The Kids First Blog

If you have extras health insurance, getting value out of your membership is probably a high priority for you and your family. Many families invest in ‘extras’ cover to protect themselves against the costs of health services that can unexpectedly blow the family budget. However, it’s important to know that most health insurance funds reset […]

Social Skills Camps give kids with unique needs the chance to learn and practice their social skills while having fun with peers. School holiday programs in Sydney’s northern beaches

Use your flair, care and customer service skills to make a lasting impact on young lives! Brookvale office with a close-knit team culture Permanent Part-time role Lots of variety on offer About us Kids First Children’s Services is an established, award-winning, and family-owned private practice with an outstanding reputation for clinical excellence and for the […]

  Help your child get organised and be ready to succeed in Year 7 Moving on to high school means big changes for kids (and families too!) When your son or daughter moves from Year 6 to Year 7 in 2020 new teachers, peers and environments will be just part of their experience. Your child […]

It can be difficult to help your child to develop the social skills and resilience they need to cope with playground politics. As an adult, understanding how these skills develop in children may be helpful start as you parent your child. Equally, resources that you can use with your child to build their understanding of […]

Managing mean kids in the playground can be easier when your child knows what to say. Teacher and Kids First Children’s Services founder, Sonja Walker, shares 10 easy responses to teach your child to make handling the politics of the playground easier. When a child is being bullied, it’s easy for adults to tell them to […]

Being a parent in today’s world can be tough, and while we are often very focussed on raising our children’s resilience, we also need to ensure that we have adequate resources in our own emotional reserves to meet the challenges of family life. These tools, recommended by members of the Kids First Children’s Services team, […]

The environment in which you raise your children will be the foundation of their lives. While no family is perfect, the values you have, models you set and strategies you use at home will be key factors in setting your children up for happy, healthy and resilient futures. We hope that these resources, compiled by […]

Today’s children, whether we like it or not, are digital natives. Right now, and in the years to come, your children will be learning, interacting, and communicating in an online world.   As adults, we know that digital technology offers lots of positives to kids, however, just like in the face-to-face world, children need to […]

If your child is one of the more than 15% of Aussie kids who speaks a second (or even third!) language, you may have questions about your child’s speech and language development. These answers from speech pathologists at Kids First Children’s Services offer helpful advice for parents and educators. 1. Is it true that all […]

Choosing a school is a huge decision that many parents agonize over for years before their child’s primary school education begins. In this excerpt from her best-selling book, SCHOOL READY: A practical and supportive guide for parents with sensitive kids, teacher and Kids First founder Sonja Walker shares tips to help you make the most […]

Does your child mix up letters, confusing d and b, or p and q? Is your child inattentive and disorganized? Occupational Therapist, Morgan Webster, explains why your child might struggle and how supporting your child’s visual perception could be the key to success in the classroom. Your child’s learning skills are closely related to their […]

As human beings, we learn ‘from the bottom up’… In other words, as babies and small children, our development begins with physical and sensory skills that we master, one by one, step by step. Our 7 senses are our foundation stones, and even before we are born these senses are busy working and integrating. Over time, […]

Kids need good sensory processing skills in order to learn and behave well. This easy to read article from children’s occupational therapists in Sydney’s northern beaches is a helpful guide for parents and teachers. Your child’s body is like a car engine, sometimes it runs on high, sometimes it runs on low, and sometimes it […]

How can you tell if your child is a late bloomer or has a language delay? Northern beaches speech therapists share important information for parents of children aged 0-5. Parents often compare their child’s development to those of preschool playmates, friends’ children or even older siblings. Although the stages of development that children go through […]