Is your child’s school using generative AI? Here are 8 questions to ask
Eugene Mymrin/ Getty Images There have been at least three watershed moments in how humans access information. One came with the invention of the printing press in 1440, which revolutionised the spread of knowledge. Another came in 1998, when the launch of Google changed how we search for and retrieve information. The third happened in […]
Don’t dismiss kids’ sadness or anger. How to minimise family conflict over the social media ban
Cottonbro Studio/ Pexels In just over a month Australia’s social media ban will begin. From December 10, those under 16 will only be able to see publicly available content on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube. They will not be able to have their own accounts. For example, they could look […]
How common is sexually abusive behaviour between children? How should daycare centres respond?
Gpointstudio/ Getty Images Parents have spoken about harrowing cases of their young children being abused by other children in daycare centres, as part of an ABC investigation into the New South Wales sector. How common is sexually abusive behaviour between children? Why does it happen? And what can daycare centres do about it? Read more: […]
7 ways to teach little kids about body safety before they can talk
Johner Images/ Getty Images Families with young children are yet again reeling after this week’s Four Corners investigation into abuse in the early childhood sector. The program identified almost 150 childcare workers who had been convicted, charged, or accused of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct. System-wide changes are needed to improve standards and safety in […]
Are you finishing Year 12? Here’s how to avoid a post-school slump
Mart Production/ Pexels The period immediately after completing Year 12 can feel unexpectedly anticlimactic. You have been building up to the end of school for years, then there is the intensity and pressure of exams and festivities of formals and graduation ceremonies. And then suddenly, it’s all over. Irrespective of how much you enjoyed school, […]
Is Halloween too scary for kids?
Charles Parker/ Pexels It is easy to see Halloween as an inappropriate time for children. With its mixture of bloody costumes and scary themes, it can often feel like it is luring kids into topics they are not ready to grapple with. However, since the time of fairy tales, the gothic and the macabre have […]
A UK hack shows Australia needs to be very careful about its CCTV trial for daycare centres
Stock Wizard/ Getty Images It has been a horror year for eary childhood education and care in Australia, amid ongoing reports and allegations of abuse in the sector. On Monday, a new ABC investigation identified almost 150 childcare workers have been convicted, charged, or accused of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct. As part of its […]
A rushed new maths curriculum doesn’t add up. The right answer is more time
Getty Images If the recent news of a new mathematics and statistics curriculum for years 0–10 felt familiar, that’s because it was. In term four last year, the Ministry of Education released a previous new maths (and English) curriculum for Years 0–8, to be implemented from term one this year. Schools must use the latest […]
Foreign spies are trying to steal Australian research. We should be doing more to stop them
Ross Tomei/ Getty Images When we think of spies, we may go to images of people in trench coats and dark glasses, trying to steal government papers. Or someone trying to tap the phone of a senior official. The reality of course can be much more sophisticated. One emerging area of concern is how countries […]
There is little evidence AI chatbots are ‘bullying kids’ – but this doesn’t mean these tools are safe
Over the weekend, Education Minister Jason Clare sounded the alarm about “AI chatbots bullying kids”. As he told reporters in a press conference to launch a new anti-bullying review, AI chatbots are now bullying kids […] humiliating them, hurting them, telling them they’re losers, telling them to kill themselves. This sounds terrifying. However, evidence it […]