u/EuphoricGarden81

Mine is an 18-month-old female and I mean never, with no exaggeration. She'll wag if you're holding a ball or food, but she has never wagged in response to someone greeting her, being excited to see someone, getting pats etc. Not even with people she knows well.

The strange thing is that she clearly is attached to us. She's particularly clingy with my wife and will follow her around and whine for her. She'll sit with us sometimes, and if we're somewhere unfamiliar and she gets bored she'll even climb up into our laps to be held.

But still, no tail wagging.

She's also completely uninterested in strangers. When we're out walking she won't approach people or strange dogs and generally just ignores them. She's not timid though, quite the opposite. She's generally fearless and very confident. Birds are her her #1 priority.

She's a great dog and I'm not worried about her. I'm just fascinated by it because I've had dogs before and I've genuinely never encountered one like this. She seems to have decided that wagging at humans is simply not part of her job description.

I saw a survey this week that found three-quarters of Australian independent-school parents had changed their household budget to keep their kids at their chosen school.

More surprisingly, 28% said they'd actually cut back on essentials like groceries, medicine or transport, and one in five had received help from extended family to cover the costs.

That feels like a pretty extraordinary financial sacrifice for schooling.

For parents who send their kids private - is there a point where the fees would become too much and you'd move them?

And for those who chose public, how much did cost factor into that decision?

Has Book Week gotten a bit out of hand?

It's Book Week again, which means parents everywhere are currently constructing costumes out of cardboard at 10pm or discovering that their child has changed their mind about who they want to be the night before the parade.

I remember Book Week costumes being pretty basic. You dressed vaguely like a character, carried the book and that was about it.

Now some of the costumes you see are genuinely amazing, but it also feels like the expectations have gone through the roof.

Are you a parent who loves going all-out for Book Week, or are you firmly in the "whatever we can find in the cupboard" camp?

And what's the best - or worst - Book Week costume your family has ever produced?

Australia's eSafety Commissioner has taken action against Roblox after testing found that adults could still contact children under 16 without parental consent, and that children's profiles and connections could be visible to other users.

Roblox has now agreed to tighten its privacy and safety settings, including making children's accounts private by default and doing more to prevent unknown adults contacting kids.

Apparently around 1.7 million Australian children use Roblox, so I'm curious how parents here actually handle it.

Do you let your kids use Roblox freely, supervise them, lock down the parental controls, or not allow it at all?

And has anything you've seen or experienced on Roblox changed your mind about it?

Source: https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/esafety-secures-court-enforceable-undertaking-from-roblox-to-do-more-to-protect-australian-kids-from-grooming-and-sexual-exploitation

Sharing a heartfelt post from a parent at the end of their tether.

Our government should be doing better than this.

If this resonates with you, please share it.

A US jury has found Meta and Google liable in a landmark lawsuit over harm to children, awarding a 20-year-old plaintiff US$3 million after finding the companies were negligent in the design or operation of their platforms for minors.

The case is being watched closely because it could influence thousands of similar lawsuits already underway

Just came across this ABC piece about families dealing with "school can't" and how many parents are ending up looking for support because their child simply cannot get to school or stay engaged with it.

The article talks about how isolating it can feel, and how many parents end up feeling judged or blamed while trying to work out what is actually going on.

I’d be really interested to hear from other Australian parents - have you experienced this with your child, either mildly or severely?

Welcome to r/AustralianParents

A new sub for parenting in Australia - childcare, school, routines, costs, local systems, family life, teens, health and all the stuff that works a bit differently here.

The idea is simple - a useful, grounded Australian space for questions, advice, venting, recommendations and discussion.

What belongs here

• Questions about parenting in Australia
• Childcare, school and family routine stuff
• Costs, admin and navigating local systems
• Recommendations, tips and lived experience
• General discussion, rants and small wins

Whether you're in the thick of little-kid life, dealing with school-aged stuff, or parenting teens, you're welcome here.

Please keep it civil, local and helpful.

If you're one of the first people here, say hi in the comments and feel free to start a thread - even a simple question is enough to get things moving.