Development

Should teens get a job?

The benefits of part-time work go beyond teenagers having their own money, but balance with home and school is key.

Child sex on rise

A youth worker says children as young as 11 are having sex in Invercargill, which has one of the highest NZ teen pregnancy rates.

A wake up call

Kiwi kids are missing out on up to six hours of sleep a night, ranking them amongst the sleepiest students in the world.

Is eight too young for makeup?

New research from the US shows girls as young as eight feel under pressure to wear makeup.

Sexualisation of the young

Our overtly sexual environment is generating depressed, lonely people, writes Steve Biddulph.

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Is it time to cut the cord?

The so-called ''helicopter'' parent is becoming ubiquitous, with new research showing more than 90 per cent of school psychologists and counsellors are encountering over-involved parents.

Too young, too much, too soon

Walking past a group of young girls on the weekend my 11-year-old daughter asked: "Mummy, do all teenagers dress like that?"

Turbo-charged parents still running their university-aged children's schedules, laundry and vacations could be doing more harm than good with a study showing these students were more likely to be depressed and dissatisfied with life.

Parenting and the chaos theory

Today, class, we are going to talk about the science of parenting. Bear with me as I try to explain how the laws of osmosis and inertia play an unexpected role in the art of parenting.

Life skills for teens

Everyone graduates from high school knowing how to read, write and do basic maths (hopefully). But to be a self-sufficient adult, those skills are not enough. In fact, they're nowhere close to enough.

Do kids need limits?

Do children have the right to make autonomous decisions or do parents need to set limits?

Growing up in politics

Can you possibly have a normal childhood growing up in the White House? Family dinners and strict homework rules are a good start writes Krissah Thompson.

Teens embracing Brazilian trend

Navigating the torturous teenage years just got a whole lot harder for girls and their parents with a new pressure to add to the list - to be "hair free".

Dads influence teen sex

Fathers' attitudes toward teen sex and the emotional closeness of their relationship with their teens have a sizable influence on their teens' sexual behaviour.

The coolest kids do better in life

US study suggests popular kids are more likely to be successful in later life than their uncool peers.

How young is too young?

At what age would you be comfortable for your daughter to get her first facial or manicure?

Early puberty

A new study has found boys may be entering puberty earlier than in generations past, suggesting it's not just girls who are developing at earlier ages.