As a parent or caregiver to children, it is likely that you have been witness to all kinds of behaviour. Arguably the most memorable and least pleasant is the full-blown tantrum or meltdown. It is the complete volcanic eruption of emotion that appears to come from nowhere. It might be the ‘no’ you say to…

How do you feel when you wake up most mornings? Rested and ready to face the day, or irritable, agitated, and unsettled? Maybe your eyes feel dry and gritty, your mind already racing. Or perhaps you wake heavy and groggy, unsure whether you’ve had too much sleep or not enough.  Sleep is one of the…

Raising children today is complex. We all hope our little ones grow up to be happy, healthy, responsible and environmentally aware, but how do we instil these values from a young age? One of the simplest, most practical (and fun!) ways to introduce sustainability and responsibility to kids is through the use of toy libraries.…

Have you noticed that kids today seem to spend more time with screens than with friends? A recent study from the Child Mind Institute (2025) found that both parents and students see loneliness, bullying, and academic pressure as the biggest threats to young people’s wellbeing. It’s worrying to read that 40% of high school students…

As parents, we all want our children to thrive, not just survive. In a world that often feels uncertain or overwhelming, helping our children build resilience is one of the most important things we can do. But what does resilience actually look like in everyday family life? And how can we, as parents, coach our…

Victorian Parents Council are pleased to share the results of a collaborative study exploring parent and school staff views on school attendance conducted by researchers at Deakin University, University of Melbourne, and Australian Catholic University together with VPC. The study was conducted in 2023 and 2024 and surveyed 167 parents/caregivers and 69 school staff from…

Introduction  In the previous 2 blogs, I introduced the concept of zones related to your wellbeing. The state of your wellbeing is a reflection of how much stress is in your life, how intense it is, how long it has been there, without relief and what you do to relieve your stress. In this blog,…

As parents across Australia navigate the increasingly complex digital landscape our children inhabit, the Federal government’s proposed social media ban for under-16s has sparked significant debate. While protecting our children from online harms is a priority we all share, many are questioning whether a blanket ban is the most effective approach. The Good Intentions Behind…