Best of the Web: Ideas to help if you’re feeling ‘mum guilt’, and more…

(Zali Yager, ABC Everyday)

Do you worry that you’re not measuring up as a mum? Concerned that your child feels abandoned when you go to work? That they are not doing enough extra-curricular activities?

Welcome to the very familiar world of ‘mum guilt’. And as the author notes, just because it’s universal, we shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking it’s harmless. It can damage mental health and lead to burnout.

This is an intelligent examination of what’s going on, and the enormous pressure mums are under to live up to unrealistic expectations portrayed through social media. ‘Our interpretation of what ‘good mums’ do is now fed to us in polished, filtered 15-second increments,’ she writes.

The article provides five tips to ease the feelings of guilt, including the concept of ‘good enough parenting’.

Dr Zali recently hosted a webinar for The Parents Website on promoting positive body image in tweens and teens. You can watch the webinar in full, and explore her supporting articles, ideas for parents and supporting positive body image in boys.

(David Rutkowski and Dirk Hastedt, The Conversation)

Does your child have their own desk at home, and a quiet place to study? New research has found that those who don’t perform worse at school.

The authors note that the discussion about learning at home often centres around access to digital devices and wifi. But desks and a quiet place are often overlooked.

So they decided to examine the data in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, known as TIMSS, which assesses students around the world every four years, including Australia. The study also looks at whether students have desks and a quiet study place at home.

Looking at data from 2019, before the pandemic and remote learning, the international average of students without a desk is 17 per cent. In Australia, it’s 10 per cent.

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(Fiona Lavelle, The Conversation)

Before we were spending more time at home, notes the author, having kids do the cooking might have been fear-inducing for parents. During lockdowns, there was lots of advice in the media that getting kids involved in the kitchen was a good learning device and distraction.

A recent international survey of parents found that not only have kids been cooking and baking, their parents had a better quality of diet.

The author argues we need to keep encouraging kids in the kitchen, and gives some advice and resources to support parents. You might also like another article from the author we published on The Parents Website, Children as as young as two can learn to cook – here’s how