School-age (6-9 years)

Medicine can help tamariki (children) with ADHD-Aroreretini manage their symptoms. Find out more about ADHD medicine below.

Tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) need a variety of nutritious foods. This helps support growth, development, energy levels and overall wellbeing. Eating well helps tamariki and rangatahi learn, play, be active, and feel good.

Glandular fever is a condition that spreads from person to person through saliva. It’s most common in older tamariki (children) and teenagers.

Many tamariki (children) come across porn and online sexual images now, whether it’s by accident, a friend has shown them, or because they’re curious. Sexual content is now featured across many mainstream social media platforms and often easier to find than avoid. Over a quarter of tamariki have seen porn by age 12. Having simple and age-appropriate conversations around porn and online sexual content with tamariki is a great way to help protect and prepare them to navigate their online world.

There are many reasons why tamariki (children) may have trouble sleeping. The Murdoch Children's Research Institute offers podcasts and sleep strategies. These may help you manage your child’s sleep problems.

Your child will start to lose their primary or baby teeth around the age of 6 and will have all their adult teeth (except for wisdom teeth) by the age of 14. Find out what to expect and how to care for their teeth.   

Keep your child safe in the car. Make sure your baby is in a rear-facing car seat until they are at least 2 years old. Keep your child in a booster seat until they are 148cm tall - for most tamariki (children), that's somewhere between 10 and 12 years of age.

Communication skills are strongly linked to the development of reading and writing. The better a child's conversational skills now, the easier it will be for them to understand what they read later on.

Hearing is a critical part of a child's communication development so it's important to identify any loss as early as possible.

Rewards can really motivate a child to improve their behaviour. They work best when given soon after the behaviour, not days later.

Tamariki (children) with restless legs may feel discomfort in their legs when trying to fall asleep. If your child has restless legs, find out how to manage it.

If your child feels anxious about sleep or staying in their bedroom, the 'checking method' might help.

If your child is anxious about going to sleep, the ‘camping out’ method may help. Sit on a chair or camp bed next to your child’s bed and gradually move further away as your child learns to fall asleep on their own.

For tamariki (children) who find it hard to stay in their bedroom or who call out, a bedtime pass may help.

Putting tamariki (children) to bed when they are not tired can lead to bedtime struggles. For some tamariki, it helps to start with a bedtime close to when they usually fall asleep, then gradually make it earlier.

Sleep is important for children's learning and behaviour. Sleep also helps children's brains grow.