My kids are only 2 and 3 1/2 and, already, their competitive spirit is alive and well. I think it’s important to nurture it in a healthy way and teach them how to use it properly.

One day, I won’t be there to catch them, and I need for them to know how to dust themselves off and keep going.

As an adopted daughter myself and now a birth mother, I will always be an advocate for adoption. I want women to know that there is an option.

Boys are more prone to separation anxiety than girls and struggle more with understanding that mama loves them and is coming back. Thus, the genuine, gut-wrenching cries both my boys have subjected me to at bedtime.

What do you believe about your children? Are you speaking and acting in a way that will build and train the children that you really want?

Our children are, in many ways, strangers in the world of adults. They don’t speak our language particularly well – and we seem to have forgotten how to speak their language as we’ve aged.

I love this article, published by Time, to help parents like me make the most of these short years we have with our kids: "How to Have a Happy Family – 7 Tips Backed by Research".

I was checking emails on my phone the other day when, out of nowhere, something swooped by at lightning speed and ripped it out of my hands. They were so fast, I didn’t even see who it was.

I find myself huffing in annoyance when sorting out his attempt to pack the dishwasher. He has seemingly not calculated the maximised available space-to-ickiness-of-surface ratio.

Before I had kids, I would have known exactly how to deal with this situation: Jack, my 2-year-old son, is crying for reasons known only to himself as we make our way through Woolworths. Tyson, my 3 1/2-year-old, is good as gold… until we reach the cleaning aisle, of all places. Ignoring Jack’s tears as best I can, I put a box of OMO laundry powder in the trolley. That was ...

One of our readers, Joelle from Colorado, shared a photo of her son Chase looking very upset.  The reason?  Joelle wouldn’t paint his nails purple. It all went wrong for me recently when my son Jono was unable to carry each of the seven cars he had carefully selected for the four-minute drive to pick up his big sisters from school. He wouldn’t let me carry any, and he wouldn’t leave ...

A Mum Daily reader and new mum wrote to me: “I have to admit, no one can tell you what its like to be a new mum until you’ve been there. I had no idea. I have a dream baby, who only fusses when there is something wrong like hunger and gas. But it’s just this weird loss of identity and lonely feeling that I didn’t expect to feel.” Watching this ...

Recently, we met some friends at a local area at Mermaid Beach called “The Marketta”. I had never been there before; Kylie had been a few times. We won’t take that any further… Anyway, it’s a fun place in an old industrial area, that has been outfitted with slightly alternative-style clothing and craft shops, and stalls with food from various countries and cultures around the world. Personally, I love culture and ...

A recent study has found that couples without kids are much happier in their marriage than those with kids. Should I be worried? Thankfully, the same study showed that mums were happiest of all, but dads were amongst the unhappiest — perhaps because of the strain parenting has put on their marriage. Nothing can really prepare you for how much life changes after your baby arrives: sleepless nights, the relentless advice ...

I’ve found a solution to my perceived marital problems: it’s easy, you can do this too. Have a night away with the man of your dreams (this is not a reference to Ryan Gosling). I’m talking about your husband – remember when you used to dream about him? It was right before you started washing his socks and reminding him where the laundry basket lives. One night away with my husband ...

As a parent, we have so many things to look after; Making sure our kids actually eat, then also making sure it’s something that will actually benefit them; Having somewhere to sleep, preferably in a bed — warm and dry is great; and then, of course, education in our Western culture, in particular, is fairly important. Do we really need to do all of this? On top of all of this, ...

Absolute perfection. Blue sky, soft sand and inviting surf. Day 1 of our beach holiday, and all was well with the world. That was, until Tyson spotted the seemingly abandoned sandcastle. Front and centre, between the red and yellow flags on the busy foreshore. Instinct took over, and he did what any red-blooded 3-and-a-half-year-old would have done… he ran straight through the middle with complete, unadulterated excitement. Come on, what would ...

No wonder I’m so tired! A UK study found that the average child asks around 300 questions a day. How on earth did our parents ever get by before Google? What made me smile was that the research revealed kids were more likely to ask their mother questions because their father was likely to say, ‘Ask your mother.’ Here are my tips for being the best ‘source of all knowledge’ you ...

Silly giggles, 3 am feeds, bedtime cuddles, wiped tears and heart-to-hearts. These are the moments you’ll treasure when your little one is all grown up. I reckon that if anyone ever does invent a time machine, it’ll be a mum. After all, wouldn’t you give everything you own to have one last snuggle with your little one, while they still think you’re the most amazing person they know? Losing Time A ...

Helicopter parents are well-meaning parents who hover over their kids. If something happens, heaven forbid, such as falling over, fighting over a toy, or getting a bad grade, helicopter parents swoop in and do everything they can to make things better. Sometimes being a helicopter parent is a good thing — in crowds, near water, or anywhere that physical danger exists. Stunted Growth But helicopter parenting when it’s playtime, sports time, ...