Being a dad is one of the most important and rewarding roles you can have in life. In the past, dads were often seen as ‘the bread winner’ and responsible for discipline. Things are changing and there is now more flexibility in what each parent does, and more sharing of the parenting role. While parenting can be done by either parent children have unique experiences with their mum and dad.

‘Mum’. This small word carries a lot of meaning and emotion for most of us. It comes from how we feel about our own mothers and grandmothers, what our community expects of mothers and how we think we should be, or want to be as a mum.

Building a new family can be an exciting fresh start for parents and children. It is not always easy. It takes lots of time, energy and care for the new family to work well. Each family has its own strengths to build on and challenges to deal with.

Bullying is verbal, emotional or physical abuse which is repeated and intended to hurt, frighten or threaten someone. It is a form of violence and a way of having power over others. Bullying can happen to any child or teenager anywhere, at any time.

Learning about sexuality is just as important to children as any other learning. Children need to learn about the sexual parts of their body, just as they learn about arms and legs. They need to feel good about their body and about being themselves.

It is normal in our culture for children to spend lots of time with grandparents. Sometimes grandparents become ‘parents’ again when their grandchildren or ‘grannies’ come to live with them for periods of time. This can happen for lots of reasons and grandparents usually say ‘yes’ no matter what it takes.