Real life
Opinion
Opinion
Scammers kindly take note, I could teach you a thing or two
Poor grammar, bad spelling, random punctuation and unrealistic, un-Australian terminology: all of this can be fixed, for a price.
- by Richard Glover
Latest
Opinion
Parenting
Millennials are changing the grandparenting rules – and not always for the better
One word has had a constant presence in recent online conversations about family dynamics: boundaries.
- by Zoya Patel
Opinion
Christmas
An Advent calendar for $200,000? Now that’s a very merry Christmas
Once a relatively austere marking of the days, Advent calendars have become a huge, and often obscenely expensive, business. And not just in December.
- by Shona Hendley
Opinion
Opinion
To my daughter: In my final days, while I still have breath, I have will
Mark Cushway has months, perhaps weeks, to live. Here, he implores his daughter to join him in breathing in the wonder of the world.
- by Mark Cushway
Opinion
Life in the ’burbs
My tiny offshoot suburb is just like Coburg – but boring
I tell myself that we made a very canny investment when we moved here. But the only reason was because we’d been priced out everywhere else.
- by David Clements
Opinion
Opinion
Twelve years ago, I wrote a letter thanking a family I will never meet
I started the letter many times. It brought me to tears, which irritated my eye, the one with tiny stitches embroidering a new cornea in place.
- by Claire Heaney
For a Christian, asking ‘why pray?’ makes no sense
Prayer brings one closer to God, and closer to the people for whom one prays.
- by Barney Zwartz
Opinion
Opinion
My daughter’s new principal has a superpower. Now, what was his name?
My recall of names is hopeless. However, a mum I met at orientation has taught me a thoroughly modern way to overcome that affliction.
- by Cherie Gilmour
Opinion
Australians abroad
Holly and Bianca could have been any one of our children
It starts with a passport, an open-ended ticket, a crammed backpack. How do we keep our kids safe while letting them spread their wings? The truth is, we can’t.
- by Kate Halfpenny
Opinion
Opinion
From soaping to shaving, our biggest secrets stay in the bathroom
The bathroom is still a private space, maybe the only one. No one really knows what others do in there.
- by Richard Glover
Opinion
Australian music
Cold Chisel can tell you everything about your parenting skills
Anyone who’s seen Chisel or just listened to the radio since the 1970s will know what I’m on about.
- by Kate Halfpenny