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    How divorce affects children’s future wealth, not just ability to earn

    People in Australia who experience the divorce or separation of their parents during childhood accumulate 46% less net wealth, on average, than do people whose parents do not separate when they are children. Wealth is defined as the net difference of all assets and debts. Assets include real estate, business assets, financial assets, savings, life […] More

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    How can parents build children’s self-esteem without turning them into narcissists?

    With individualism so highly prized in Western countries, parents have become increasingly concerned about raising children’s self-esteem. And although self-esteem is important, parents’ ideas about how to instill it may be misguided. In particular, well-intentioned parents may overdo it with lavish praise, which can inflate a child’s narcissism: a sense of one’s importance and entitlement. […] More

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    Father involvement linked to better academic progress

    Researchers have found that greater involvement by fathers is linked with academic performance at school—a finding that held true among all socioeconomic groups. The link was small for measures like language and mathematics scores, but considerable in relation to reducing the extent to which children repeated grades at school. For example, one measure of father […] More

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    At what age can a child choose who to live with?

    At what age can a child choose who to live with? A child cannot legally decide who they want to live with until the age of 16 unless there is a child arrangement order in place that has been extended until they are 17 or 18 years old.  Until then it is ultimately the decision […] More

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    Emotionally supportive parenting can help disadvantaged children stay on the rails

    Why do some children who are raised amid poverty, risk and danger emerge as more resilient than others in similar circumstances ? Why do some grow up relatively unscathed compared with their peers, whose later lives may be scarred by criminality, poor mental health, and repeated disadvantage? Having a calm, supportive parent when something goes […] More

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    Play could help reduce ‘Covid-19 Slump’ in learning

    We should pay extra attention to the home schooling and care of disadvantaged children during the Covid-19 crisis. Their potential loss of learning could require that some students repeat an entire grade. However, play with families, as well as government help with computer access, can help mitigate the damage. These students are at particular risk […] More

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    How much child maintenance should I pay?

    There is not a standard amount of child maintenance that everyone pays as there are different criteria and circumstances which can impact on the amount.  These include how many children there are, how much the parent responsible for paying maintenance earns and how much time the children spend with each parent. Phoebe Hill, Solicitor at […] More