CHRISTMAS CAROLS 2024
Family Christmas at Central Park
Hosted by Sammy J & featuring Alinta Chidzey, Kiran Rajasingam & Geraldine Quinn with Musical Director Casey Bennetto
Sunday 8 December
Central Park, Malvern East
Carols: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Children’s Activities: From 5pm
Carols at Como Park
Led by Musical Director Casey Bennetto, hosted by the delightful Lucy Durack & featuring Gatesy (Steven Gates), Sylvie Paladino with South of the River Choir plus more!
Sunday 15 December
Como Park, South Yarra 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Pyrotechnics display: 9:30pm
Festivities include local food trucks a visit from Santa and the proceeds of the day go to the Mayor’s selected charity: Very Special Kids
ABOUT US
Harness UV tech
I’M going to be honest: I’m not a summer gal.
Give me the (theoretically) more moderate weather of autumn or spring any day.
But my active, outdoorsy daughter loves the warmer months.
For her, this time of year means holidaying by a creek and spending hours in the water with family and friends.
For me, it means seemingly endless sunscreen application and reapplication, reminders to put on her hat, and chasing shade.
Having live UV level readings at my fingertips is - and I’m reluctant to use this ubiquitous term, but I think it’s appropriate - a game-changer for someone with my pale complexion, and unblemished porcelain skin like my strawberry-blonde daughter.
CONTENTS
IT’S YOUR LIFE
Steve Biddulph: We can beat anxietyhere’s how
PAGE 4
A Mindful Moment: Why mindfulness? The facts and figures
PAGE 4
‘Magical’ new tools help kids regulate emotions
PAGE 5
No toying with member boom: Canterbury Toy Library
PAGES 6-7
Kids in the Kitchen: Chocolate crackle slice
PAGE 8
Finding more mindful moments
PAGE 9
Maternity care under review
PAGE 10
Public IVF baby boom
PAGE 10
Literary legend Mem Fox: “I‘ve been given a gift. I feel that I have to use it until the last.”
PAGE 11
HEALTHY LIVING
For those not in the know, iPhone users can add a widget to their lock screen that displays the live UV rating for your location. Perhaps androids have the same capability? Please let me know!
Visiting arpansa.gov.au also provides UV measurements in real-time alongside predicted levels across the day.
What incredible tools to have at our disposal in such a sundrenched state.
It’s a far cry from the guessing game our parents - and our younger selveshad to play.
How often I assumed I wouldn’t get burnt on an overcast or cooler summer day only to discover patches of angry red skin after I returned indoors.
Now I relish the rays in the early hours - when the sun is yet to unleash its full fury - and soak up the gentle evening sunshine sans hat and rashie.
I celebrate the final sunscreen application for the day and feel grateful for the technology that helps me better protect my daughter not just from painful sunburn, but from skin damage and - most importantly - skin cancer.
I know I probably look a little overprotective when I call my daughter out of the water for her two-hourly sunscreen reapplication, and regularly receive a sideways glance for seeking shade while others soak up the sun, but having lost a loved one to melanoma these are sacrifices I’m very willing to make.
DENTAL
Kids’ dental issues ‘mostly preventable’ PAGE 14
PARTY TIME
Christmas toy safety warning PAGE 15
Free RSV protection
PAGE 12
Therapy Through Play: Opening the lens on the potential of play therapy
PAGE 12
Kids cancer research boost
PAGE 13
Anti-vaping education bolstered
PAGE 13
Slumber Tribe: Parties that dreams are made of PAGE 15
EDUCATION
On your marks...get crafty! PAGE 16
YouthNav: New online resource helps young people navigate life PAGE 16
Bright Little Sparks: Play, learn, connect PAGE 16
Andale School: Education empowered PAGE 18
Genazzano FJC College: A tradition of excellence
PAGE 19
Easing the high school transition PAGE 20
Xavier College’s transformation PAGE 20
BORN TO PERFORM
Young Voices of Melbourne
PAGE 23
Step into the world of dance PAGE 23
REALITY BITES
Grandmother finds her feet as an author PAGE 24
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 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
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.
Author Shelley Davidow: Parenting in an unstable world
PAGE 25
Preparing bodies for birth: Mum and physio breaks taboos PAGE 26
‘Cancer made our bond stronger’: Mum’s battle weeks after giving birth PAGE 27
Holding onto hope: Psychologist on keeping kids on track PAGE 27
Mum’s fighting spirit shines after loss PAGES 28-29
Summer pool safety PAGE 30
Travel fire safety tips PAGE 30
BOOKS
Bernie Thinks in Boxes: Thinking differently and navigating change in a neurotypical world
PAGE 21
Battle back-to-school blues
PAGE 22
A fresh space to flourish
PAGE 22
Embracing a brighter future with Nicho Hynes
PAGE 31
Discover new book releases for all ages PAGE 31
We can beat anxiety
STEVE BIDDULPH
explains how our wild animal side helps us feel calm and strong.
THIS month I am travelling to China at the invitation of my Chinese publishers.
I am very happy to go because, just as there are in Australia, there are huge anxiety problems happening with children and something has to be done to save these kids.
Anxiety is a horrible and upsetting thing.
I have had it myself and many readers will have too.
Since my new book came out I have had hundreds of conversations with people - in airports, on trains, in taxis, or online - and everybody knows someone whose life has been affected.
In the world we live in today, it is hardly surprising that children, teens, and adults feel anxious; there are so many real dangers, from the coming effects of the climate emergency to the meanness of people towards each other in politics, on the news, and on social media.
As parents, we are waking up to not having the TV news blasting in our living rooms, and not letting kids have social media or internet in their lives until well into their teen years.
Something we might also have to address is how to lower our own anxiety levels, since children are very sensitive to how we are faring.
In short, if we are anxious, they will know it and this will make them uneasy too.
So here is a simple strategy to use, from my new book Wild Creature Mind, to lower your own anxiety so it doesn’t affect your kids.
The neuroscience behind this is described in the book, but here in a short column, I want to give you a tool to get started.
Think first of how we tend to describe our mental state in everyday language.
We nearly always say ‘I AM anxious’ or ‘I AM angry’ and so on.
When we say it this way, it sounds, and feels, very total. Like every cell of my being is affected.
But here is something to try.
Instead of ‘I AM’, try saying ‘SOMETHING IN ME is anxious’ (or angry, or whatever it is).
Notice that as soon as you say it this way, there is a kind of space around the feeling; that it’s there in you but is not ALL of you.
This wording is actually more objectively true, since mental states like anxiety are actually located somewhere in your body.
If you then direct your attention to WHERE you feel anxious, a very interesting thing happens.
It will start off quite hazy but within seconds you will notice ‘It’s in my tummy’ or ‘My heart feels tight’, or ‘It’s in my throat’.
Everyone feels it slightly differently, and it moves about too.
Something very interesting is going on as your body is trying to get your attention.
A part of you is where the bad feeling
lives, and you can send it a message of kindness and give it some room.
It is trying to tell you something. And you are starting to listen.
So now we go to the next step.
Now, the mental hack that therapists are finding quite amazing is to try and put words to the sensation you have noticed.
Is it tight or churning or thumping or hard? A friend of mine who had just suffered a very major grief experience described his heart feeling like a stone.
As you describe in words the sensation, an amazing thing starts to happen.
The ‘wild creature’ part of you which has been ignored up until now starts to soften and move, and the anxiety begins to dissolve.
If you are in a safe place - your home or in bed - then your body will automatically soften and begin to relax.
If you are in an unsafe place, then it will actually begin to mobilise so you can fight or flee, but either way you will have broken the frozen anxiety state and know what you need to do.
My book Wild Creature Mind starts with a teenage girl called Ellie who is blitzed with anxiety, found by her mum sobbing on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night.
With the right help, contacting her wild animal wisdom, Ellie discovers she is really furiously angry at the boys who have been sexually harassing her and her friends at the bus stop, and she and her friends take action to get the school to deal with them.
Her anxiety was frozen anger and she was able to set it free.
My friend who had the stone in his heart paid close attention to it and felt it move to his throat, and then pour out of him in tears of release.
His anxiety was frozen sorrow and it was so healing to let it go.
Our bodies are very wise and capable.
For now, just try out this ‘hack’ yourself. Next time you feel bad, say ‘something in me is…’ anxious, or depressed, or angry, or sad, and go and find where inside you it lives.
Describe it to yourself, feel it start to change, and see where it goes.
Soon you will find anxiety lessens in your life and, despite the awfulness of the world, you will be a safe harbour for your children and a fierce panther or tiger when you have to be.
Steve Biddulph is a retired psychologist who campaigns for a better life for parents and kids. For climate action. And for solving the worldwide epidemic of anxiety.
His book Wild Creature Mind is out now in shops, online, and in audiobook.
Why mindfulness? The facts and figures
DESPITE our society having much more awareness of the need to support our emotional and mental wellbeing, why are we still struggling?
The wellbeing industry has seen extraordinary growth over the past decade, particularly post-Covid, and we are all much more aware of the importance of self-care and the need to prioritise our emotional and mental wellbeing.
Programs have been designed to support wellbeing in the workplace, more and more people are seeking professional support, there are wellbeing coaches, school-wide programs are being implemented, and so much more.
But, despite all this, the data shows that the area needs much more focus and attention.
While not wanting to alarm readers, I do want to share a few important statistics.
Half of all the mental health conditions experienced in life will have started by age 14, according to Beyond Blue.
The most common disorders children experience are attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety.
Another study conducted by Beyond Blue found that one in seven young people aged between 4 and 17 years
experience a mental health condition in any given year.
However, the good news is that Smiling Minds says ‘evidence shows that prevention can reduce the prevalence and impact’.
While some mental health conditions require treatment by experienced, trained professionals, I believe that simple prevention strategies - such as mindfulness and meditation - at a young age can play a pivotal role in preventing some emotional problems further down the track.
Even starting with a small step as a family by sitting still for one minute and listening to the sounds around you, or having a ‘mindful moment’ once a week, such as being aware of doing a certain activity like brushing your teeth, can be a positive start.
If you’re not convinced, a study conducted by Harvard University found that people are at their happiest not
when their mind wanders to pleasant thoughts, but when the mind is focused on what they are doing in the present moment!
I realise that prevention strategies are not for everyone, and that serious emotional and mental health conditions require expert and professional help, but isn’t it worth at least giving mindfulness and meditation a go?
If nothing else, it could be a nice habit to form with your family - one that you might even enjoy.
Fiona is an experienced primary school teacher with a passion for student wellbeing.
She runs a variety of mindfulness programs for primary school-aged children.
Each session is designed to equip children with a toolkit of mindfulness strategies to help them lead healthier and happier lives.
IT’S YOUR LIFE
Magical tools tame emotions
By Casey Neill
PROFESSIONAL and personal experiences guided a new toolkit helping kids identify and regulate emotions through play.
Elsternwick psychologist Sharon Kirschner and Surrey Hills occupational therapist Lucy Jones joined forces to create My Magical Belt.
“It’s aimed to make learning fun, and normalise emotions and the use of resources and tools to help us manage our world that we live in,” Lucy said.
“It’s something that can be used and embedded into routines and everyday life.
“Little humans don’t naturally know how to take breaks and have their outlet.
“As adults, we’ve learned to take a walk or grab a coffee.
“Throughout life, you’re going to need different outlets and this is a fun, playful way to start.”
They met through Sharon’s eldest child, who is neurodiverse.
“I watch Lucy do incredible work with my son, who has big emotions,” Sharon said.
“There are a lot of incredible books and a lot of incredible tools, but there wasn’t anything that combined them.
“Each book focuses on a particular technique to help them with their regulation.
“The books each come with their own physical tool.”
A bubble wand harnesses the power of deep breathing, and a squishy tool taps into deep pressure, like a stress ball for kids.
Kids roll a dice and mimic the movements of the animal pictured‘heavy work movement’ that compresses major joints, releasing chemicals that slow the body down.
As the glitter drifts through a sparkle disc, the child’s body mimics the falling, reducing the heart rate and helping them feel grounded.
“Within each book, we have parent and teacher pages as well,” Sharon said.
“It explains why we included each tool and how to implement it.
“The tools are applicable for them as well.
“The kids will say ‘Mum, do you want to use my magical belt?’ or ‘Why don’t you use your sparkle disc?’.
“It’s increasing their understanding of emotions not just for themselves.”
Lucy said: “How empowering as well, when a parent can be vulnerable and share ‘I’m learning all these new skills as well, can we do it together?’”
“My husband has the sparkle disc sitting on his desk for if any of his meetings get frustrating.”
The My Magical Belt concept came to life when Covid lockdowns were ending.
“We were really reflecting on the separation anxiety of kids going back to school,” Lucy said.
Plus the waiting lists for child therapists, which Sharon said rose to an all-time high.
“These books are not a replacement for proper professional intervention, but if you can’t get your child in to see someone for months, they can help assist your child’s emotional growth and well-being in the meantime,” she said.
The duo visits schools and kinders each week.
“We help educators see how connected kids can be to these concepts,” Lucy said.
Sharon said: “That’s been a highlight for both of us, the extension of workshops and readings in schools, seeing kids, teachers, and aids excited.”
“It’s about empowering kids.
“Their body might feel out of control, but they know they can use one of their tools.
“Normalising using these tools is a huge, huge part of what we’re doing.” Books and tools can be purchased together and separately. Visit www. mymagicalbelt.com.au for more information.
IT’S YOUR LIFE
No toying with member boom
By Casey Neill
CANTERBURY Toy Library’s booming membership has earned it a national award.
The not-for-profit community-run service has been lending high-quality toys to families since 1983.
After relocating to the Canterbury Community Precinct in March 2023 and surging from 70 members to 300 with a waitlist, the library won the Toy Library Excellence: Growth and Innovation award.
It recognised the library’s hard work to keep up with membership demand without compromising member experience.
Toy Libraries Australia national development officer Louise Bell said Canterbury Toy Library was a leading example of the role toy libraries could play in promoting children’s development and community connections.
“We’re proud to be recognising Canterbury Toy Library for their dedication to making play accessible for all children and to sharing the benefits of toy libraries in the local community,” she said.
“Toy libraries are an affordable and sustainable way for parents and carers to support a child’s development, while also creating important community meeting places.
“It’s no surprise that toy libraries across the country are booming as more families turn to borrowing toys to save money, reduce waste, and reconnect with their communities.”
Canterbury Toy Library president Linda Nguyen joined the library two years ago.
“They had such a good amount of toys, a great selection, and I thought it was a great sustainable way to have toys that cater to your child’s different interests,” she said.
“You buy something for your family and they get sick of it very quickly.
“The toy accumulation is real.
“It can get quite costly.”
She said Australian Toy Association and Sustainability Victoria research revealed 51 percent of toys were thrown out as waste within 12 months of purchase.
“Toy libraries can really play a big role in changing this harrowing statistic,” she said.
The stock analyst soon put her hand up for the secretary role before stepping up to president.
“I just felt that because I’m only back at work part-time I thought I should be doing something for me,” she said.
“I really wanted to give back to the community and to a resource I really enjoy and love.
“The goal here is to break even. I’m not used to that. I’m usually in it to make money,” she laughed.
“We’re here just to cater for our community.”
Linda and her team plan to grow the library by another 100 members in the next year.
“With that, we need to apply for more grants to source more toys,” she said.
“Most of our funds come from grants.
“We also take in good quality donations as well, as part of our ethos of sustainability.
“Every five donations we receive is one new family we can bring into the toy library.”
They can’t receive soft toys, and items must be in good condition, have no button batteries, and conform to Australian standards.
“We also have a couple of things that we don’t accept, only because we get a lot of them,” she said.
“When we do the purchasing, we try and buy really good quality toys, usually from brands that use sustainable materials.
“On average our toys last at least five years, which is a great number of borrows.
“Our big bulky items are our most popular.
“Most people can’t afford the space they take up.”
Membership fees cover the necessities, like wages and electricity.
Members can work two two-hour shifts over 12 months or pay extra for a non-volunteer membership.
The library has also introduced a weekday only membership at a reduced price to combat the Saturday session rush.
Community Bank Inner East has supported the library with $4500 to purchase new toys to invite 20 families from the waiting list to the toy library.
Rotary Club of Balwyn and the City of Boroondara will support the library’s Active Kids project through the Boroondara Community Grants next year with $10,000 to purchase active play toys.
Ashburton Mowers also recently donated a much-loved STIHL toy range.
Chocolate crackle slice
CHOCOLATE crackles were possibly my favourite party food as a kid and when it came to my birthday, I don’t know what I enjoyed more: making them with my mum or eating them.
It’s these fond memories that inspired my chocolate crackle slice.
I’ve given it a nourishing twist but kept the nostalgic flavour and texture and, as always, made it easy enough for kids of all ages help to make.
In place of rice bubbles I’ve used puffed brown rice, but any puffed grain will do.
I’ve added some seeds for fibre, protein and extra nutrients; pumpkin seeds for zinc and immune support, sesame seeds for calcium and healthy bones and teeth, and sunflower seeds for cell protective antioxidants vitamin E and selenium.
In place of copha I’ve used a little coconut oil, as well as nut butter to add more protein – yes, we want to focus on getting adequate protein into all our kids’ meals and snacks as this is what is going to keep them feeling fuller for longer.
Any nut butter will do; I like to vary it each time I make this. It’s an easy way to offer kids a variety of different nutrients.
The slice is sweetened with honey and, honestly, the chocolate layer on top really is optional but I think it makes it feel a little special.
If you wanted to make this slice caffeine-free and more toddler-friendly, you could replace the cacao powder with carob powder and reduce the honey to taste.
Visit www.lucystewartnutrition.comor find @lucystewartkidsnutrition on Instagram for more content.
Serves: 18 – Prep time: 10 mins – Cool time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
■ 2 cups puffed grains
■ ½ cup nut butter
■ ½ cup honey
■ ½ cup desiccated coconut
■ ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
■ ¼ cup sesame seeds
■ ¼ cup sunflower seeds
■ ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
■ ¼ cup cacao powder
■ 100g melted 70% dark chocolate
Instructions:
1. Line a 29cm x 18cm baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, nut butter and melted coconut oil.
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
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
5. Spoon mixture into prepared baking tray, spread evenly, and press down.
6. Place in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.
7. While your slice is setting, melt your dark chocolate in a double boiler. Break chocolate into pieces and place in a heat-proof bowl over a small saucepan of water. You don’t want the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Bring the water to a gentle boil and stir your chocolate until melted.
8. Pour the melted chocolate over the slice, tilting the pan to ensure it spreads evenly. Return the slice to the fridge for at least another 30 minutes.
9. Once your chocolate has set, slice into squares or bars and store in the fridge or freezer.
12562706-MS36-22
IT’S YOUR LIFE
Kids need time to be mindful
By Casey Neill
MINDFULNESS can help our kids navigate their fast-paced lives, now and into adulthood, says Fiona Gilbert.
A two-year stint at an international school in Hong Kong inspired the South Yarra teacher to introduce mindfulness to the classroom.
“I really just noticed how busy all the kids were,” she said.
she
“They were going from class to class and having tutoring after school, musical instruments - it seemed to be non-stop.
“The kids were exhausted.
“I was always interested in meditation and mindfulness myself.
“I was thinking ‘this needs to be something that the kids practice’.”
So she attended a meditation yoga retreat in Cambodia and took an online mindfulness course before introducing it to her classroom.
“Then I came home and noticed the same thing here,” she said.
“They’re not as busy and not as studious as they were in Hong Kong but still, here you find that kids do five activities after school.
“They also don’t really have a whole lot of downtime either.
lot downtime either.
Fiona said parents had been really receptive and continued her work with activities at home.
One of her sessions centred around mindful eating; she handed each child a sultana.
“You look at it, pay attention to how it feels, then smell it, think about how your mouth is feeling and the sensations you’re getting as you’re smelling the sultana,” she said.
“It helps kids to be able to regulate their emotions independently,” she said.
“A lot of kids aren’t able to selfregulate well.
“Their resilience is not so great.
“If they have techniques that they can use to calm themselves down, that will be a benefit to everyone.
“I’ve been for 10 years or so. levels
“I’ve been teaching for 10 years or so.
“I’ve seen the increased stress levels, the pressures that they’re under, and I think they’re so busy and don’t have a chance to just be anymore.
chance to be
“They’re not able to just enjoy being in the moment.
“Then they don’t know how to just be. When they’ve got time, they’re bored.
“They’re so stimulated by so many external influences.”
“Then don’t know how to just be. up
“But the parent actually has to be the parent and say no,” she said.
Fiona said children might tell their parents they wanted to sign up for multiple activities. through Mindfulness for Kids.
She runs a variety of mindfulness programs for primary school-aged children
“And I do mindfulness in my classroom as often as I can,” she said.
Mindfulness is simply being aware of the present moment: paying attention to what is happening in the ‘now’.
They took a small bite and Fiona asked them to move it around their mouth, feel the texture and other
“They’re too quick to ask someone for help and get upset, and seek outside support.
“But as they get older they’re not going to have that support network.
“They really enjoyed it,” she said.
took t t sensations. real y thinking.
“So often you eat food without really
“Developing their own ways of dealing with stress and unpleasant emotions is really important.”
One Prep student told her, “It taught me not to do everything so fast, it taught me to take time”.
“I thought that was a really simple tool that could be used at home and shared with the family, even if it’s just once a week for five minutes of their dinner, to focus purely on what you’re eating and nothing else.”
“Mindfulness is more of a prevention, rather than an intervention,” she said.
She chooses mindfulness activities that are small, simple, and fun.
with the fam week for five focus else. choos that are smal lighth
“It’s not the answer to everything, but it’s a good start.
“Hopefully it may help later in life.”
“That’s my approach to teaching it - to make it lighthearted and fun, not serious,” she said.
Introducing the concept of mindfulness is one thing, but making it a habit is another.
“Sometimes I think mindfulness can be seen as a bit serious.”
“It is definitely difficult,” she said.
Fiona also ran a smelling activity, bringing in bottles containing hidden scents - eucalyptus, lavender, and
“That’s half the reason it’s good for children because it might stick a bit better than adults.
“They’re open to new ideas and forming habits.”
“They had to smell it and try to identify the smell,” she said.
“Then we went out into the school gardens and paid attention to what they could smell outside.
She said setting realistic goals was key.
“A lot of them really enjoyed that.
“They just don’t notice those things as they get older. There’s so much
“Sometim b Fiona also b scents - euca rosemary s we and o “A lot of th olde happening.
“Start with a small amount of time, maybe only once a week, then try and gradually build on that,” she said.
“I feel like them now. T
“I feel like it can have a big impact on them now. They’re still developing, they’re open to forming new habits.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself or the kids if you lapse for a few weeks or a month or two.
“It’s fine.
“It might be more likely to stick.
“Just start again but don’t make it a big reset. Don’t start from scratch.
“You’re never too old to start something new, but the younger the
Fiona said the benefits of mindfulness ranged from slowing down and feeling calmer to reducing anxiety and stress levels, increased concentration and focus, improved sleep, and “being more content with what you have right here, right now, not wanting more and more and more”.
“It b ne n better.” from calmer to red incre focus, im more c mo
“Try and do it on a regular basis. If you can’t, don’t beat yourself up.
“Any practice is good practice.
“You don’t have to dedicate time to it, you can just have a moment, eating or sitting, just noticing what’s around you.” Find more from Fiona at mindfulness4kids.com.au or search Mindfulness 4 Kids on Instagram or Facebook.
Maternity care under review
Ataskforce is reviewing Victoria’s maternity system to identify ways to improve it.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced the Victorian Maternity Taskforce in October and said it would focus on ensuring hospitals have the best workforce and models of care in place.
It will identify opportunities and address challenges that can affect service delivery, including workforce recruitment and retention.
Nursing and midwifery experts will form the taskforce and work with health services, community, and experts to consider care models that support women to have choice in their pregnancy and birth experiences.
“Victoria has some of the world’s best and safest maternity and newborn services in the world,” Ms Thomas said.
“This taskforce is an opportunity to continue improving these services, so women receive the best support during pregnancy and birth.”
Victoria has 52 maternity health service providers, including 33 in regional areas.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) has more than 6000 midwifery members and welcomed the taskforce.
Assistant secretary Madeleine Harradence said the midwifery workforce was still recovering and rebuilding from the difficult pandemic years.
She said statewide reform was needed to ensure the viability of maternity services, particularly in rural and regional Victoria.
Research released in 2022 found that midwives moved from permanent to casual employment during the pandemic years and this was impacting the ability to provide maternity services due to staffing shortfalls.
The La Trobe University School of Nursing and Midwifery conducted the initial study - The FUSCHIA study: Future proofing the midwifery workforce in Victoria - in 2021.
ANMF provided funding to continue this study through to 2026 to better
understand and respond to midwifery workforce wellbeing and retention over time.
“We know there are rostering, work/ life balance, student employment and career path strategies and models of care that, if implemented, could better support and retain our passionate midwifery workforce,” Ms Harradence said.
“Our members want to work in a system that provides access, choice, and flexibility to them and to women in their choice of maternity care, to enable safe woman-centred midwifery care.
“The aim is for midwives to stay in the profession that they love.”
TrustedBrand SchoolReadiness PlusAtHome MiniMaestroshas
Public IVF
baby boom
FIFTY babies have been born through Victoria’s free public fertility service during its first two years.
More than 4300 Victorians have started their treatment journey since the service started in October 2022.
More than 20 percent of people accessing the service speak a language other than English at home and more than 600 come from regional and rural areas.
“Our landmark service has already helped to create 50 new families and save Victorians around $15,000,000 – but we can help more prospective parents and encourage people to talk to their GP or specialist about a referral,” Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said.
or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and fertility preservation like egg freezing.
AtMiniMaestrosyourchild willlearnhowtoparticipate andco-operatewithothers inaclassroomsetting. They’llalsolearn howto listenandfollowdirections, andgetaheadstarton importantliteracyand numeracyskills.
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This call-out is specifically focused on people who will benefit most from the public service, including those with financial barriers to accessing private services, those living in rural and regional areas, multicultural and multifaith communities, LGBTIQA+ Victorians, and those undergoing medical treatment impacting fertility.
“Welcoming a new baby into the world is an incredible experience, but for some Victorians this journey isn’t always straightforward,” Ms Thomas said.
Patients can access a range of free treatments including in vitro fertilisation, intrauterine insemination
Satellite sites have opened in Epping, Clayton, Sunshine, Heidelberg, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Mildura, Shepparton, and Warrnambool, delivered in partnership with the Royal Women’s Hospital, to ensure more people can access fertility care closer to home.
These services are also supported by Australia’s first public egg and sperm bank, which opened at the Royal Women’s Hospital in July 2023.
Victorians are encouraged to make altruistic donations to give someone the chance to start or grow their family.
Visit betterhealth.vic.gov.au/servicessupport/public-fertility-care-services for more information.
REALITY BITES
Literary legend Mem shares her magic
MEM FOX’S books have touched most Australians over the past 40 years.
TheAdelaide-based author’s first book is probably still her most recognisable: Possum Magic.
ReporterCasey Neill spoke to the witty and warm Mem with her copy - a fourth birthday gift from the early 90s that now sits on her own daughter’s book shelf - beside her.
POSSUM Magic has unlikely origins in the King James Bible and London’s theatre scene.
Mem Fox’s Australian literary classic has been captivating children in print since 1983 - only after publishers rejected the ‘quintessential quest’ tale nine times in five years.
She puts its enduring success firstly down to the illustrations.
“We know that the pictures of any picture book are half the book,” she said.
“People often ignore that the pictures in Possum Magic are sublime.
“Julie (Vivas) doesn’t get enough credit.”
It’s also “very, very Australian” and “the last thing is because the rhythm of the language in Possum Magic is so alluring”.
The 10th publisher to see Possum Magic told Mem to cut it by two thirds, and “write lyrically, make music with the words”.
“I knew how to make it musical because I had been to drama school for three years in the mid-60s in London,” Mem said.
“I had also grown up on a mission in Africa so I was very familiar with the King James Bible.
“All of that was in the marrow of my bones.
“I had Shakespeare, I had the bible, and I also had Dr Seuss.
“I think I started writing Possum Magic when my daughter was 7, so we’d gone through seven years of Dr Seuss. I knew so many of his books by heart. Dr Seuss never gets it wrong.”
The King James Bible perhaps had the strongest influence - without Mem even noticing until six years later.
“When I was at drama school, all of us had to choose a bible story - King James Version - and learn it and tell it in a way that was not like a preacher,” she said.
“I chose the story of Ruth, which starts off, ‘Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land…’.
“I copied the rhyme of those first few paragraphs for the start of Possum Magic.
“Beat for beat it’s the same.
“The rhythm is so comforting. It calms the soul.”
Mem’s latest book, Meerkat Mayhem, also has unlikely origins.
“I’m a constant declutterer. I’m the absolute polar opposite of a hoarder,” she said.
“I’m always throwing things out.
“I was going through a book shelf of storybooks - I was a storyteller before I was a writer.
“I had a very old book of stories - a hardback book, yellowed, you could barely read it - called Little Stories for Children.
“I looked back through it and thought ‘I can’t throw this book away’.”
Inside was folk tale The Great Big Enormous Turnip.
“The farmer grows a turnip so big he can’t pull it up,” she said.
So he calls for help from his wife, his son, and his daughter…
“It builds up, and finally up comes the turnip and they cook it for supper,” Mem said.
She regularly encountered meerkats while growing up in Africa, and easily imagined one eating too much and getting stuck in the sand.
She added a host of other African animals from her childhood and Meerkat Mayhem took shape.
“I loved creating the character of the meerkat,” Mem said.
“He’s not just a cardboard cutout meerkat.
“He is hilarious. He’s a real cool dude.”
She said Meerkat Mayhem could be her penultimate book.
“I have very few ideas - fewer and fewer,” she said.
“My next book - which is being illustrated next year and will come out in 2026 - that book may be my last book, which is OK.
“If I’m not writing, it doesn’t matter to me at all.
“I don’t write for months on end.
“I am working on a story at the moment. I’ve got the word count right, it’s got repetition, it will interest little boys in particular…but when you write a book, there has to be a change in a child’s heart from the first word to the last.”
The reader needs to be excited, laughing, thoughtful, reflective, grossed out, or even frightened, she said.
“I haven’t got the emotion in the story yet. I think I will persevere,” she said.
“If you’ve been given a gift and you don’t use it, that’s very ungrateful.
“I‘ve been given a gift.
“I feel that I have to use it until the last.”
Writing is Mem’s gift but it’s her second love. Her first is teaching.
Given her passion for helping kids to read, does she consider literacy when she writes?
“It’s never front of mind, but I’m always pleased when I’ve written a book that I know is going to aid literacy,” Mem said.
“If I wrote with the aim of making kids literate I would write a woke book that was anodyne, without character.
“It’s why school readers are the worst books.
“They’re absolutely dead. They’re totally without life.”
Similarly, Mem hasn’t written any of her books with her daughter or grandson, now aged 14, in mind.
“I think that would be too particular; I have to write for everybody,” she said.
“But they might have provided the idea for a book.”
For example, she wrote Time for Bed in 1993 to ‘mesmerise’ children to sleep.
“The idea for that came from my daughter’s early life,” she said.
Another of Mem’s mesmersising tales is Where is the Green Sheep?, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024.
“That took 11 months to write and it’s 190 words, because of the rhyme scheme,” she said.
“The rhythm has to be perfect, the beat has to fall in the right place.
“Otherwise you’re forcing a rhyme.
“And not only did line B have to rhyme with D, but also the first two lines had to connect with each other.”
Like bath and bed, moon and stars, and up and down.
“That had to happen all the way through in every verse,” Mem said.
“It’s worth persevering with the rhyme because when you don’t persevere with the rhythm and get it correct the book dies - it just dies.
“Kids don’t like reading it. Parents don’t like it, teachers don’t like it.”
Anybody who’s relayed the sheep shenanigans to a child would agree the result was worth the effort.
“I turn 80 in 2026.”
Mem has no plans to give up writing, though she only puts pen to paper when inspiration strikes.
“If you’ve got an idea gnawing away at you, it’s irritating not to deal with it,” she said.
“If you haven’t got an idea it’s not a problem.
“She was a shocker about going to sleep.
“If only I had a book that mesmerised her… by 1993 she was 22.”
HEALTHY LIVING
Free protection from RSV
A new, free immunisation is set to protect newborns and infants from RSV next winter.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas in October announced $18.7 million to deliver the vaccine as part of a coordinated national prevention program for unprotected newborns and eligible infants up to eight months.
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine will complement an expected Commonwealth-funded maternal vaccine.
“We have worked closely with the Federal Government and other jurisdictions to ensure we can deliver a lifesaving RSV immunisation program for all eligible women and babies regardless of their postcode or bank balance,” Ms Thomas said.
The monoclonal antibody is a long-acting vaccine that will be available for Victorian babies and infants whose mother was unable to be immunised or was immunised less than two weeks before delivery.
The infant vaccine provides protection for about five months, which covers the winter peak of RSV infections from April to September.
A dedicated catch-up program will also be offered for eligible Victorian infants aged up to two years who are vulnerable to severe RSV and entering their second RSV season.
In most cases, immunisations will be administered in a hospital setting as part of standard post-birth care, helping parents avoid any additional healthcare
costs and time spent attending appointments.
RSV can cause respiratory infections in the airways and lungs such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is especially common in infants and young
children, with most infected by the age of two years.
With more than 3800 infant RSVassociated ED presentations in 2023/24 and about 85 percent of those requiring a hospital admission, this vaccine will help reduce pressure on EDs and keep Victorian babies healthy. For more information, visit betterhealth.vic.gov.au/respiratorysyncytial-virus-rsv.
Opening the lens on the potential of play therapy
DEAKIN University’s Play Therapy
Master’s course will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Play therapy is an evidence-based specialist therapeutic area that uses play - children’s natural form of communication - to allow children to express, understand, and process challenges, and learn skills.
The ground-breaking course remains Australia’s only tertiary degree for play therapy, paving the way for a new approach to child psychotherapy in Australia.
Practicing play therapist and father of three, Jesse Velik, a graduate and now staff member on the course, will be a guest speaker at the 2025 Play Therapy Creativity Innovation and Research Forum.
There he will be discussing filmmaking therapy, a new foray into play therapy that he continues to develop in association with Deakin University.
With a background in the arts and arts
education, Jesse has seen firsthand the therapeutic power of filmmaking - an environment where children can learn skills, process challenges, and work toward a common, creative goal.
Every child has strengths and filmmaking, with its myriad of departments offers a pathway for so many personalities and presentations.
Jesse believes it is important that our
idea of play, and avenues into it, continues to expand.
All children play and interact differently, and all children deserve to have their play language heard.
In 2025, under the umbrella of his play therapy practice, Therapy Through Play, Jesse will be
offering The Young Filmmakers Club, an afterschool group-based play therapy program utilising the avenue of filmmaking.
The program is neuroaffirming and strengths-based, celebrating all those who participate. Therapy Through Play has rooms in Malvern, Prahran., and Surrey Hills.
The Young Filmmakers Club will be taking place in the Stonnington area.
If you would like to enquire about The Young Filmmakers Club or Play Therapy sessions, please contact Jesse on 0411 746 313 or jesse.
therapythroughplay@gmail.com. NDIS participants are welcome.
HEALTHY LIVING
Kids cancer research boost
VICTORIA’S new world-class consortium promises to transform research into childhood cancer.
Medical Research Minister Ben Carroll in October announced the Victorian Paediatric Cancer Consortium would be established thanks to $35 million from the State Government and $10 million from the Children’s Cancer Foundation.
“Kids should be enjoying their childhood, not confined to a hospital bed,” Mr Carroll said.
“This new consortium will revolutionise cancer research and treatment to give them the best chance to grow up happy, healthy, and cancerfree.”
He said our world-class researchers would deliver lifesaving treatments and potentially cures to improve the lives of children around the world.
Children Cancer Foundation CEO Margaret Fitzherbert said the announcement was “a very special moment for us as parents and supporters of people impacted by childhood cancer”.
“We are humbled by the extraordinary leaders and scientists that have joined us in the quest for better, kinder treatments and by the generous support of the Victorian Government,” she said.
Former Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre executive Dr Udani Reets will lead the consortium as CEO.
“By driving advancements in care, we will not only position Victoria as a global powerhouse in paediatric oncology, but also improve outcomes for children affected by cancer worldwide,” Dr Reets said.
Former Federal Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy will chair a board of six directors.
The consortium has brought together the best and brightest minds from leading children’s hospitals, research institutes, and universities to undertake cutting-edge research to tackle childhood cancer.
Anti-vape action
A new initiative is targeting vaping in young people.
In August, Health Minister MaryAnne Thomas announced $2 million to deliver workshops, hold community events, and develop a peer-to-peer digital platform to educate 14 to 25-year-olds about the harms of vaping.
The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) will deliver the two-year project in partnership with UNCLOUD.
UNCLOUD is a digital platform that provides peer-reviewed and scientifically-backed information about vaping and allows young people to share their stories with each other.
“This initiative is about giving young people the tools to warn each other about vaping through real,
More than 1000 children in Australia are diagnosed with cancer every year and more than 100 children lose their battle.
The State Government investment includes $2.2 million to launch the consortium’s initial program of work.
This includes ‘biobanking’ biological specimens at the Monash Children’s and
Royal Children’s Hospitals, critical to research, clinical trials, and developing innovative therapies.
It will also fund the Next Generation Precision Medicine Program at the Hudson Institute, using cutting-edge artificial intelligence to discover new treatments for paediatric cancer.
authentic stories – because we know the best way to reach young people is through other young people,” Ms Thomas said.
More than 30 local councils, five sporting teams, and five universities will join the project by sharing theUNCLOUD platform at community events and activations.
Sporting bodies and teams including Swimming Victoria, Athletics Victoria, Melbourne Vipers, Deakin Melbourne Boomers, and Hockey Club Melbourne, will share and promote the UNCLOUD platform at sporting carnivals, youth holiday programs, events, and across social media platforms.
As part of the project, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation will upskill coaches at sporting clubs across Victoria with anti-vaping education.
Tertiary institutions including the University of Melbourne, Federation University, Monash University, Deakin University, and Swinburne University of Technology, will establish student advocates, while others will offer education and training on-site to health staff.
VicHealth, Quit Victoria, and the Department of Health will provide guidance and support to these organisations.
Dental drama ‘preventable’
HOSPITALS might not be the obvious place to seek dental treatment for children, but thousands of Australian families are doing just that each year.
Most of the dental conditions requiring this treatment could have been prevented, according to the Australian Dental Association (ADA).
Its latest consumer survey of more than 25,000 people revealed factors contributing to infant and child tooth
The ADA Consumer Survey’s new findings uncovered widely-held misconceptions about when parents think children are meant to have their first dental visit.
Only five percent said before 12 months and 20 percent at one year old.
The majority - 42 percent - said at 2 years old. Nineteen percent said age 3 and four percent age 4.
Dr Chinotti said leaving it until the teeth hurt or break down means simpler interventions are unlikely to work and more complex treatment might be needed.
“As a parent, I know that sometimes we think we’re being kind to our kids by giving them a sweet treat,” Dr Chinotti said.
“But most sugary drinks have no nutritional value.
“These choices are not being kind to them in the long run.
decay ranged from excessive fruit juice and soft drink consumption to not starting dental visits early enough, not accessing government-funded free dental entitlements, and only taking children to the family dentist when there was a problem.
Another survey, The Children and Young People Oral Health Tracker, showed nearly 11 (10.8) in every 1000 children aged 5 to 9 were hospitalised for potentially preventable problems due to dental conditions.
It also found only 56 percent of children visited the dentist before age 5.
“Often it’s a case of people just not being aware of all the facts,” ADA oral health promoter Dr Mikaela Chinotti said.
Dentists recommend the first dental visit when an infant’s first tooth or teeth emerge, typically before or around age
One-third (32 percent) of parents reported their child’s first visit was for pain or a problem.
a
“A first dental visit for a toothache may create a negative first experience,” Dr Chinotti said.
“We don’t want that to be your child’s introduction to the dentist.
Tooth decay remains an issue for Australian kids, according to the ADA, with 34 percent of 5 to 6-year-olds having experienced decay in primary or baby teeth, and 27 percent aged 5 to 10 years having untreated tooth decay in
“Sugar causes decay and when left untreated, can result in physical pain and time off school for children as well
“It’s important to see the dentist even if you think your child’s teeth are healthy.”
For families eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, Dr Chinotti said there was no reason to delay the first dental visit, and children aged up to 17 years were eligible.
dentist. if think child’s teeth are were primary teeth.
If picked up early, problems like tooth decay can be controlled fairly simply before they become established and cause trouble.
Sugary drinks undoubtedly contribute to this problem, Dr Chinotti said.
as financial pain and time off work for parents or carers.”
The ADA survey highlighted that
The consumer survey showed that while 85 percent of parents were aware soft drinks, energy drinks, and fruit juice lead to decay, 26 percent of children still have fruit juice daily; 37 percent have two to five fruit juices a week, and 37 percent have two to five soft drinks a
The consumer survey showed that two to five fruit a week, and 37 week.
while parents understood that fruit juice contained sugar, they also thought juice
had health benefits.
This is promoted in the product advertising and labelling, Dr Chinotti said, aimed purposely to mislead parents.
She said they offered little nutritional having a piece of fresh fruit.
benefit and kids were better off
PARTY TIME
Check toys for safety
FAMILIES are urged to choose safe toys and products for Christmas this giftbuying season.
Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors conduct Christmas product safety checks across the state with a particular focus on unsafe children’s toys, portable pools and Christmas-themed products containing button batteries.
Too many shops are not being vigilant in their stocking practices or are deliberately flouting the law, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria.In 2022, inspectors seized
245 toys from shelves before Christmas because they were unsafe, including baby rattle sets that were choking hazards, children’s sunglasses that didn’t have the required labelling, and cosmetics with no ingredient labelling.
To pick the safest toys this Christmas, Consumer Affairs Victoria advised people to avoid buying toys with sharp edges, points, or splinters; watch out for toys with button batteries and make sure the batteries are in secure compartments; and keep in mind the child’s age.
Under Australian Consumer Law, it is illegal to supply products that do not
meet mandatory safety and information standards.
Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors have the power to issue infringement notices and $5000 fines on the spot.
In cases where items are seized, further enforcement action can range from warnings to infringements or court action.
To report a potentially unsafe product, contact Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 558 181 or visit consumer.vic.gov. au/productsafety.
A list of recalled and banned products can be viewed at productsafety.gov.au.
The slumber party of your dreams
THE school holidays offer a welldeserved study break but can also mean temporary separation from your child’s closest friends.
To bridge this gap and strengthen the bonds of friendship, Slumber Tribe steps in with a delightful and unique solution.
Slumber Tribe offers a one-of-a-kind slumber party experience, creating memories that will last a lifetime.
Sometimes the smallest sleepovers are the best and most enjoyable, particularly after a busy summer or school year, and allow children to reconnect with their pals during the holiday season.
Friendship is a crucial part of a child’s social and emotional development. By nurturing these relationships during the holidays, we ensure that children return to school with a strong sense of belonging and camaraderie.
This wellbeing boost can significantly impact their readiness for the challenges of the next school year.
These events are particularly popular with children in Years 5 to 7 and not only
enhance existing friendships, but enable children to form new connections and grow emotionally, laying the groundwork for meaningful
relationships throughout their lives.
There are 12 different themes available, including sorbet dreams, Harry Potter, and Taylor Swift.
A full styling and setup service is available on Wednesdays to weekends, and overnight on weekdays during the holiday period.
Slumber Tribe has midweek availability in December until Sunday 22 December and from Monday 13 January. Midweeks are more often one to two night bookings depending on your requirements.
Packages start at $350 for three people, with each additional child $50 including full styling setup, eye masks, and a handy 10- minute pack-down guide to help you restore your home post-party, leaving the props ready for collection at your convenience.
Experience the enchantment of a magical teepee party for children during the school holidays, where imagination knows no bounds and lifelong memories are made.
Email info@slumbertribe.com.au or call 0491 916 533.
EDUCATION
New online life skills guide
A new online resource is guiding young people through important life skills.
Youth Minister Natalie Suleyman launched YouthNav in September.
“Young people have been involved in the design of this online platform every step of the way,” she said.
“The outcome is fantastic and this new resource will make a difference for
young people across our state.”
YouthNav asks users about their skills with interactive prompts and helps them to understand, plan for, and succeed in getting a job, moving out of home, getting around, having their say, and managing money.
The State Government invested $750,000 in the life skills resource for 12
On your marks... get crafting!
STEPHANIE Martinez starred in the first season of Making It on Network 10, where she ignited her passion for crafting.
Now she’s sharing exciting craft projects with our readers, designed to inspire and spark creativity and turn everyday materials into something extraordinary.
Try your hand at these monster bookmarks.
Happy crafting!
Monster bookmarks
Materials
■ Googly eyes
■ Marker
■ Coloured cardboard
■ Coloured yarn - 30cm x four pieces
Equipment
■ Template
■ Glue stick
■ Scissors
■ Hole puncher
1. Can the QR to download and print the template for the monster bookmark and nose.
2. Use the template to cut out the monster and the nose.
3. Create a hole at the top of the monster. Fold the pieces of yarn in half, thread them through the hole, and tie a lark’s head knot.
4. Glue googly eye in place. Fold the top of the nose and glue the folded part to the monster.
5. Glue some colourful strips to the bottom of the monster.
6. Draw an eyebrow and a mouth. Cut out a tooth and glue it in place.
7. Give the monster some spots by hole-punching contrasting cardboard and rand-omly gluing the circles in place.
Instagram: Steph It Up with Stephanie Tik Tok: Steph It Up with Stephanie
to 25-year-olds.
More than 160 young people were consulted during its development and provided feedback that shaped the information and topics it covers.
Financial counsellors and youth practitioners, including South East Community Links, also provided insights from working with young people.
The platform was co-designed and tested with members of the Victorian Youth Congress, an advisory group of 20 young people aged 12 to 25 that works with the State Government to embed a youth perspective in policies and decisions that affect young people. Visit youthcentral.vic.gov.au/youthnav to try YouthNav or for more information.
A place to play, learn, connect
HAWTHORN’S littlest learners have a bright new space to discover.
Just a hop, skip, and jump away, Bright Little Sparks (BLS) is a local play-based learning hub for families with babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers.
The team behind BLS are warm, friendly teachers and mums who understand that the best way to learn is through play.
The custom-built space is brimming with light, fun, and bursts of colour at every turn – little pastel-coloured aprons included.
BLS is curated with dynamic learning spaces, such as an imaginative play nook, interactive STEM room, light-filled art studio, reading nook, and outdoor water-play.
These adaptive play zones are designed so that every child can find their spark.
And if that doesn’t unleash enough excitement, BLS links all its activities to fun weekly themes.
The philosophy behind BLS is simple: come and play with your child, make a mess and memories together.
Every activity is designed to spark joy, curiosity, connection, and development. All pre-schoolers are welcome, as are parents, friends, locals, grandparents, and neighbours who can share the fun without the clean-up.
And stay tuned! BLS has exciting plans for school-aged friends in 2025.
Anything that this team has to offer is sure to be BRIGHT!
Visit www.brightlittlesparks.com.au for programs, prices, and special discounts.
Bright Little Sparks founder Megan.
Get ready for Children’s Book Week by creating your own monster bookmark. (Supplied)
Scan the QR code to download the bookmark template.
EDUCATION
Education empowered
ANDALE is an inclusive and nurturing learning environment in which every child belongs and is able to learn at their own pace.
Andale School is an independent primary school for children with complex learning needs. Its vision is to empower students by providing them with access to a holistic education experience. By supporting students to overcome their individual challenges, Andale enables them to learn and grow to their full potential.
Small class sizes and high staff-tostudent ratios provide every child with the care and attention they need to thrive at school.
At Andale School, students are empowered to progress through the Victorian Curriculum at the level appropriate to their particular needs.
The enrolment criteria is available from andale.vic.edu.au
Andale has a maximum capacity of 30 students so places are limited.
For a school tour, contact principal Anna Urban on 9853 3911 or email andaleschool@andale.vic.edu.au
A tradition of excellence EDUCATION
GENAZZANO FCJ College is an independent Catholic girls’ day and boarding school located on 17 acres in Kew.
With facilities including a full-sized AFL oval, swimming pool, and auditorium, the college offers students the chance to pursue their passions alongside their academic goals.
As a specialist in all-girls education, Genazzano upholds a 135-year tradition of excellence.
Its welcoming contemporary Catholic community fosters innovative practice and learning while its transformative projects enrich campus life.
In 2024, Genazzano students proudly represented the college in a variety of music, academic, and sporting competitions at both state and national levels.
From Generations in Jazz in Mount Gambier to the Australian Informatics Olympiad, and from the Australian XC Country Ski Championships to the annual Saltwater Challenge, the girls showcased their talents against the nation’s best.
With more than 80 co-curricular programs available, the college encourages students to challenge themselves and develop new skills on their journey to personal success.
Additionally, the senior school offers the choice of more than 40 subject options for girls completing their VCE or VCE VM.
Understanding the importance of preparing graduates for life beyond its gates, the college provides girls extension opportunities for service.
Initiatives include raising awareness and funds to support ACARTH’s mission to combat human trafficking and providing leadership to peers as college prefects.
To learn more about Genazzano FCJ College, please contact registrar@genazzano.vic.edu.au.
The Genazzano team invites you to visit and experience firsthand how its enviable educator-to-student ratio of 1:7 supports and nurtures girls to excel as performers, musicians, humanitarians, innovators, advocates, academics, artists, and athletes.
Easing transition times
NEW resources are helping students to stay engaged as they transition from primary to secondary school.
Education Minister
Ben Carroll in August updated the materials that Victorian schools use to support about 200,000 students every year.
“A student’s transition can have fundamental and long-lasting impacts on their achievement, engagement and wellbeing,” he said.
“We want to make sure every student and their family feels supported and connected as they journey from
primary school to secondary school, which can often be a daunting time.”
It’s also a time with a heightened risk of disengagement from education, poor wellbeing, and a decline in learning outcomes.
Mr Carroll said keeping kids engaged in school helped them to be productive and successful young adults.
A student’s transition experience is successful when they have good engagement with their peers and their families.
This is especially important for students who might be at higher risk of a poor transition, including neurodiverse and autistic students, students with disabilities, and students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The updated materials feature internal guidance, resources, and practical examples for schools to use through a four-year staged process from upper primary to lower secondary:
Preparation (Years 5 and 6)
This introduces students to general skills like organisation and time management that will help them navigate in a new environment, like using lockers and having a timetable.
Transfer (End of Year 6)
Students can attend their new school for a day to learn the new layout, attend classes, and meet key staff and future classmates.
Induction (Year 7)
This phase supports new students to develop a strong sense of connection and belonging in their new environment and ease into the new practices, rhythms, and relationships.
Consolidation (Year 8)
This builds on the skills, knowledge, and experiences students have gained in previous phases, with a strong emphasis on supporting their wellbeing and confidence in their learning environment.
Xavier College’s transformation
XAVIER College has recently restructured its early and middle years programs as part of a comprehensive realignment of the entire college.
Building on its co-educational kindergarten for 3 and 4-year-olds, Xavier is transitioning to a two-year staged educational model from Prep to Year 12.
This transformation is accompanied by significant building developments to enhance each campus.
Starting in 2024, the junior school (P-6) will be housed at the Burke Hall Campus.
The curriculum is organised into stages: Prep to Year 2 (Stage 1) in the St Louis Building, Years 3 and 4 (Stage 2), and Years 5 and 6 (Stage 3), which serves as a key entry point for many students.
Year 7, another major entry point, is now located in a new state-of-the-art Years 7 and 8 precinct at the senior school.
As a boys’ school, Xavier is dedicated to fostering respectful, aspirant learners from the start of their education.
Grounded in Jesuit values, the school aims to instill its ASPIRE qualitiesauthenticity, spirituality, positivity, inspiration, resilience, and empathythroughout every stage of learning. The
curriculum encourages curiosity, independent thinking, collaboration, and reflection.
Xavier emphasises action and service, preparing students for lives of meaningful contribution.
In the early years (Prep to Year 2) at Burke Hall, literacy, numeracy, and digital technologies are prioritised alongside the Expeditions program, which fosters curiosity and engagement with the natural world.
Outdoor experiential learning, integrated with science and projectbased learning, encourages students to explore their environment through a hands-on curriculum.
Music is also a core part of Xavier’s identity, with students from kindergarten onwards participating in a vibrant classroom music program that focuses on ‘learning by doing’.
From Prep to Year 2, students build foundational music literacy skills.
Xavier College understands the critical role of a strong primary education in shaping a child’s future.
The early years experience is designed to be joyful and to nurture students’ skills, passions, and sense of belonging within the community, setting the foundation for their lifelong journey.
EDUCATION
Breaking out of the box
By Casey Neill
THINKING outside the box helped Jess Horn share her message of selfacceptance with thousands of Victorian Preps.
Picture book Bernie Thinks in Boxes is about thinking differently and navigating change in a neurotypical world.
“I was about a year past having just started my picture book journey, learning about writing picture books and trying to get something published,” Jess said.
“The idea came to me when I was reflecting on how I think.
“My head loves to play with words so I was amused by the literal idea of thinking in boxes - sitting in a box to do your thinking.
“I want it to give kids permission to be themselves, even if it’s not what society tells them to be.
“I wanted to create a conversation around different ways of thinking.
“I’m hopeful that will lead kids to be more understanding and accommodating of their peers.
“There’s no harm in pointing out differences.”
Bernie Thinks in Boxes is one of five picture books included in Prep Bags that will be gifted to all Victorian school starters in 2025, to improve literacy and build a love of reading.
“That was an unexpected and wonderful piece of news,” Jess said.
“I got a phone call from the publisher the day after the release of Bernie.
“I had absolutely no idea they’d even entered the book. I didn’t know it was a thing.
“I didn’t have any expectation that my book might be included.”
She’s thrilled that there’ll be “65,000 little Bernies running around next year”.
“It’s such a good way of getting stories into homes that hopefully can add some value,” she said.
Jess has loved writing since she was a kid.
“I wrote poems and handed them to my teachers at school,” she said.
“I thought one day I’d write a novel, but I went to uni and studied something different.”
Jess has a degree in speech pathology and worked in the disability field while continuing to try her hand at writing that novel.
But reading picture books with her kids, now aged 9 and 6, inspired her to take a picture book writing course with the Australian Writers Centre.
“It gave me enough information to get going,” she said.
“My head is always full of books and book-related things.
“It’s been my main interest for years.
“I’ve got two other books in the works coming out with Hardie Grant with their Bright Light imprint, one next year and one the year after.”
Jess’s parenting journey has “been rocky”, she admitted with a laugh.
“My children are wonderful and I love them and it has been overall an amazing journey,” she said.
“Every parent knows it comes with challenges.
“I went into that journey nine years ago not knowing a lot of things about myself.
“Having that big shift in my life, it did pose some challenges.
“I’ve got kids with their own needs and it’s just a matter of trying to navigate everyone’s needs in the household.
“As someone who’s very black and white, I’ve struggled with the fact that there’s not a right answer, there’s not one right approach.
“I didn’t trust myself because I hadn’t done it before.
“I didn’t have the confidence.”
And there’s such a wealth of information at our fingertips.
“It complicates our lives, it gives us more to think about,” Jess said.
“You can’t do everything you see, you can’t apply every strategy that you see.
“You can’t be that picture-perfect family that’s presented on social media.
“I think I’ve stopped trying to apply other people’s strategies.
“I just try to do the best that I can do on the day.”
Battle back-to-school blues
THE transition between the holidays and starting or going back to school can often be full of mixed emotions.
So primary school teacher Miss B, known on TikTok as Lil’ Miss Sunshinee, shared her tips for parents on getting kids ready for the new school year ahead.
Positive vibes
Back-to-school time can be full of mixed emotions.
Returning or starting school leaves many children with unanswered questions: “Who will my teacher be?” “Who will be in my class?”
Have a conversation with your child, listen to their worries, and respond in a calm and supportive manner to help them navigate this transitional time.
Remind them of the positives! They will be able to play with their friends again, see their teachers and learn new things.
Read all about it
Reading is a great way to share time with your child, spark their imagination, and maintain routine.
Reading books about going back to or starting school can help relieve some of those first-day jitters.
Not only can the story provide your child with a sense of what the transition might be like, they can also get a boost of confidence as the story unfolds.
Reading these books can offer an opportunity for your child to share their feelings.
Set goals
Goal-setting is a big part of learning.
Encourage your child to set some goals to help them get into the right frame of mind for school. They can be academic or social goals, or a new habit, such as packing their schoolbag before bed every night.
This could even be a great time for the whole family to set some goals. You can cheer each other on and celebrate everyone’s wins!
Have some fun!
Children are quick to pick up on our attitudes towards things, so creating a positive energy towards the back-toschool lead-up can help.
Build anticipation by going shopping together and buying school supplies.
They can pick out their lunchbox and pencil case and fill it with a fabulous collection of pens and markers.
Ease into routine
It can be helpful to start waking up earlier little by little in the days leading up to the first day back.
Getting back into a bedtime routine can also help.
For some families, this might mean enforcing a ‘no electronics’ rule the hour before bedtime or having dinner a little earlier.
Get organised
The first back-to-school morning might be a whirlwind for the whole family!
Back to waking up early, packing lunches, organising uniforms, and making sure you get everyone to where they need to be.
The more organised you can be, the easier the first back-to-school morning will be.
Planning the morning routine might be a whole family affair, so ensure you are all on the same page.
This might include figuring out what time you need to wake up, sharing responsibilities such as breakfast and packing lunches, and laying out your child’s uniform the night before.
A fresh space for young minds to flourish
STRATHCONA Girls Grammar officially opened its new early years centre in Canterbury in October.
The purpose-built campus for students in 3-year-old kindergarten through to Year 1 is set in three heritage houses connected by two contemporary links.
The space caters to 70 students across three buildings surrounded by an extensive natural play area with an expanded external deck and three playgrounds.
“Nothing great is built without a strong foundation and Strathcona’s Early Years is meticulously crafted to give young minds the best possible start,” Strathcona principal Lorna Beegan said.
“This will benefit our students throughout their educational journey.
“This is where a love of learning and life-long curiosity starts.”
Strathcona’s early years is underpinned by the Floresco education framework, meaning ‘to flourish’.
Inspired by Harvard’s Pedagogy of Play, Finland’s Early Childhood Education Model, and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, it allows a student-focused approach.
Floresco encourages children to explore their identity, culture, and values as active learners and citizens in a natural, student-centred environment.
Students will also receive explicit teaching across literacy and mathematics alongside other specialist subjects.
Strathcona Girls Grammar head of junior school, Lisa Miller, said the campus design featured natural materials, soft lighting, and gentle scents to create a meditative atmosphere.
“Unique spaces such as the Think Lab - filled with natural curiosities like bug collections, snake skins, and skeletal artifacts - encourage exploration and innovation whilst learning outside of traditional academic boundaries,” she said.
BORN TO PERFORM
Step into the world of dance
PARENTS, especially if they haven’t been in dance classes themselves, can find it challenging to select the right dance environment for their child.
They can inadvertently form unhelpful expectations or not properly consider the whys and hows of it all.
Some of the best dance teachers around offer the following advice to mums, dads, and carers who want what’s best for their child when it comes to the world of dance.
1. Do a trial class first
This gives parents the chance to observe how the teacher delivers lessons, their communication skills, and choice of words.
Kids often want to observe a class before they feel comfortable joining in.
With a toddler class, it’s often best to simply join in yourself and show the way.
2. Don’t compare your child to others in the class
Parents can unintentionally find themselves comparing their child with others, even from the very first class. They might see their own child listening less, jumping and skipping around haphazardly, and make an assessment that the child isn’t really ‘into it’ or the class isn’t right for them. It can seem a little chaotic but a good teacher has a plan.
More than singing
IMAGINE a place where children gather to learn and achieve something together, without phones, without competition, and with fun and rigour in equal measure.
Welcome to the world of choir.
Young Voices of Melbourne runs choirs for school-aged children and opens their worlds to music, friendships, and unparalleled life experiences.
Singers in the younger choirs enjoy discovering new music, learning to read notation, and performing several times a year.
Singers in the high school-aged group enjoy high-profile performance opportunities and annual tours, while learning a broad range of music and developing outstanding musical skills.
In 2024 alone, the performing choir has sung three times with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, performed for international delegates at the ASEAN Summit, and toured to the National Folk Festival.
In 2025 the choir is heading to Europe to sing in festivals in Italy, Austria, and the UK.
All these experiences foster friendships and connections that singers cherish for the rest of their lives.
Rehearsals are weekly in Toorak and new singers are welcomed throughout the year.
Get in touch now to be a part of our choirs in 2025.
Join by emailing info@yvm.com.au or heading to yvm.com.au.
ACTING CLASSES FOR AGES 11 - 17+
At 16th Street we help young actors find their place in the world. Focused on encouraging creativity, we develop their craft across stage and screen.
Enrolments for the 2025 Youth Acting Programs are now open - learn more at 16thstreet.com.au
Kids generally find dancing uninhibitedly comes naturally and it’s actually the best starting point.
3. Don’t opt out of the end-of-year concert
Even if you find yourself having to thread and attach a bucketful of beads to a costume or reorganise a heavy holiday schedule, the concert offers a chance to put aside personal needs and wants and focus on the kids.
Concerts are essentially all about them.
They instil confidence, spark joy, and nurture crucial presentation skills in the kids, while teachers get their moment in the sun to show their creativity.
4. Don’t underestimate the value of forming life-long bonds
This applies to children and parents.
Meeting other mums and dads can open up new social interactions, while kids have the same opportunity.
Learning together in a fun environment is a great way for kids to bond.
If they continue with classes as they grow, they share the joys, pains and successes of their dance ‘career’ with?like-minded peers, which can cement significant friendships.
Chickaboo flies the coop to Paris
By Casey Neill
A Berwick grandmother’s literary gift to her grandkids is on the shelf of a Parisian library.
Jennifer Tanti couldn’t speak English until age 5 and didn’t discover reading until even later.
“Italian is my first language,” she said. “I walked into school and had no idea what anyone was talking about.
“I didn’t discover books and reading until I was 10 or 12 because we didn’t really have books at home.
“I just loved being taken into a different place with a story. I’ve always loved the creativity of it.
“Since then I haven’t stopped reading.”
Jennifer also grew up listening to stories from her Maltese family, who migrated to Australia from Egypt in the early 1950s.
“I’ve always loved words and the sounds of words,” she said.
“We had a great teacher in Grade 6; I’ll never forget him.
“He would not only tell us the meaning of the word, but where the word came from and how it was structured and how grammar was structured.
“That was my introduction to the love of the language.”
This led to studies in linguistics, Italian, French, and Spanish, and Jennifer has worked as an interpreter, translator, and teacher.
“I’ve always had a vision to write a book,” she said.
“When my grandson, Luca, was born in 2016, I held him and said ‘I’m going to write you a book one day’.”
So she took a University of the Third Age (U3A) course in 2019.
“I wrote the draft for Chickaboo during the writing class and read it to my fellow students,” she said.
“I use language that enhances a child’s vocabulary and sounds that resonate to bring the story to life.
“The teacher said, ‘This could be something’.”
Jennifer attended a self-publishing workshop at Berwick Library and connected with Busybird Publishing’s owner.
“Because it was lockdown by then, she helped me every single step of the way, online and on the phone,” she said.
“I didn’t meet the illustrator till after
the book was published because we couldn’t meet.
“Artist Nicole Eykmann created the luscious images and captured my imagination.”
Chickaboo is a story about mateship, cooperation, and care, and follows a chick by the same name on a trip outside the farm gate with his friends.
“Chickaboo is now held in Shakespeare and Co bookshop’s library in Paris,” Jennifer said.
“It’s also available in a few local Melbourne libraries.
“My readings at storytime at Berwick and Endeavour libraries were great fun for me and the children engaged happily and creatively.
“I was lucky enough to go to a grandparents’ day at my grandson’s school.
“I read it to his class, which was really lovely.”
Jennifer’s sequel, Milly, stars a millipede who lives on the same farm and adventures to the chook pen with Chickaboo.
Sharing bedtime stories with Luca, 8, and Maya, 4, inspired the books.
“I created this character and we took him on an adventure every night,” she said.
“We’re going on a journey together. The three of us in the bed reading the same story will have three different spins on it, which is really wonderful.”
A tiny dove wearing a scarf is peppered throughout Chickaboo.
“When I was writing it I was living in a
rental and looked after my grandson quite a lot,” she said.
“We had a pair of doves that used to visit all the time.
“He said, ‘Grandma, it looks as though it’s wearing a spotty scarf’.”
Gumnuts also feature throughout as a nod to Maya.
“The very first intelligible word she said to me was gumnuts, so I call her my little gumnut,” Jennnifer said.
“Milly wears a pink bow in her hair and she loves her shoes. They’re based on my granddaughter’s shoes.”
Jennifer made up bedtime stories with her own children, dating back to 1984 when her son was born.
“It was a time for us to stop because days were always filled with school activities,” she said.
“By the time they got to bed, we’d all collapse.
“It was a time to be. It was a good winding down as well for them.
“We didn’t have screens, we didn’t have all this noise around us; it was just quiet.”
A novel for adults could be next on the cards for Jennifer.
“I’ve started writing drafts,” she said.
“I wouldn’t mind doing another children’s one but we’ll see how we go.
“I’ve got people hammering me to write a sequel, but self-publishing is not cheap.
“I live on my own, I’m on a pension. I don’t have bucketloads of money to pour into it.”
REALITY BITES
Take two minutes to breathe
By Casey Neill
“YOU are your child’s environment,” says Dr Shelley Davidow.
So the teacher and author says parents need to first put on their own oxygen masks before they help their children.
“Your body is the first and most important instrument in the orchestra of your child’s life,” she said.
“It’s almost like tuning our instruments so we’re ready to be played - we’re more likely to have a measured, calm, loving response, a steady response to whatever’s happening.
“You as the parent have the most profound connection to your child.
“Your body needs to get taken care of because that’s what’s going to respond to your child’s needs.”
Shelley is originally from South Africa but now calls the Sunshine Coast home.
“I’m just passionate about living life to the fullest and supporting people to live their best lives,” she said.
“What story do you want to tell about your life today?
“We can tell a story of ‘terrible things always happen to me’ or you can tell ‘it’s the 12 labours of Hercules and I’m on number 11 and it’s going to be hell but I’m going to get through it’.”
Shelley has spent more than a decade working in schools and with parent bodies, “To really help parents reduce their stress, to practice being in a state of automatic nervous system balance”.
“When you are in that balanced state you are so much less likely to overreact,” she said.
“When you are caught in a continuous fight or flight or freeze, your body is not designed for that on a long-term basis.
“I think a lot of parents are caught. ‘Are we doing the right thing? Are we parenting in the right way?’
“My message is about coming back to the most fundamental things that we all know, but sometimes we need reminding.
“Love and gratitude have the most powerful impact on your physiology and the physiology of the children around you.”
She recently co-authored Grounded: The off-road guide to parenting in an unstable world with Dr Michael Nagel.
“What Mike and I are talking about is how parents need to put their own oxygen mask on first before they help others,” she said.
“Take those two minutes.”
Shelley said to breathe in for five counts, then out for five, “Just focusing your attention on the area of the heart, then actively feeling gratitude or love or care for something or someone.”
“Bring that feeling of gratitude into your heart until you’re actively feeling it,” she said.
“You sustain that for at least two minutes.
“It changes your physiology.
“It actually can change your entire heart rhythm pattern.
“It changes the heart rate variability of the children who are close to you.
“It’s something I would do in the morning or in the grocery aisle when my 3-year-old is throwing a complete tantrum.
“The worst thing we can do is stoop to the level of the fray.
“Pick yourself up and move on.
“The best for them is if you’re calm.
“We get caught up trying to rationalise with irrational little beings.
“You can say, ‘I hear you, I love you, we’re not getting that right now’.”
She stressed that there is no quick fix when it comes to parenting.
“People can’t say, ‘When your child does this, do that’,” she said.
“In the end, it’s your steadiness that is going to help them be steady.”
But “expect things to go pear-shaped”.
“Life is like this wiggly, unpredictable road,” she said.
“We strive to be good humans but sometimes we all do shitty things.
“Forgive yourself, kiss yourself better.
“I have been grumpy and rough in my words with my kid and my classes and the next day I’ll go back and say, ‘Hey, yesterday I was so grumpy, I’m really sorry’.
“Expect everything to go pear-shaped a lot of the time, because when you’re parenting things are going to go wrong.”
Shelley encouraged parents to model the kind of fixing they wanted to see after things had gone pear-shaped.
“We find out what happened, who’s been hurt, how have they been hurt…” she said.
“How do we make this better? What needs to happen to make this better?
“I had a rule in my classroom and in my house that if something’s broken, we do everything we can to fix it.
“There’s no point playing the blame game. Everyone who’s part of the problem is part of the solution.”
Shelley’s child is now ‘grown’ so she has “only three jobs and a writing career”.
“I think I’m very energetic and inspired about different things,” she said when asked how she juggled it all.
“I do not sit around to relax and watch movies.
“I write a book instead.
“The things that relax me are considered work for other people.
“Relaxing is sitting with my laptop or with my journal and jotting down ideas.
“That entertains me.
“At some level it might be a survival instinct.
“I come from a long line of refugees and I grew up in a very tumultuous South Africa.
“Surviving is the first thing that you have to do.”
Shelley doesn’t sit down at a designated time and place to work on a project.
“I’m very opportunistic in terms of writing,” she said.
“I do it in the cracks between.
“Maybe I have ADD.
“There’s no such thing as sitting with writer’s block.
“I go from one thing to the next.”
By Casey Neill
Preparing bodies for birth
MELBOURNE mum and physio Alex Lopes is arming women with ‘taboo’ knowledge around pregnancy and birth.
“It’s not talked about enough,” she said.
“Modern science can’t protect us from potential trauma during childbirth; things can go wrong.”
Alex knows this first-hand.
The director at Altona North’s Pelvic Health Melbourne worked as a sports physiotherapist before a traumatic birth ‘ripped (her) in two’, causing bladder, bowel, and prolapse issues.
“There’s a journey of feeling disfigured, feeling damaged,” she said.
“I did not feel supported in my recovery so I retrained in this field.
“A lot of physios have gone into this field because of their own childbirth experiences - some from very positive experiences, others less so.
“After my own experience, I wanted to create a safe space for women in my community to be looked after.”
This was the impetus behind Pelvic Health Melbourne, which has evolved to offer pelvic health services to men, women, kids, and all genders.
Alex became the National Chair of the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s Women’s, Men’s, and Pelvic Health Group.
During her term she was passionate about establishing a consistent national physiotherapy training pathway, which has now been developed and rolled out across Australia.
She’s has run post-birth education sessions for 10 years, reaching out to community health centres, working with maternal child health nurses and helping women to understand the birth risks and their rights and choices.
Alex hosts free Body After Baby events, which include ultrasounds for participants, and her presentation is available on the Pelvic Health Melbourne website under ‘pregnancy services’.
“This class has been based on filling in the gaps I’ve seen in the pregnancy and postnatal education healthcare space,” she said.
“I wish we could get together and develop a national online education program so that we have consistent comprehensive education to all parents across Australia.”
She turns to humour to share her message; her aim is to normalise the language around pelvic health concerns.
The good news? We’re getting more comfortable talking about birth injuries, bladder, bowel prolapse, and intimate concerns.
“I’m really hopeful for the next generation,” Alex said.
“My friends, in their fifties? I can still see them squirm.”
Alex said most event attendees had already given birth and she hoped to see more attend prenatally so they could be better prepared.
“I don’t use fear tactics - it’s about putting it in perspective, saying ‘these are things to be aware of’,” she said.
“They tend to cope so much better with things that may not have gone to plan if they’ve been informed.”
She covers episiotomies, epidurals, forceps, suction, caesareans, pushing and all after-birth care, which is often missed.
One of the complications can be pelvic organ prolapse. Alex said 50 percent of women would develop an anatomical prolapse over their lifetime, but it might never have any impact.
“Only 23 percent will develop symptoms,” she said.
What is a prolapse? Your pelvic floor muscles support your organs from below.
Throughout pregnancy and during birth the ligaments supporting the organs can stretch and the organs - the bladder, bowel, or uterus - can fall into the vaginal space.
Prolapses are usually felt as bulge or heaviness, not pain.
Having a prolapse and increased vaginal laxity can “throw your sense of identity as a sexual being”.
“But there is hope,” Alex said.
“We look at how to reduce your symptoms.
“See a pelvic health physio for any symptoms that persist.
“As a general rule, if you’ve got persistent leakage, bowel or pain complaints after three months, see someone.
“In an ideal world, pelvic health physios would see every woman at six weeks post-birth.”
She said seeking help put women in a vulnerable position, but that it was a less intimidating prospect after birth.
“If you go into a space and you know that’s all they do, you feel safe.”
She often hears, ‘Wow, I wish I had come in earlier’ and ‘I felt so heard, so understood’.
Alex said that in the ‘old days’ and in other cultures it was common for women to have 40 days of confinement post-birth.
“We’ve lost our way, caring for our women,” she said.
“You’re left to fend for yourself.
“So many women struggle.
“You’re still recovering from passive whole-body trauma and then you’re sleep-deprived and trying to cook, clean, and do everything else.”
Body After Baby also covers breastfeeding and attachment, particularly blocked ducts and lymphatic drainage.
Alex is a strong advocate for teaching women to feed lying down.
She said it was ‘everything’ in the 1940s but fell out of favour with the advent of bottle feeding.
“The muscles of the pelvic floor are stretched to three times their normal length and suffer microscopic tears,” she said.
“The only way to rest is lying down, not sitting.
“I guarantee you women suffer back and shoulder pain from feeding upright.
“You’ve lost a little bit of the prudishness,” she laughed.
“You’re a little bit more open to people looking than you were before having kids.
“The birth is only one day and we want to make it as efficient as possible,” she said.
The post-birth complications, though, can last a lot longer.
“I haven’t had any woman who feeds lying down and didn’t enjoy it.”
Alex Lopes, standing, is passionate about pelvic health.
‘My son got me through it’
MYRNIONG mum Lynn Burgess found a lump in her armpit when she was eight months pregnant.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer when son Oakley was three weeks old.
“The hardest part was seeing my loved ones really sad,” she said.
“It’s easier for you to go through it than watch people you love go through it.”
Lynn endured a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy.
“I lost all my hair, I gained weight from being pregnant and gained more weight from steroids,” she said.
“I didn’t really look in the mirror that
much; I had no idea who I was.
“I just kept reminding myself that, internally, I am the same person.
“My son got me through it because I woke up in the morning and he just wanted me to be a mum, so that’s what I did.
“Even after my mastectomy, I developed a way to get him out of the cot with one arm.
“I made sure I was there for that baby every single day.
“He had no idea that I had cancer and he didn’t care that I was huge from steroids or bald.
“Cancer made our bond stronger because he just loved me for who I was.”
Lynn had tough days where she feared the worst, and shared her negative feelings with family and friends to get it out of her system.
“If you don’t have that, write it down and burn the piece of paper,” she said.
Lynn urged anyone supporting a woman battling cancer to simply listen.
“If it is your wife, your sister, your auntie, your mum, just tell them they’re beautiful,” she said.
“Never tell them, ‘your hair will grow back’ or ‘it’s just a boob’ or ‘you don’t need a boob’.
“Just say, ‘I don’t understand but what can I do to help?’.”
She also urged women to be vigilent about their health.
Helping parents to give kids hope
By Casey Neill
A Hoppers Crossing psychologist says a little bit of hope can keep kids on track.
Dr Lyn O’Grady has dedicated more than 30 years to enhancing mental health and wellbeing for children, young people, and their families.
Her new book, Keeping Our Kids Hopeful: Parenting Children During Times of Uncertainty, delves into what drives us to face each new day - hope and confidence in the future.
“A loss of hope is where we become most stuck,” she said.
The book explores how this sense of hope can be fostered in children, even amid uncertainties and challenges.
“It’s for parents of primary schoolaged children, really aiming to help parents understand the uncertainty and all the different things their kids might be facing, and to bring an element of hope to that,” Dr O’Grady said.
“How do we be hopeful in this space and work out how we can be hopeful as role models?”
In 2020, Dr O’Grady wrote Keeping Our Kids Alive: Parenting a Suicidal Young person.
Then she took a step back. Why wait until teens were at breaking point?
“I was very aware from my work that sometimes children had been aware of suicide but it didn’t become apparent to their parents until they were teenagers,” she said.
So she set out to provide parents with early intervention tactics and a preventative approach.
Dr O’Grady said suicide represented a loss of hope.
“It made sense to be thinking of how to embrace hope,” she said.
A consistent theme throughout the book is adults listening to children, giving children hope they’re being heard.
She said kids had lots of ideas that adults - parents, teachers, etcetera -
weren’t really tuning into or really hearing. Tune into your child and work out what to do together.
“That again makes people feel hopeful,” Dr O’Grady said.
Modelling confidence is another key way to give children confidence in themselves.
“Parents have to work out this stuff first,” she said.
“If they get their own support then they’re better equipped to support the child.”
Acknowledging a child’s concern is also key.
“Sometimes parents can be dismissive of what children’s worries are,” Dr O’Grady said.
“It is about validating these worries and trying to make sense of it for yourself and being able to face it together.
“What are some of the things we can do as a family? What are some actions that we can take?”
“I did the genetic testing and it came back negative,” she said.
“I thought it had to be in your family to get it and I learned fairly quick that it was the roll of a dice and it just picked me for whatever reason.”
Western Health breast care nurse consultant Sue Komp urged women to prioritise their health.
“The most important thing is being aware of your own body and then acting on it as soon as you’re concerned,” she said.
“So if you feel a lump or you feel something is not right, see your GP as soon as you can.”
- Afraa Kori
Parents need to acknowledge that the big things exist.
“Deaths, separations, can create feelings of being less hopeful, or uncertain, or stressed,” Dr O’Grady said.
“It’s about normalising that distress and recognising children’s responses to it as being really normal.”
REALITY BITES
Shannon’s fighting spirit
By Angie Hilton
I first heard about Shannon Bell through a friend who had gone to see her for a ‘soul reading’.
He couldn’t stop talking about how she had told him so many accurate things that no one else could have known.
Naturally, I was intrigued.
I’ve always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to psychics, so I decided to book a session but went in with my guard up, expecting to meet someone who fit the stereotypical ‘spiritual person’ image I had in my mind.
What surprised me was how different Shannon, 34, was from that expectation.
Instead of crystals and incense, I met a polished, confident young Geelong mum with a sweet but fierce demeanor.
She radiated warmth and authenticity.
It was only after our reading that I learned about Shannon’s heartbreaking story of loss - an experience that fueled her mission to help others reconnect with their own intuition.
Here’s a glimpse into our conversation.
Q: Shannon, your journey into motherhood sounds deeply transformative. Before you became a mother, you had big dreams of becoming a brain surgeon or a chef. Can you share more about how your early ambitions shaped your path, especially growing up without the support of your mother?
Shannon: From a young age, I had this intense fascination with the brain and the medical field.
I remember being just 4 or 5 years old, studying brain photos in an encyclopedia, imagining myself as a brain surgeon one day.
I always knew I wanted to help others, and that passion led me to nursing.
But when my mother left when I was 6, life became very different.
I had to take on responsibilities early, and I didn’t have much support emotionally.
Losing my son Jude later in life helped me realise that my mother wasn’t able to provide what I needed.
Those early challenges, though, built my resilience and made me even more compassionate.
Q: That resilience has certainly shaped your path as both a mother and a
professional. How has becoming a mother, especially at such a young age, influenced your journey?
Shannon: Becoming a mother at 19 was challenging, but it was also one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
I felt like I had to prove myself, especially being so young, but I always took pride in being a mum to Xavier. We grew up together in many ways. Now, with the wisdom I’ve gained, motherhood feels different.
I don’t feel the need to prove anything anymore - I can just enjoy the moments with my sons, knowing I’m doing my best for them.
Q: What a beautiful evolution. You’ve shared that your journey into becoming a psychic medium was deeply tied to the experience of losing your son, Jude. Can you tell us more about that connection?
Shannon: Absolutely. I’ve always felt connected, even as a little girl, but life pulled me away from that.
Shannon Bell with Sonny. Pictures: Louisa Jones
When I had Jude during COVID, I felt this deep, telepathic bond with him from the moment he was born.
After his passing, that connection reopened in a profound way.
It became my way of healing, and now I use that connection to help others. It’s about using my spiritual gifts to bring healing and clarity to those who need it.
Q: Losing a child is unimaginable for many of us. How has that loss changed the way you approach parenting with your other children?
Shannon: It’s made me trust my intuition more than ever.
With Jude, I knew something wasn’t right, and I had to fight to get medical help.
It was terrifying, but I trusted my gut, and that’s something I continue to do with my other children.
I believe parents are intuitively connected to their kids, and it’s important to listen to those feelings, even if others don’t understand them.
Q: How can parents learn to trust and develop their own intuition, especially when it comes to raising their children?
Shannon: Start by paying attention to the small nudges - those gut feelings you get when something doesn’t feel right, or when you ‘just know’ something without being able to explain why.
That’s your intuition speaking.
I like to think of intuition as a guide from our higher self, or even our ‘future self’, leading us toward our highest potential and what’s best for everyone involved.
It will never steer you wrong or make you feel fear.
Reconnecting with it is about building a relationship of trust in the wisdom that’s already within you.
The more you listen and act on those feelings, the stronger that connection becomes.
Trust in yourself and give it time to grow by nurturing your wellbeing with self care and self love and always
remember to show yourself compassion for where you are in your journey.
Q: And for parents who want to nurture their children’s intuition, what would you recommend?
Shannon: Children are naturally intuitive.
They may talk about dreams or imaginary friends, which I believe is part of their spiritual connection.
Rather than dismissing it, encourage them to explore what they feel and think.
By supporting their intuition, they’ll grow up confident in trusting it.
Q: For parents who feel disconnected from their intuition and want to reconnect, what advice would you give?
Shannon: Start small. Just a few minutes of mindful breathing or a short walk in nature can make a big difference.
Self-care is crucial too. When you take time for yourself, you’re better able to show up for your kids.
It’s about finding those little moments to tune in and reconnect.
Q: That’s such a comforting approach.
Have you had any experiences where trusting your intuition as a parent made all the difference?
Shannon: Definitely. With Jude, I knew something was wrong from the start, even when doctors told me otherwise. I had to push and push until they found what was wrong, but I never stopped trusting my instincts.
That experience solidified my belief in the power of a parent’s intuition.
You know your child better than anyone.
Q: Many parents struggle with guilt when it comes to making time for self-care. How do you balance self-care with parenting?
Shannon: It doesn’t have to be a big thing - just five minutes of quiet or a short walk can do wonders.
When you take care of yourself, you’re better able to care for your children.
Remember, your energy affects them, so looking after yourself is not selfishit’s essential for being the best parent you can be.
Reality Bites
Summer pool safety
MORE than half of pool owners admitted to propping open their pool gates in a Check-Your-Pool-Gate Month survey.
The report from Kids Alive and D&D Technologies revealed two in five parents let their children swim unsupervised, and a quarter of families admitted their child had gained unsupervised access to the pool.
Kids Alive founder Laurie Lawrence stressed the importance of constant supervision and pool gate maintenance.
“I was shocked to discover nearly half of parents have left children unattended in the pool to complete quick chores,” the Check-Your-Pool-Gate Month ambassador said.
“Leaving a child unsupervised significantly increases the risk of accidents.
“Supervision is a drowning prevention method that parents really can’t overlook.
“These statistics are a stark reminder of the dangers of complacency in pool safety.”
Summer is the start of the peak drowning season and 16 children aged under five drowned in 2022.
But more than half of pool owners surveyed (55 percent) admitted to propping open their pool gates, especially when children are in the pool (25 percent) or during social gatherings (20 percent).
Almost a third (30 percent) of pool owners said they’d faced issues with their pool gates not closing properly, but nearly half (47 percent) said they took more than a month to rectify the safety issue.
“Ensuring that pool gates function correctly and are never left open can be the difference between safety and tragedy,” Laurie said.
“Regular checks and immediate repairs are non-negotiable. A pool gate should never be propped open under any circumstance.”
Emma Lawrence, Kids Alive operations director, said she was worried about how many children were gaining access to pools unsupervised.
“A quarter of families said there was an incident of children accessing their pools unsupervised, yet 30 percent of pool owners did not have the highest safety standards in place; with no lock or alarm on the pool gate,” she said.
“With nearly a third of families already experiencing a pool-related injury or
emergency, it is understandable parents are worried.
“The report shows 85 percent of families are concerned about the safety of their children swimming at other people’s pools and based on this information, they have reason to as the best safety methods are not being utilised enough by pool owners.”
Check-Your-Pool-Gate Month urged pool owners to take immediate action to ensure their pools were safe environments, including routine checks of pool gates and fences, promptly fixing any issues, and never leaving children unattended in or around the pool.
A comprehensive checklist and tips for safe parties can be found at www.checkyourpoolgate.com.au.
Summer travel fire safety tips
FIRE safety should be front of mind year-round but particularly throughout the summer months, and holidays are no excuse for ignoring the risks.
Whether you’re hitting the road, taking a flight, or exploring a new place, keep these tips from fire products and solutions provider Brooks in mind when you arrive at your destination.
Review your accommodation’s procedures
Take a moment to familiarise yourself with the fire safety features.
Locate smoke alarms, emergency exits and the fire extinguishers or blankets.
Be sure to test each smoke alarm.
Gently push the test button and hold for about 10 seconds until you hear it beep.
Know your escape routes
Take a moment to identify emergency exits and escape routes.
Plan how you and your family would exit in the event of a fire.
Establish a meeting point outside where everyone can gather safely.
Pack a mini emergency kit
Torch: To help you navigate in smoke or during a power outage.
Extra batteries: Keep your torch and other devices ready to go.
Portable phone charger: Ensure your phone stays charged for emergency calls.
First-aid supplies: Bandages, burn cream, and pain relief for minor injuries.
Be cautious with cooking appliances Take care when using cooking appliances like stoves, ovens, and microwaves.
Follow the cooking instructions carefully, and never leave the kitchen Keep flammable items like dish towels and curtains away from heat sources.
Practice electrical safety
Inspect the outlets and cords for any signs of damage before plugging in any devices or chargers.
Avoid overloading electrical sockets and never leave devices charging unattended, especially overnight.
Report safety concerns
Report any fire safety concerns, such as blocked exits or malfunctioning smoke alarms, to the property management immediately.
Books
Embracing a brighter future
By Casey Neill
RUGBY league star Nicho Hynes has always known he is Aboriginal but not what that actually means.
So he’s sharing his journey to embrace culture and feel like he belonged in his Aboriginal identity in the new book Stand Proud.
“I hope that kids from all different backgrounds can feel seen by this story and know they are enough as they are,” he told Kids.
“When people can see themselves in someone else’s stories, they don’t feel so alone in their struggles or they realise for the first time there is a brighter future ahead.
“I think a young Nicho would’ve really appreciated a story like this.
“This story would’ve inspired me as a young fella and I hope that’s the kind of impact it has.”
Greg
the Galah, Superstar!
Patrick Guest and Jonathan Bentley
Galahs love to boogie and act like a clown. They always pull faces or hang upside down.
As soon as they hatch and crawl from their egg, Galahs are hilarious...and then...there was Greg.
Everyone knows that galahs are hilarious. They’re silly, loud and love attention! But then there’s Greg...who’s nothing like the rest of the flock.
Scholastic
$19.99
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks halfback co-authored Stand Proud with friend Marlee Silva, and 2022 Archibald Prize willer Blak Douglas provided the illustrations.
Nicho hopes it helps readers from culturally diverse backgrounds feel like they can be proud of their identity no matter what others say or think.
“I hope it encourages them to express themselves and connect with their culture and community in whatever way they can - because their culture is beautiful and it makes them strong,” he said.
“For those other kids who might not relate to the cultural identity elements of this book, I hope it opens their minds to empathy for kids who are different to them.
“I hope it gets them interested in learning about their classmates or friends’ cultural backgrounds and educates them.”
He thinks parents will also benefit from reading Stand Proud to their children.
“I hope it excites them to help their child embrace their culture and navigate their identity and encourage parents to go away from the book with the intention of continuing to bring more culturally diverse stories and lessons into their homes,” he said.
“Each individual has a unique identity and tapestry of family background, history, and experience that makes them who they are.
“And that this unique combination is something that everyone should have space to grow into, explore and celebrate.
“I hope classrooms and homes alike can provide safe spaces for discussion and questions about identity and culture and ultimately young readers can come to find strength in their differences and pride in who they are.
“There’s no one way to be any particular identity or culture.
“There’s no one way to be Aboriginal or Japanese or Muslim or a boy or a girl, all the things that make us who we are, are specific to who we are and that’s OK.
“Don’t judge another person’s identity by your own stereotypes and expectations and let people be who they are freely and with joy.”
The Kill Factor
Ben Oliver
In a world where social media is everything and followers equal money, Emerson is facing a prison sentence.
She’s offered a way out - a brand new gameshow for young felons that combines social media and reality TV.
The first prize? Freedom and a comfortable life for Emerson’s little brother. But if she loses?
Incarceration for life.
The games kick off on a remote island with the prison at its heart.
Little do the viewers or contestants know the prison is empty, and the truth about why is even more brutal than the games themselves ...
The Chicken House $19.99
The Impatient Glacier
Shaun Micallef and Rebel Challenger A glacier up on a mountain grew tired of the same boring view.
He wanted excitement; he wanted some fun, he wanted to see something new.
From Shaun Micallef comes this warming new picture-book adventure about enjoying life’s moments...before they’re gone.
Scholastic
$19.99
Goodnight, Joeys
Renee Treml
Whisper goodnight to the land, where joeys race on cool, soft sand.
All baby marsupials are known as joeys, yet they come in different shapes and sizes.
Join your little one as you whisper a goodnight wish to joeys across Australia in this quiet lullaby.
Puffin $14.99
My Big Fat Smelly Poo Diary
Jim Smith
From the bestselling creator of Barry Loser comes Jim Smith’s new full-colour graphic novel series for readers aged 7-plus. It’s packed full of friendship, fun and toilet jokes galore! Join best friends Pedro, Olga and Ozzie - otherwise known as the Poopies - on a series of fun adventure stories, and help them solve mysteries of the most unexpected kind.
Scholastic $16.99
