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FAMILY

The new year’s resolution that will make me a better parent

There are moments throughout the day where I’ll snap because it’s all just getting too much. And when it does happen, the guilt naturally follows.
FAMILY

Why I keep a journal for my daughter

When your parent dies young, it becomes a harbinger of your own death and I always feared I would not live past 30.
PARENTING

The praise my husband receives for parenting in public does my head in

After we had our third child my husband would sometimes feel like a minor celebrity if he chose to walk down the street with all three children in tow.
FAMILY

At 18, I moved from my Chinese parents’ home to an Aussie household

I don’t dwell too much on ‘Asian’ or ‘Western’ parenting styles - I am a benefactor of both.
HEALTH

Why I won't 'hurry up' with my grief

“Grief is not linear. It comes, and it goes, it can be all encompassing, it can be a fleeting moment…and it is different for every person.”
FAMILY

I healed because our baby did everything he wasn’t supposed to

I looked at my beautiful baby and I cried about the unfairness of it all. Was I to blame? It should have been me who suffered, not him. Was this my punishment,...
FAMILY

We need to stop judging people on their parenting

Judgement is being cast upon such a tiny snapshot of their day, a fleeting moment in time.
FAMILY

I’ll be always grateful for summers I spent at my grandparents’ house

On Dad’s side we were the youngest in a long line of cousins: loved, certainly, but tacked onto the end. At Nana and Pa’s, we were the centre of attention.
FAMILY

Facing up to the reality of having ageing parents

I have gone from being the one looked after (yes, even as a grown woman) to be the one to look after her.
FAMILY

I was a slow-to-warm-up child just like my son

I know first-hand what he’s going through and it makes it tough as a parent.
CULTURE

My love of cinema began with my father's video rental store

Some kids grow up in a family business and leave it behind, but for Amal Awad, her father’s video rental store sparked an enduring love of cinema.
CULTURE

I will never forget how my grandfather succumbed to Alzheimer’s

Relying on his memory was something my grandpa had always taken for granted. I guess it is something most of us do, until we can’t.
FAMILY

I won’t wish the coronavirus year away

At some point during one of the lockdown extension announcements, it dawned on me that life wasn’t waiting.
FAMILY

I was told by my mother I don’t have a ‘Polish heart’

I identify as ethnically Polish. I speak the language. I went to Polish school, and have a large group of przyjaciele - my Polish friends. I love - love - the...
CULTURE

I am a secret daughter born from an affair

My father was married, in fact he still is, to a woman he once described as his “best friend” but this woman was not, is not, my mother.
FAMILY

Going through my parent’s possessions reminded me of the sacrifices they made

The jewellery box was proof that my parents had raised themselves out of the poverty of their Greek rural roots.
FAMILY

Visiting my father’s grave made me finally admit he was gone

His grave was a physical manifestation of my pain, but I didn’t realise it until I went.
FAMILY

This Father’s Day I’m relishing being an active dad

In my four and a half years in this crazy job, I’ve found that being an active father means you’re involved and interested in your kids’ development, their...
FAMILY

Being in nature with my children has taught me about being in awe

Whether it’s rocks and leaves naturally shaped into love hearts, or the first to spot the arc of a rainbow, our children are the ones with eyes well trained to...
FAMILY

When you are years away from your family's next hug

It’s been two years since I saw my dad, and five years since I saw my mum. As each year goes by, the distance between us weighs on my mind. The trip this year was...