Blog Post

For about the last year or so, I have been watching as local councils and state government announce one new pump track after another. Some announce new playgrounds, and there is the odd skate park, but pump tracks are the clear preference now. At a glance, this is a great outcome. My job is to […]

A few years ago, I attended a talk by our previous CEO, Griff Longley. I remember Griff explaining to the audience that Australia had some of the highest levels of sport participation for children in the world. I think most of us in the room felt a little smug and proud. No wonder we punch

As a society, we have come to understand the unquestionable value of kids having a positive, engaged dad or dad figure in their life. When our kids are little bubs, physical attachment and connection often come in the form of cuddles, feeding, bathing, dressing, and desperately trying to encourage sleep.   Play is a wonderful way

Like adults, kids care deeply about the things and people that they love. For the animal and nature lovers out there (of which there are many) the world could be looking a little bleak.  Many of us, adults and kids alike, will have seen trees coming down in suburbs as a result of increasing housing

I recently had the opportunity to provide a keynote presentation to a large audience of early years educators. Amidst my talk which covered the physical, social, and emotional benefits of unstructured outdoor play for kids, and recent research on the educational benefits, I shared some photos of the best examples of play areas that I

Every week I see different research articles highlighting the benefits of nature and unstructured play for children. At times I wonder if there is indeed a growing understanding in our community, or if the algorithms are messing with my perception. In reality (the offline world) it appears there is a huge gap between what the

I have a theory that loud kids are happy kids. While it’s not applicable to all situations, it tends to work. For example, birthday parties are always excruciatingly loud. Kids playing in the pool, also unbelievably loud. Toddlers with balloons inevitably results in excited shrieks of delight. Teenagers recounting a funny story, talking over each

Last month I wrote about the importance of finding pockets of time in our kids’ lives for rest and relaxation. Writing that piece in the thick of term 4, knowing all that was coming in the way of end of year commitments, it was a plea for adults to give our kids a break. A

The heat is here!  You know, that time of the year when you break out into an instant full body sweat the moment you step foot outside. The kids are standing in front of the air conditioner vents with no plans of enjoying the outdoors. If you want to stay outside, you need a body

I love the idea of Children’s Week. It is a national celebration of children’s rights, talents and citizenship, held in the last week of October to coincide with Universal Children’s Day. Each year the theme of Children’s Week highlights a particular Children’s Right. This year, the theme was based on The United Nation’s Convention on