by Family Connections Sydney | Jun 19, 2026 | Children, Focus & Attention
How long do you think you can focus on one thing before your mind begins to wander? In the 1970s, it was 12 minutes … in 2000, it was 12 seconds … and in 2024, a study found that the attention span of an average human adult was 8.25 seconds. Random other things...
by Family Connections Sydney | Apr 30, 2026 | Behaviour, Children, Communication, Parent Support
As parents, carers, and educators, we all want to help children learn, grow, and thrive. It’s natural to reach for strategies that seem to work in the moment—like offering a treat for good behaviour or threatening a consequence for challenging actions. But have you...
by Family Connections Sydney | Feb 5, 2026 | Anxiety, Children, Emotions, Parent Support
The first drop-off at school or childcare is a significant milestone for families. For some, it’s a smooth transition; for others, it can be filled with tears, worry, and apprehension that persist well past the first day — on both sides. Separation is not just about...
by Family Connections Sydney | Nov 14, 2025 | Children, Parent Support
Let’s be honest—screens are everywhere, and as parents, we know how tempting it is to hand over a device when life gets busy. There’s no shame in using screens to get through the day. But what if we reframed screen time as a missed opportunity for something even more...
by Family Connections Sydney | Sep 30, 2025 | Anxiety, Children, Emotions, Play, Proprioceptive System
As parents and teachers, we’re often told: “Just get them to do some heavy work—it helps.” But what exactly does that mean? “Heavy work” refers to activities that activate the proprioceptive system—our body gets information from our muscles and joints that helps us...
by Family Connections Sydney | Jun 16, 2025 | Children, Handwriting, School Readiness
To most parents’ surprise, handwriting is a complex task that requires numerous sensory systems, muscles, and brain-body connections to work together. When parents see that their child’s handwriting is messy, their child avoids handwriting or that they have a very...
