiene basics for children: brush twice a day, floss daily, eat a diet low in sugar, and see your dentist regularly.
This might seem obvious, but the stats surrounding children’s oral health are alarming: 34 percent of kids aged 5 to 6 years have had decay in their baby teeth; 70 percent of kids aged 9 to 13 consume too much sugar; and 27 percent of children aged 5 to 10 have untreated tooth decay.
The ADA says a lack of infant oral healthcare information might contribute to these stats, so what are the oral healthcare basics for babies and toddlers?
Before babies get their teeth, parents can wipe their baby’s gums with a clean, damp muslin cloth.
Once the first tooth arrives, they can use a soft-bristled toothbrush and water to brush.
“Toothpaste doesn’t need to be introduced until 18 months unless otherwise advised by your dentist,” ADA oral health promoter and dentist Dr Mikaela Chinotti said.
“At this age, start using a children’s toothpaste that includes fluoride, an important ingredient that helps to strengthen and protect the teeth from tooth decay.
“After brushing, your child should spit out the toothpaste foam, but they don’t need to rinse their mouth with water.
“Children are likely to swallow more toothpaste by rinsing than by just spitting.
“This also leaves a layer of fluoride toothpaste on the teeth, exposing them to the benefits of fluoride for longer.”
For parents finding the whole brushing routine fraught, there are numerous phone apps with songs to help engage your little one and to help them brush for the recommended two minutes.
Alternatively, play a song your child likes for a two-minute period.
Two minutes of brushing is not yet needed for babies with only a few teeth.
In addition to brushing, flossing is recommended from when your baby has two teeth that touch side by side, which is often around age 2.
Your dentist can show you how to floss your child’s mouth and what to use. Flossettes are great options
for little mouths.
The ADA says night-time drinks are an area of confusion for some parents.
The body makes less saliva during sleep, so a bedtime bottle of formula or milk may be left on the teeth longer.
If this occurs repeatedly, it can cause tooth decay.
So if you give your baby - aged over 6 months - or toddler a bottle in bed, only put water in the bottle. Never give juice or soda.
Your baby’s first dental visit should ideally be when their first tooth arrives in the mouth.
It’s best that their first visit is not due to tooth pain, as this may cause anxiety around future dental visits.
For the first few dental appointments, some parents find putting their little one on their lap the most comfortable and calming solution for everyone.
At these early dental appointments, the dentist will look in your child’s mouth to examine the teeth and give you advice on oral hygiene techniques, tooth eruption, habits, and diet.
For more information on this and other oral health topics, visit teeth.org.au. There are pro-tip videos on caring for your infant’s oral health and teething babies.
Don’t pass on your dental fear
FEAR of the dentist in children needs to be addressed early or it could continue into adulthood, according to the Australian Dental Association (ADA).
Children learn to be anxious by experience – through a traumatic event or vicariously from their parents, with the parent’s own dental fears being learned by the child.
That’s why first dental visits for a toothache requiring emergency treatment can be traumatising, causing the child to be dentally anxious – and also why dentists always recommend bringing children for their first visit once their first tooth appears, so they get used to the experience, the sight of the dentist, the smells and the sounds.
Setting up the first dental visit as a fun and exciting thing establishes early trust and rapport.
For the first dental visit, parents are encouraged to put the child baby/toddler on their lap and cuddle them to help them feel more safe and secure.
How to help the anxious child:
■ Parents can talk with their child about the dentist at home, and role play can be a great way to help children understand what the dentist does.
■ Listen and talk to the child about their concerns about dental care.
■ Parents are encouraged not to show fear or use words that indicate there is something to be fearful of. For example, avoid the word ‘brave’ –children don’t need to be told to be brave as that indicates that there’s something to be afraid of.
■ If the child has a favourite toy, teddy bear or blanket that elicits a feeling of comfort and security, the child should
bring this with them.
■ Positive reinforcements, by rewarding children for good behaviour and following instructions at a dental appointment, are encouraged. These rewards should ideally not be in the form of sugary foods or drinks, as these can increase the risks of dental decay - perhaps a new toy or book.
ADA Northern Territory president Dr Kaejenn Tchia’s tools to support patients with dental anxiety
1. Build trust and a sense of empowerment
If it’s your first time to the dentist, the clinician wil laim to establish rapport and trust, as a lack of trust in dentists is one of the main reasons for dental anxiety. Unless you’re in significant pain, the dentist will probably spend the first appointment just doing a consult, and hearing about your previous dental experiences and dental treatment goals.
2. Keeping you informed throughout It’s important to let anxious patients know what’s being done next, starting with the chair going back and the bib and goggles going on, right through to the chair coming back and the rinse moment.
3. Guided meditation or dental hypnosis
“One exercise I do with patients is to get them focused on their breathing, taking deep slow breaths in and out to bring down their heart rate and induce a state of calm,” Dr Tchia said.
“Then using a calm, slow, almost hypnotic rhythm and tone, I get the patient to visualise a place they normally feel relaxed in, giving prompts to what they can see, hear and feel.
“As they breathe deeper in and out, guide them to slowly relax their shoulders
and sink deeper into the chair.
4. 4Stress balls
Patients can also bring in their own earphones or headphones and listen to music to help calm them.
Other tactics include playing with a bag of beans or coins, watching a TV screen above the chair if available, or going to their ‘happy place’, like a past happy holiday or a favourite location.
5. Pharmacological agents
Despite all these things, there are some patients who still require pharmacological agents to help them reduce their anxiety.
These include relative analgesia (RA) in the form of nitrous oxide or oral anxiolytics, also known as
minimal sedation.
Another option available for moderately anxious patients is the use of conscious or intravenous (IV) sedation, which is usually carried out by an anaesthetist or dentist with relevant qualifications in this area.
At the next level in more severely anxious patients, a general anaesthetic (GA) may be required, in which case treatment is provided in a hospital operating theatre or day surgery setting.
6. Book extra time
If you let the practice manager or receptionist know that you’re anxious, it’s likely they will book a longer appointment so the dental team will have plenty of time to coach you through the appointment.
Dr Mikaela Chinotti.
Infinite possibilities
SACRÉ CŒUR is an independent Prep to 12 Catholic school for girls and young women, with a proud heritage of more than 135 years of academic excellence.
Each girl or young woman who enters the school’s gates is welcomed into an inclusive community that encourages her to flourish both academically and personally.
She acquires the knowledge, skills and the self-confidence to succeed at local, national and international levels in a rapidly changing and competitive world.
The school promotes the growth of the whole person and strives to develop each student’s academic ability as well as their musical, sporting or artistic talents. Sacré Cœur leads and inspires students to be resourceful and resilient.
Open heart, open mind, infinite possibilities
The school’s holistic approach to educating young women unites academic endeavour with deep care for each child.
Founded in 1888, Sacré Cœur has an unwavering commitment to nurturing future-ready young women.
New classroom focus on phonics
EVIDENCE-BASED teaching and learning will be embedded in Victorian classrooms, including best practice teaching of phonics in the early years.
Education Minister Ben Carroll in June announced the updated Victorian Teaching and Learning Model, to be implemented in all government schools across the state from 2025 with explicit teaching at its core.
All students from Prep to Grade 2 will be taught using a systematic synthetic phonics approach as part of their reading programs, with a minimum of 25 minutes daily explicit teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness.
This will be a core component of a comprehensive reading program that also includes explicit teaching of oral language, vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension.
Systematic synthetic phonics is a structured approach that explicitly teaches the relationship between sounds and letters to read words.
Schools and teachers will receive high-quality, practical lesson plans, first in English and mathematics and then in science and design and digital technologies.
“The reforms and the rollout of the lesson plans will reduce teacher workload and equip them with high quality, best practice materials so they can spend more time with their students and less time planning,” Mr Carroll said.
Evidence from Victorian schools and from reviews conducted by research organisations like the Australian Education Research Organisation and the Grattan Institute shows explicit teaching works best for the largest number of students, particularly those who might be struggling.
Studies from the United States, United Kingdom, and across Australia now recommend systematic synthetic phonics as the most effective method to teach children to read.
Educating for human flourishing
Each students’ wellbeing is at the core of their personal endeavour and achievement. The school is committed to supporting the emotional and social development of each student, and a pastoral care program is central to this.
Sacré Cœur’s strategic plan recognises the challenges of the ever-changing world and how education must equip students with the skills and mindset required for tertiary education and the workplace.
The school’s Future Fit Framework underpins all learning and teaching.
Based on the values of purpose, excellence, care, hope and connection and the actions of developing thinking, deepening understanding, discovering possibilities, it specifically links wellbeing and learning, aiming to create ambassadors of positive change.
Students learn from highly qualified and passionate teachers, many of whom are curriculum experts.
Within small classes, teachers embrace each child as an individual, meeting their learning and wellbeing needs. Learning in the junior school, Joigny, focuses on building upon each child’s natural enthusiasm and curiosity within a caring environment
In senior school, academic endeavour and the holistic, personal development of each student are at the core. As a result, Sacré Cœur’s young women flourish and achieve exceptional VCE results.
The school is consistently ranked as one of the leading Catholic schools based on academic excellence. Strong VCE results mean that graduates enter universities of their choice.
Sacré Cœur is the leading Catholic School in Victoria for university enrolments and retention.
Co-curricular
The school is committed to a wellrounded education and provides a wide range of co-curricular opportunities for students to explore in creative and performing arts, sport, public speaking, special interest clubs, leadership, competitions, global immersions and more.
Sacré Cœur is a member of Girls Sport Victoria, an interschool sporting association with 24 member schools, offering 16 sports.
Its Brynmawr Music School provides lessons and the opportunity to participate in 16 ensembles and choirs from the junior years onwards. Visit www.sac.vic.edu.au for more
BookaTour
EDUCATION
Open morning welcome
ESTABLISHED in Kew in 1889, Genazzano FCJ College is a progressive, vibrant community where your daughters’ early formative learning years will offer an unparalleled foundation to a lifelong love of education.
Contemporary Catholic values underpin the way we do things at Genazzano – we strive to live and learn with purpose and passion.
Genazzano FCJ College offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP) which offers global teachings around history, geography, health, civics, citizenship, and religion.
The early learning centre is coeducational and provides a secure foundation for your child’s future learning.
Our priorities ensure Genazzano’s highly experienced and caring teachers introduce fun and play to educational activities, to help your child develop a life-long love of learning.
Our unique approach will nurture your child from their very first day, to grow their confidence, educationally and socially.
Junior school at Genazzano offers an innovative, diverse curriculum from Prep to Year 6.
The student is at the centre of all our learning. We want our students to become confident and open-minded and socially aware contributors, ready to
take on the world.
As an IB PYP school, our approach to inquiry learning is about presenting the students with relevant and engaging learning experiences that go beyond their homeroom and connect with specialist classes to explore central ideas and develop positive learner attributes.
We offer stimulating co-curricular programs including STEM, the arts, social justice, languages, and an inventors club for our budding entrepreneurs at appropriate year levels.
We tailor education and support to meet the unique needs of your daughter.
Junior school students are introduced to a wide range of sporting facilities.
The generous grounds provide a large oval, indoor heated 25 metre pool, indoor basketball court, seven tennis courts, three netball courts, and our elite physical performance centre.
At Genazzano, our commitment to parents is to ensure every aspect of your child’s education, their personal wellbeing and academic potential is realised so they are ready to take on tomorrow.
Selected places at our early learning centre and junior school are available for 2025 and 2026. We welcome you to experience the unique qualities of Genazzano FCJ College during our
Visit www.genazzano.vic.edu.au/ enrolments, or contact our registrar on 8862 1207 or registrar@genazzano.vic. edu.au.
Loretta Wholley, Principal,
Education
A pioneer in education
BOX Hill Senior Secondary College (BHSSC), a Years 9-12 Senior Secondary College, is committed to challenging perceptions and redefining what it means to be a modern educational institution.
The school has high aspirations, offering a wide range of programs and pathway possibilities for all students.
The BHSSC team prides itself on rigorous academic standards and a commitment to nurturing the interests and passions of each individual student.
BHSSC is a pioneer in educational innovation, being the first school in Australia to introduce an elite sports academy program.
This is complemented by its extensive trade training centre and industry programs, as well as a vibrant arts and media program, all of which are designed to lead students toward future university or industry-based pathways.
The school’s comprehensive educational offerings include a full VCE program, a vocational VCE program, and the headstart program, which allows students to pursue school-based apprenticeships.
BHSSC offers up to eight on-site vocational training courses, including building and construction, electrotechnology, sports and recreation, sports coaching, hospitality, plumbing, and
horticulture and landscaping.
Additionally, the sports academy program, which covers basketball, tennis, and AFL/AFLW, remains unmatched in the high school sector across Australia.
With its high expectations and diverse programs, the school provides a platform for every student to achieve their full potential and pursue their passions.
BHSSC is not just a school; it’s a community where aspirations meet opportunities.
Welcome to Box Hill Senior Secondary college
We are a dynamic, co-educational school which prides itself on a diverse range of VCE pathway options and excellence in pastoral care. We believe that students achieve their personal best when the subjects are relevant, engaging and career-oriented.
Why Choose BHSSC?
• Pioneers in Sports: First school in Australia to introduce an elite Sports Academy program.
• Hands-On Learning: State-of-the-art Trade Training Centre with industry-aligned programs.
• Creative Pathways: Comprehensive Arts and Media programs leading to university or industry careers.
• Global Community: Welcoming students from across Melbourne and around the world.
Join us and explore pathways in sports, trades, arts, and more. BHSSC prepares you for a bright future in university, industry, or wherever your passions lead.
PARTY TIME
Find comfort in Slumber
IN the realm of children’s parties, where creativity and imagination reign supreme, Slumber Tribe stands out as a unique and enchanting experience for young guests.
What sets Slumber Tribe apart is its unwavering commitment to consistency and client satisfaction.
One of the most striking features of Slumber Tribe is its cohesive and carefully curated themes, ensuring that each party is a well-coordinated and visually stunning affair.
Unlike traditional party setups that might feel disjointed with a mishmash of accessories, Slumber Tribe’s themes are designed to create a harmonious and magical atmosphere in every home.
Central to Slumber Tribe’s ethos is the idea of comfort and joy.
Details in styling and setup are meticulously considered to provide both comfort and a sense of wonder, with fairy lights adding a whimsical touch.
However, the setup is not overly fussy, leaving ample space for snacks, drinks, and craft activities.
Comfort is a top priority for Slumber Tribe.
Every guest at a Slumber Tribe party is treated to a personalised experience, with eye masks and name plates tailored to the theme or the young host’s choice.
This thoughtful attention to detail extends to the setup itself, with teepees
arranged close together to promote inclusivity and ensure that all guests can interact and enjoy the festivities together.
The goal is to make every guest feel at home and ready for a fun time.
Slumber Tribe’s dedication to consistency, client satisfaction, and creating magical, inclusive experiences sets it apart as a truly unique and delightful option for children’s parties.
Book your slumber party today! Email info@slumbertribe.com.au or call 0491 916 533.
Fiona Millar, Founder and director
Wildly unforgettable parties
LOOKING for a way to make your child’s next party the talk of the town?
Reptile Encounters has you covered with its thrilling wild animal parties!
Imagine the excitement as they bring a mobile zoo directly to your doorstep, with interactive shows that will leave your little guests amazed.
With four incredible party options to choose from, there’s something for every young wildlife enthusiast.
1. Headquarters party: If you need the perfect venue, Reptile Encounters’ HQ in Burwood is just the spot!
Host your party in one of three exclusive two-hour time slots available on Saturdays and Sundays.
Your guests will get up close and personal with some of Reptile Encounters’ most fascinating creatures in a safe, controlled environment.
PARTY TIME
The ultimate party experience
Fizz Kidz is known for redefining the party experience with engaging, handson and incredibly fun parties.
Fizz Kidz offers science parties, glamour parties, slime parties, and tie-dye parties, and has just released an exclusive Taylor Swift-themed party package.
Fizz Kidz has four glowing studios across Melbourne, located in Balwyn, Malvern, Cheltenham, and Essendon.
Fizz Kidz party packages are all-inclusive, consisting of kids’ creation-making,
dancing games, exclusive studio use, fantastic party hosts, party food, and invitations.
It’s your easy one-stop shop that kids love!
Devoted to personalised touches, Fizz Kidz prides itself on being your trusted partner in kids’ entertainment.
To book an amazing party or explore more about their offerings, visit fizzkidz. com.au or call 9059 8144.
Let the celebration begin!
Okie dokie! Try these easy cakes
SEARCHING for inspiration for your child’s next birthday cake?
Look no further!
Aussie cake artist Tegan MacCormack, better known as Tigga Mac, is serving up 30 achievable, affordable, and amazinglooking cake hacks in a new book.
The internet sensation covers mermaids, sandcastles, ice cream trucks and so much more in Tigga Mac’s Cake Hacks.
The book has six themed chapters: whimsical and wonderful; farmyard friends; tracks, wheels and automobiles; slimy scales, teeth and tails; creepy, kooky and all things spooky; and fair dinkum aussie.
No baking skills or big budge are needed.
You can make these creations with affordable shop-bought sponge cakes or homemade ones. Follow Tigga’s step-bystep decorating instructions from start to finish, all accompanied by clear photography and a full-page shot of the finished cake to guide you.
The hacks are graded, so you can
choose one that suits your skills, time and ambition.
For the more challenging cakes, QR codes will lead you to follow-along video tutorials to help you on your path to birthday cake glory.
Tigga is known for her joyful energy, easy-going vibe, down-to-earth creativity, and catch phrase ‘okie dokie’.
She wrote Tigga Mac’s Cake Hacks with longtime friend and business partner, Katie Scoble.
The pair began their cake decorating journey in their tiny kitchen more than seven years ago.
Katie could bake. Tigga could decorate. Combining these two ingredients allowed them to turn their dream of starting their own business into a reality.
Tigga designed this book with parents and caregivers in mind to make creating a celebration cake straightforward, foolproof and fun.
Malvern, Essendon, Balwyn & Cheltenham Studios
Slime Parties, Science Parties, Glamour Parties, Tie Dye Parties, Unicorn Parties AND MORE!!!
Tigga Mac and Katie Scoble.
Keys to a smooth move REALITY BITES
By Casey Neill
MOVING house is a daunting prospect at the best of times, but throw kids in the mix and you’re in nightmare territory.
So how do you know it’s worth taking the plunge? And how do you smooth the transition for yourself and your children?
Berwick mum Jacqui James recently moved to the suburbs from the Dandenongs with husband Graham and daughters Matilda, 5, and Georgia, 3.
She grew up in the hills and while she loved the natural surrounds, she found winter cold and dark and seeing friends was difficult.
“I never imagined I would have a family in the hills,” she said.
“I always thought I wanted something different for my kids.
“Then I met Graham and he’d never been to the Dandenong Ranges.
“He came up to meet my family and he fell in love with it.
“I love the outdoors and I love nature, and when you’re away from it you forget all the negatives.”
Cut to Jacqui and Graham living in a unit in Ashwood, expecting their first child and unable to afford a bigger place in the area.
“In the hills we could get a proper house, and we’d been cramped in this two-bedroom unit for three years, so we wanted more space,” she said.
“I never intended to stay there forever.
“It was a truth that I had deep down.
“I was hoping that everything would work out and that maybe things would be different.”
But the negatives that saw her move off the mountain as a teen came back into focus: no footpaths, few friends for her girls, wild weather, and a neverending home maintenance list.
“I moved when I was the same age as Matilda.
“I told them that story, how it became my new normal and I hardly remembered my old house.
“We spoke to them about it the whole way along, so it wasn’t suddenly ‘we’re going to move house’.
“The final straw was when a tree fell on our neighbour,” she said.
“We’d had a number of close calls with trees over the years.
“After that I was too nervous to go for a walk.
“Matilda’s asthma was another reason we decided to move.
“The cold air really sets it off.
“She was having a really indoor lifestyle for four months of the year.”
So Jacqui and Graham made a list of what they wanted from their new home and weighed up their options.
“Our number one value was family, which is probably most people’s, and Berwick was going to put us halfway between my parents and Graham’s parents,” she said.
“We asked them what they thought. We brought them along for the ride. They came to all the house inspections.
“We came down to playgrounds and cafes, so they could see what it would be like.”
Step one of the physical moving process was to declutter.
“When you’re selling a house, too, you have to make it look like things are in order,” Jacqui laughed.
They used Facebook Marketplace, a storage locker and op shops, and gifted items to friends.
“A long settlement was good because we had time to do it slowly rather than all in a rush,” she said.
Using removalists was “a lifesaver” with two kids underfoot.
“It put him closer to work so he could be home with us more, and it had really good schools.”
They toured childcare centres, kinders and schools with Matilda and Georgia in tow.
“Where they felt most comfortable helped me make my decision,” Jacqui said.
“Letting them be a part of it helped.
“We couldn’t have done it without them,” she said.
The family had been in Berwick for six weeks when we spoke.
“We haven’t met that many people yet, but through kinder Matilda got invited to a birthday party,” Jacqui said.
They’d introduced themselves to neighbours and in the depths of winter, found themselves outdoors much more.
“People are very friendly,” she said.
“It’s also been a lifestyle change for us. We’re doing more.”
REALITY BITES
Thoughts can support success
By Casey Neill
MATERNITY leave gave Lauren Munday the career pause she needed to pivot and find her passion.
The Mordialloc mum of two, teacher, and author helps students to adjust their mindset through her program Think Set Go.
“It’s about understanding how we think and the way that we hold ourselves back sometimes because of our past stories,” she said.
“When we have a goal we need to see it as a fresh thing that we can achieve.”
Lauren aims to help students cope under pressure, presenting them with tools in a fun way.
Both of Lauren’s parents were teachers and she loved sport, so she was drawn to PE teaching - the first piece of the Think Set Go puzzle.
The second was discovering the power of her mind while playing AFL. She took up the game at age 28.
Lauren listened to podcasts, read books, and sought out information to help her get her head in the game and keep it there.
“I was shocked at how the mindset stuff just skyrocketed me,” she said.
Within two years she was playing in the VFLW and became the Carlton side’s vice-captain.
“Then I got injured and reassessed it all,” she said.
“When I was in a good headspace I was excelling. When I was in a negative headspace that’s all I could focus on - all the negatives.
“When I stepped away I thought ‘I don’t want that to happen to anyone else’.”
The Think Set Go picture was coming together. Then Lauren fell pregnant.
“I found maternity leave to be the thing I needed,” she said.
“It’s a forced break from work. Sometimes that’s what you need to reassess.
“I didn’t know how else my days could go.
“I was just so used to going in and teaching in a school.
“If I only focused on going back to work, I would have just gone back to work.”
Instead, Lauren wondered what else she could do.
“It was conscious. I chose,” she said.
“There was this gap in my life.
“This was a crossroads - where do I want to be in 10 to 15 years?”
People ask her how she juggled a career change and motherhood.
“You prioritise when you want to do something,” she said.
“I always made sure I had a list of things I wanted to get done for the Think Set Go, so when I did get a break when I had the baby, it was just there.
“We underestimate what we’re capable of.
“I’m getting the groundwork done while I can’t go all out.
“People think it’s all or nothing. Ease into it.
“Motherhood’s made me do what needs to be done and not dwell on things that aren’t important because there’s no time for that.”
Lauren practices what she preaches. When she feels overwhelmed or stuck or lacks motivation, she asks ‘do I need to think, set or go?’.
Think refers to asking questions like ‘Do I need to regain focus or shift my perspective? What do I want to achieve? What’s holding me back? How can I adapt my mind to support me?’
“I remind myself of what my values and priorities are. I remember what the aim is,” Lauren said.
For set, Lauren asks: ‘Do I need to set myself up better? Do I need to plan or prepare in a different way so that I can stick to this plan and commit? Do I need to adapt a routine or change something to make it easier for me to persist?’
Then it’s go time: ‘Do I need to figure out how to simply do what needs to be done in the moment? How can I take action when I don’t want to? How can I adapt the way I am thinking right now to commit to the plan?’
“I can practise all this stuff when I do my CRT,” she said.
“I go to different schools on purpose.
“It’s like market research.
“I’m becoming better at dealing with different situations and different kids.”
Lauren wrote up workshops in a succinct one-page format, not knowing how valuable his exercise would be.
She had trouble getting hold of a book so reached out to the publisher for a copy.
Soon she was chatting about writing a mindset book. Her workshop summaries formed a makeshift manuscript.
Mindset Handbook: Mastering Your Mind for Success was published in May.
It’s aimed at secondary school students, “but an adult could pick it up as well and learn a lot”.
“What I’m seeing in schools is the way parents are has rubbed off on their kids,” she said.
“If parents can learn to change their mindset, that will filter down.
“Awareness is the first step: we’re thinking that way and we don’t have to.
“We don’t really feel like we’re in control of it.
“We don’t even think ‘Am I thinking in a way that’s helping me here?’.
“We find it easier to go through with ‘This is how I feel so this is how the day will be’.
“You can change that at any time.
“When we have a thought for the first time, neurons talk in our brains.
“The more we think it, the stronger the pathway becomes.
“Then it becomes a priority thought.
“If it’s a negative one we think about often, it’ll be prioritised.
“The only way to change that is to consciously put the positive one in its place.
“Shift the way you naturally think.”
Tools to tame time, tasks
By Casey Neill
A Moonee Ponds mum is on a mission to teach kids to manage their time and tasks.
Amanda Lecaude is an academic life and executive function coach. Put simply, she’s an organisation and time management whizz who gives others the tools to tame their sloppy ways.
She started a business offering general organising in homes and businesses, but 10 years ago pivoted to helping students from Year 6 to university and hasn’t looked back.
Her top tools for parents who want their children to be more organised?
Analogue clocks.
“In order to manage time, you’ve got to see time passing,” she said.
“If you can’t see time passing you’ve got no awareness.
“You have to see that time has a beginning and a middle and an end to manage it.”
Amanda also recommended family planners and said timers had an important part to play, especially around device use.
“I put a timer in place for my children so they could see that time passing,” she said.
Her sons, now aged 18 and 21, exposed her to bullying, school refusal, and alternative learning pathways.
“My experiences help me to help others,” she said.
“I don’t want to have to have gone through them, but it’s been really useful.”
Amanda has just released her book Life Skills Handbook: Conquering Time Management and Organisation.
It’s aimed at secondary school students but the concepts are applicable across all age groups.
Parents can start helping their children to better manage their time from any age.
“One of the things I also talk a lot about is executive functions,” Amanda said.
“We all have executive functions. We’re not born with them. They develop.
“They’re things that control our planning, our prioritisation, our memory, our time management.
“That part of the brain doesn’t finish forming until the age of 25.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t learn and teach these things along the way.
“It’s trying to educate this younger generation coming up so we can move away from some of the negativity we grew up with - that you were just dumb or just lazy.
“Kids don’t set out to not do well, they don’t set out to fail.
“They don’t set out to be difficult.
“They might not have the right tools or know what it is they need to do.”
So how can parents equip their children with the right tools?
“One of the things we do is we’re
always very busy issuing directions,” Amanda said.
“All the kids are learning is to take directions.
“One of the things I say to parents is to take a step back and change the way you approach it.
“Ask ‘where do we need to be, what time do we need to be there, what do you need to have with you?’.
“This sets a really solid foundation.”
Amanda has identified 15 steps between a teacher issuing homework to a child handing it in.
“For most kids, you get it, you do it, you hand it in. You don’t even think about it,” she said.
“But kids can get stuck in any one of the 15 steps.
“I have kids that will do the homework but not hand it in.
“We need to identify where they struggle so we can provide the tools and strategies to manage it.”
Amanda and her team assess each child they assist and adapt their program to their needs.
“We look at everything from desk setup to eating habits, sleeping habits,” she said.
“What we’re trying to do is make a difference to these kids’ lives.
“You’ll hear parents and teachers say they’re just lazy.
“They’re generally not lazy, it’s just that they don’t have the right tools or
strategies to do what it is they need to do.”
Parents often don’t know how to help because they never learned the necessary skills.
“I don’t think we teach this stuff well enough in schools,” she said.
“We have career people in high schools. I think there should be someone who does what I do, to support students.
“We’re seeing a lot more anxiety, stress, mental health issues, and overwhelm.
“If they can break it down and make things more manageable and easier, it makes a massive difference on that front.
“What I’m seeing more of is perfectionism.
“That is really impacting kids’ ability to function.
“If a child does their best, you can’t ask for more.”
Amanda said the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 was the most pivotal to support kids through.
“Not only is there so much change but kids are going through puberty at the same time so there’s a lot going on,” she said.
“My advice to parents at that stage is just let your kids be engaged and happy and want to go to school.
“Don’t worry about the academics, that will come later.”
Visit www.organisingstudents.com.au for more information.
REALITY BITES
By Casey Neill
There’s no place like Homb
HOMB nurtures and empowers new mothers, striving to prevent postnatal depression and anxiety.
Founder Larissa Leone is also working to change the ubiquitous baby-first narrative and make mums the priority.
Speaking to Kids, Larissa pointed to baby expos as an example.
“There’s no postpartum stands,” she said.
“Everything is for the baby. Everything is still for the baby.
“All they want is your love and your attention. Spend your money on yourself being able to provide that wholeheartedly.
“It’s really difficult to convey that knowledge and information because (pregnant) women don’t want to know. They are focused on the fluffy stuff.
“The system or society doesn’t value that. What it now seems is indulgent.
“Homb has been referred to as a postpartum hotel.
“For the most part, sure, that’s what it is. But it sounds so transactional.
“There’s so much more depth to what we offer and what we provide.
“This is a solution.
“The healthcare system has to get on board.
“The spend on the recovery and the response to postnatal depression is huge compared to the spend on preventative care.
“We’ve got stats staring us in the face, on postnatal depression and anxiety. One in five.
“We seemingly have all of this help but the stats are still increasing.
“Is it that we’re talking about it more and women are coming forward more, or is it that the money raised isn’t going to the right areas?”
Homb was born from Larissa’s experience after welcoming her first child.
“I had a very successful business, I had all my ducks in a row, I was very in control of everything in my life,” she said.
“I had a great pregnancy, no complications. Even my birth was great, there was nothing overly stressful or traumatic about that.
“But from that first moment, I just felt very out of control and very ‘this person now is relying on me and I don’t know if I can do this, am I going to do this well enough?’.
“There was already a lot of selfjudgement.
“I was reading every book that I could possibly get my hands on to tell me how it was all going to work out.
“When it didn’t, it really catapulted me into a world of anxiety and really deep worry.
“It just continued to spiral, the more I tried to cover all those feelings up and tried to integrate into society.”
She reached out to her husband for help when her daughter was about six months old.
“I was having very dark thoughts. I was thinking about self-harm,” she said.
“I thought ‘if I hurt myself enough but not too much then I can go to hospital and have a couple of nights where I’m not with the baby and I can have some sleep and some rest’.
“I knew somewhere in me that that wasn’t normal.”
They contacted a mothercraft nurse - who cares for newborns and provides advice and training to parents - and waited four weeks to see her.
“At that point it was still not help for me, it was help for the situation,” Larissa said.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I should have been straight to a psychologist.
“It’s interesting that the go-to was still not caring for me as the mother.
“I said to my husband, ‘why is there nowhere that I can go that I can be helped through this without it being a hospital?’.
“I was just astounded that there was nowhere I could go that was a more homely environment.”
Larissa was retrospectively diagnosed with postpartum depression after having her son two years later, and her desire to affect change intensified.
“I just didn’t want any other woman to experience what I had experienced,” she said.
“The health care system has pulled us away from our innate knowing of how to birth.
“Largely I think we’ve overmedicalised something that is innately natural.
“It’s just become a huge marketing thing and women don’t trust themselves anymore.
“The essence of Homb is really trying to bring back that confidence and trust within a woman to have the confidence to make those decisions for herself, with the guidance and support of people who are intrinsically involved in maternal health.”
Homb’s team includes registered nurses, midwives, lactation consultants, naturopaths, nutritionists, doulas, birth trauma practitioners, gentle sleep consultants, and more.
“We are mother-led,” Larissa said.
“If a mother has a way she wants to do things we follow that.”
Women who need support have the opportunity to access the service at low or no cost.
“Starting the charity arm was a huge part of it for me, because I understood the costs - having midwives and incredible staff doesn’t come cheaply,” Larissa said.
“I knew it was not accessible for the majority of women.”
The feedback has surpassed her expectations.
“It’s been quite extraordinary and certainly the most fulfilling thing I will ever do in my lifetime,” she said.
“Just to know we’re affecting change and helping women is certainly enough for me.
“Consistently, they feel like they can breathe again.”
Sam’s suddenly smitten BOOKS
By Casey Neill
SAM McMillan never thought a poem to celebrate his daughter’s first birthday would land him millions of views and a book deal.
The Sunrise weather man, better known as Sam Mac, shared the “love letter” to Margot in a video on Instagram.
“I needed her to know the magic she’d brought to our lives. Even if it would be a few years before she could fully understand it,” he wrote.
Much to his surprise, the video - born from musings on the back of an Uber Eats bag - took on a life of its own and has since been viewed more than 1.5 million times.
“I think it resonated because the unparalleled joy of new life fascinates us all,” he told Kids.
“It’s a wild ride, with the highest of highs and lowest of lows, but it’s so incredibly precious – a gift.
“My words and video connected with millions of people all over the world and it’s something I’m extremely proud of.
“I had countless messages from new parents thanking me for articulating what they were feeling.
“Milestones like first steps or first words are so universal, they transcend nationality or socio-economic status, and therein lies the beauty and power.
“They deserve to be celebrated and remembered.”
When Penguin approached him about turning his poem into a book, Sam felt excited and grateful.
“I keep envisioning reading the book with Margot for many, many years to come and showing her what her arrival meant to her mum and I,” he said.
“I love that the book will open up connection and conversations for so many other parents to do the same with their little ones.
“But not just parents - grandparents, uncles, aunties, friends and more.”
He hopes readers take his words as a gentle reminder of how precious life is, and how much of a privilege it is to have a newborn baby in your orbit.
“And I hope that it opens up conversations and leads to beautiful moments of nostalgia between families,” he said.
Becoming a parent “instantly” changed the way Sam saw his life.
“Everything I do, every decision I make, now has to be the right one for Margot (and Bec), both consciously and subconsciously,” he said.
“It’s a purpose like no other and it’s crystal clear. I love it.”
It also changed the way he saw his partner.
“I saw how strong Bec really was, and is, throughout the pregnancy and particularly in that birthing suite,” he said.
“The pain she went through to safely welcome our baby girl is something I’m forever grateful for.
“A warrior.
“Further to that, I’ve watched her transform into the most caring, reliable, fun mother.
“Bec is still all of the things I fell in love with when we started dating, but I now see a completely different version of her as a mother, and it’s even better than anything I could’ve ever imagined. “Except when she leaves her hair all over the bathroom. I hate that.”
Sam also has a newfound appreciation for his parents.
“I think as children, we just take our parents for granted,” he said.
“We don’t really consider how hard it might be for them to juggle work, a partner, finances, kids etc.
“Becoming a parent myself has been a wonderful reminder to do more for my parents.
“Spoil them. Make sure they know how loved and appreciated they are.
“I find myself learning more about them through conversations about what parenting was like for them and one of my great joys is seeing Margot laughing and playing with Nanny and Grandad. The best!”
How about those parenting moments that aren’t quite so joyful?
“In the challenging moments (and of course, there’s many), I try my absolute best to stop for a quick moment, take a breath, and remind myself not to apply adult logic to the struggles of a one-yearold,” he said.
“I know I need to get Margot home from the park because it’s time to start dinner.
“But in her mind, I’m prematurely ending the best part of her day, playing at the park.
“Her meltdown is not happening to make my life difficult … it’s happening because playing at the park is making her incredibly happy – as it should be for a one-year-old.
“Just briefly pausing and trying to view things through that lens really helps me understand why she might be behaving in that manner.
“I’m certainly no parenting expert, and I fail multiple times daily, but I find this approach very useful.”
Margot took 21 flights during her first 12 months, following her dad to work around Australia and overseas.
“I’m so lucky to have the support of Seven. They’ve gone above and beyond to enable me to continue in this role AND be a present parent,” he said.
“My advice to others would be if you don’t ask, you don’t receive.
“You need to speak up.
“If your child has a sporting carnival you desperately want to be at, have the conversation with them.
“Pitch your solution on how you can shuffle your work schedule.
“It’s more than likely your boss is juggling work/life balance with their own kids, and you might be surprised how accommodating they are.
“If that fails, use some of your leave.
“The special moments with our little ones should unashamedly be our priority.”
Most parents feel blindsided by the realities of parenthood, but there’s nothing Sam wishes he knew beforehand.
“I feel like it happened exactly the way it was supposed to, and if I knew too much going into it, it may not have been quite as magical,” he said.
Baby number two is now on the way. What will he do differently the second time around?
“Everything!” he said.
“Because it’ll be a totally different person and from all reports, everything we thought we mastered with Margot is now out the window.
“Please send help.”
Suddenly One is available from 17 September.
‘Symptoms’ are super skills BOOKS
By Casey Neill
AN Aussie mum is encouraging kids to see ADHD as a superpower rather than a hindrance, following her own diagnosis with the disorder.
Elly Both uses A Kids Book about ADHD! to celebrate the unique skills that come with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.
Growing up, Elly often thought there was something wrong with her.
“I was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago now at the ripe old age of 44,” she told Kids.
“I started to look back at my childhood and how I would have loved to have a handbook of how my mind worked at that time.”
It was only once she received her diagnosis that her ‘character flaws’ became symptoms and her world started to make sense.
“I was a pretty anxious kid,” Elly said.
“I spent a lot of my time daydreaming.”
Her school reports said she was smart but could do a little less talking, stop bothering her classmates, and be a little more conscientious.
“So I just wanted to make kids feel OK,” she said.
“They’ve got this brain, it’s not always easy to cope with.
“Even as an adult I’m still dealing with the challenges of ADHD every day.”
Eleanor Jones Can’t
Keep a Secret
Amy Doak
Things have settled down in Cooinda and Eleanor Jones is getting used to her new normal – spending time with her friends, going to school, and working on a project at the local old age home.
But just as things start to feel calm, a series of events once again rock Eleanor’s world: Troy’s ex-girlfriend is back in town and, during a visit to the old age home, Eleanor’s buddy Nance admits to witnessing a murder, swearing Eleanor to secrecy.
Eleanor throws herself into solving the mystery of the murder with help from new friend, genealogy expert Jem, and finds digging into old secrets can be incredibly dangerous.
Penguin
$19.99
Elly said it could knock your self esteem and confidence.
“There are challenges, I’m never going to sugarcoat it,” she said.
“But how do we discover what our superpower is, and how do we harness it?”
ADHD comes with an immense sense of energy, creativity, and a hyperfocus state, she explained.
“I think that’s how I do a lot of my written work,” she said.
“How do we foster that in our kids or help them harness that?
“I’ve had so many parents message me in tears saying they saw themselves on the pages or that it helped them understand their own kid.
“It’s designed to be co-read with a grownup.
“I’ve also included in the book a number of questions that I think adults can speak to their kids about as well.”
Elly said the book could help kids to better understand and empathise with their peers.
“Everyone has a unique brain, we are all unique,” she said.
“We can’t understand unless we talk to people about those differences.”
Elly’s book is part of the A Kids Co series ‘A Kids Book About…’.
“I’ve always wanted to write something. I had this inspiration one day to ask them ‘can I write a book in your series?’,” she said.
The Space Between
Jess McGeachin
The Space Between celebrates those special friendships that last, no matter what.
Max and Milo do everything together, every day, and in their rocket ship, even the stars and planets don’t seem too far to reach.
But when Milo has to move away, the space between them seems too great, and Max must find another way to navigate the galaxy.
Penguin
$24.99
She’s a sustainability consultant by trade.
“A lot of what I do is the written side of things, so the communications side,” she said.
“It’s my happy place.”
Elly has other children’s books in the pipeline.
“I’ve got a few on the go. I’m not sure which one will eventuate,” she said.
Find A Kids Book about ADHD! on Amazon or at ellyboth.com.
How Do I Know If I’m Upside Down?
Idan Ben-Barak and Zahra Zainal
This is me. My body can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. But it also knows if it is hot or cold, if I am sideways or upside down.
Explore the human (and other) senses!
Scholastic
$19.99
You Are Brave: A Book about Trying New Things
Margaret O’Hair and Sofia Sanchez
Nobody is born brave. There is no magic wand to make you brave, either. You have to learn to be brave – just like you have to learn how to do everything else. This book helps readers learn their self-worth and encourages kids to overcome obstacles by sticking up for themselves and others, trying new things, and showing the world how brave they are!
Scholastic $26.99
Newspaper Hats
Phil Cummings
Grandpa has a world of memories he likes to share, from tadpoles to summer rain, and his mum making warm, crusty bread. But he has trouble remembering his granddaughter, Georgie. Georgie’s efforts to trigger Grandpa’s memory of her lead them to the remembered joy of making newspaper hats. Newspaper Hats will have you thinking about how we make, record and recall memories
Scholastic
$24.99
Starting early makes a difference.
Our VCE Class of 2023 performed exceptionally.
• 35% received ATARs over 90
• 60% of students received ATARs over 80
• Top 1% rankings were achieved from Mathematics through to Literature, Music, Drama and Design.
The highest achievers joined St Michael’s in their Kindergarten or Primary Years.