Kids on the coast

The year 2009 brought with it a few very interesting celebrity offspring name selections.For a baby girl, what about Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver (daughter of chef Jamie Oliver)? Or perhaps first names like Mars, Bandit, Seraphina, Bardot, Jara, Satyana or Lou would be more your style?  Read more

For the first time, parents can search the profiles of almost 10,000 Australian state and private schools and see how they compare with the rest of the nation. The federally funded My School website (www.myschool.edu.au) allows and encourages comparisons between statistically similar schools, in a bid to encourage transparency and accountability.  Read more

Lifeline Community Care Sunshine Coast is once again hosting the popular four session course called Surviving Your Adolescents, which has already attracted a large number of dedicated parents with 12+ year olds.  Read more

UnderWater World and the Sunshine Coast Council are joining forces to protect our local waterways, with an interactive display highlighting the need to maintain healthy waterways and healthy marine environments.  Read more

A new study has suggested ‘baby brain’ forgetfulness in pregnant women may be a figment of our motherly imaginations. Researchers at the Australian National University say they have evidence pregnant women perform just as well in cognitive testing as they did before becoming pregnant. Read more

Only half of Australian parents with school-aged children are taking advantage of a tax refund for back-to-school expenses. The Australian Taxation Office figures reveal that tens of thousands of eligible families have not lodged a claim, leaving $500 million in unclaimed benefits.  Read more

If you’re one of the many parents trying to keep up with the latest in new video games, text-messaging, digital media and social media like Facebook, you’re not alone. A free e-book has been prepared by American researchers about how online communication affects children and their families. To download Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out, visit www.mitpress.mit.edu
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Let’s dance!

Dancing is the second most popular organised arts activity for children aged 5-17 years, coming in just behind playing a musical instrument. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says 14% of Australian school children (around 390,400 Aussie kids) participate in dance classes. If dancing takes your fancy, check out Bokarina’s new dance studio called DanceEdge which specialises in classical ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, acrobatics, vocal and Latin. Call 0401 046 882.
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Ad images under review

Sexualised images of children and women may become harder to place in advertisements from next year if a review by the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) decides to toughen existing codes. ASB board member Gary Rice, a Noosa unit accommodation manager, said restraining some advertisers was very hard because they cleverly manipulated codes. “I am continually concerned about the degree to which advertisers push the limits,” he said.
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Seal show a big break for local kids

UnderWater World announces a new seal show which launches over the holidays, with local kids in the spotlight as the entertaining narrators. The show, which promotes the importance of environmental conservation from a seal’s perspective, runs daily until January 17. Beating over 200 hopefuls, the leading roles were awarded to gifted young locals Jayda Schatto, Saskia Tomlins, Tymi Teata, Harrison Buckland Crook and Keeley Young. For more details, call UnderWater World on 5458 6280.
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