Safe and Happy Around Water: A Parent’s Guide to Water Safety for Young Children
Children’s Week 2026: Why Children’s Rights Matter in Early Learning
When your child chooses a book, joins a game or tells an educator about their weekend, they’re doing something that matters more than it might seem. They’re learning that their ideas count, their identity is valued and their voice is worth hearing.
Safe Work Month: The Everyday Safety Systems Behind Your Child’s Learning Environment
October is National Safe Work Month, run each year by Safe Work Australia. The 2026 theme is “Safe work is for life.” For most people, it’s a workplace conversation. But an early learning centre is a workplace too, and it’s also where your child spends a big part of their week.
How Many Days of Childcare Does Your Child Need? What the Research Says
Choosing how many days your child spends in early learning is one of the bigger decisions families make. It shapes your week, your budget and, most importantly, your child’s experience.
Two Years of Kindergarten: Is It the Right Choice for Your Child?
If you’ve been going back and forth on whether your child should have one year of kindergarten or two, you’re not alone. It’s one of the more common questions families ask us, and there’s rarely a single “right” answer, but there is good evidence to help you think it through.
The Research Behind Why We Don’t Push Kids to Finish Their Plate
Most of us grew up hearing “finish your plate.” It’s one of the most common instructions given at family dinner tables, and one of the most consistently contradicted by nutrition and child development research.
The Future Starts With Us: Recognising the Expertise Behind Every Day
On Wednesday 2 September, Australia observes Early Childhood Educators’ Day, recognising the professionals who guide our youngest learners through some of the most formative years of their lives. This year’s theme, The Future Starts With Us, speaks to the responsibility, and the privilege, that comes with that role. It’s been a demanding year for the early education sector in Australia, and today is a chance to recognise the professionals who’ve continued to show up for children and families throughout it.
The Parent’s Guide to Returning to Work After Parental Leave
Much of the advice available to parents returning to work focuses on the child: how will they settle, how quickly will they adjust. Far less is written about the parent doing the returning. Yet the evidence and the lived experience of thousands of families tell us the same thing: your transition matters just as much, and preparing for it deliberately makes the whole experience smoother for your family.
Book Week 2026: The Evidence Behind Why Stories Matter for School Readiness
Book Week 2026 runs from Saturday 22 August to Friday 28 August, with this year’s CBCA theme, “Symphony of Stories,” celebrating the many voices a single book can hold. At Papilio, we mark Book Week the way we approach everything in our Lifelong Learning Curriculum, by looking closely at what the research tells us about why an activity matters, not just how to celebrate it.
Is It Normal to Feel Guilty About Early Learning? What the Evidence Says
It’s a familiar moment for many parents: you leave the centre, and a wave of doubt follows you to the car. Am I making the right decision for my child?