How to dress for old age

A new book reflects on the emotional and spiritual aspects of ageing, and the impact of watching our parents age and becoming dependent on us just as we once depended on them.

Friends and other strangers

People tend to treat friendship as a kind of optional icing on the cake rather than the dough that holds it all together but what if this script doesn’t make us happy?

Kids need dolls, not digital devices

What’s the point of play? Is it simply a way to keep children occupied, or something more? For some, it’s about learning literacy and numeracy. For others, it’s how friendships form and relationships deepen. But it can be all of these at once, and more.

Goodbye is the hardest word

Life is short and grieving those we lose along the way is a natural part of human existence, but it remains an individual process, rather than a set of stages everyone must pass through.

Waltzing Matildas

Australia’s hosting of the Women’s Asian Cup this year has the potential to rekindle public interest in women’s football and create some more epic moments for the Matildas.

Couples therapy

Research suggests that counselling can help cut the divorce rate among newlyweds, but so does getting couples to watch romance movies together and discuss their themes with their partner.

Play away

We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.

Lingering in stillness

A new book by political writer and philosopher Byung-Chul Han explores his love for gardening, which for him is a form of silent meditation or “lingering in stillness” with every plant immersed in its own sense of time.

It’s not dark yet, but is it getting there?

Bob Dylan observed that “It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there”, however there may be light at the end of the tunnel for middle aged people who feel they’re running out of steam.

The deep end and the shallow bits

Australia used to be synonymous with swimming, yet despite Australia’s regular hauls of World and Olympic medals, fewer children learn how to swim, public pools are under threat and drowning statistics are heading in the wrong direction.

How does stress affect decision making?

New research reveals how the combination of stress and time pressure can wreak havoc on our ability to make good choices.

Drifting apart

Some relationships end loudly, most end quietly. There is no dramatic fight or sudden revelation. Instead, partners gradually stop showing up for each other in small, everyday ways, culminating in a ‘quiet divorce’.