Kids on the coast

By Toni Brown, Director, Parent Support, Child Support Agency

Family separation is an increasingly common experience for many Australians, and presents a challenging time, as many people experience significant emotional, financial and legal impacts as a result.

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By David O’Neill, Therapeutic Behavioural Optometrist
Looking Smart Optometrists, Pelican Waters

Looking Smart Optometrists recommend that every child from 6 months of age should have an eye exam.

This should be followed up by a yearly exam until the age of six and then testing a minimum of every two years after that.

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by Dr Fiona McGrath

The pelvic floor is a layered sheet of muscles, stretching like a sling or hammock from your pubic bone (at the front of your pelvis) to your tailbone (at the back). Both men and women have a pelvic floor, which functions mainly to help you control the passing of urine and opening of your bowels, as well as supporting the internal organs. When you’re pregnant, your pelvic floor helps support the weight of the growing uterus and baby.

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By DR. Scott Parsons

Over the last decade there has been some slight but definite medical evidence supporting circumcision. This has re-ignited a debate that has raged for centuries. But the interesting aspect of this is that, for most parents, the decision to circumcise has more to do with personal preference, religious or cultural reasons than anything medical. 

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by Dr Scott Parsons

An early childhood memory for me was the evening meal. It was not good. I remember quietly clicking my fingers under the dining table, attracting the canine disposal unit to dispatch the spinachy stuff on my plate. (Everything that was green was spinach to me.) This was tricky. I would distract Mum by pointing at something out the window, and those few seconds were enough for me to offload into the labrador. Unfortunately the over enthusiastic pup would engulf the spinach, meat, potatoes and anything else. Busted, I would have to blame the dog. I was then presented with another meal, but with more spinach as there wasn’t much of the other stuff left. Damn that dog.

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by Sarah Pye

Remember way back when you were young? If you are the same vintage as me, kids came in many shapes and sizes, and so did their teeth. Some were crooked, some mouths gappy and everyone seemed to manage to eat. Fast forward, and crooked pearly whites seem to be a thing of the past. Instead, mouths adorned with metal protrusions, elastic bands and protectors are more the norm.

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by Scott Parsons

Limping usually means some sort of injury but there are a number of oddly named conditions that occur without injury. These predominantly involve the hip, but can involve any part of the leg.
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Advice from a GP

Working as a GP who predominantly sees children for the last twenty years has allowed me to observe the changes that have occurred in raising children. You would think it would have become easier, but the opposite probably applies.
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To jab or not to jab, that is the question.

by Justine Stewart

Some parenting decisions are easier than others. The easy ones include what colour to use in the nursery…and…uh….well, that’s about the only easy one, actually. Others can be more complicated, especially when you feel bombarded by wildly conflicting viewpoints. Recently, the issue of child immunisation has been in the news, with a measles outbreak on the Sunshine Coast, and the death, from whooping cough, of a young baby in Lismore.
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Dyslexia is a type of Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD) in which the person has difficulties with language and words. Dyslexia affects approximately 10% of the population.

Despite having average or above average intelligence, people with dyslexia have difficulty in reading and performing other language-based tasks, such as writing or spelling. The term dyslexia, although still used by some, is generally felt to be too narrow and SLD is often used to describe these learning difficulties.
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