Two Years of Kindergarten: What the Research Really Shows
Deciding when your child should start school is one of those choices that can feel bigger than it should. Is one year of kindergarten or preschool enough? Would a second year help them settle in with more confidence? For many Australian families, the answer increasingly points to yes, and a growing body of research explains why.
Why We Don’t Make Kids Finish Their Plate (And What We Do Instead)
“Three more bites.” “Just try it.” “You can’t have dessert until you finish your vegetables.”
The Future Starts With Us: Celebrating Our Educators This Early Childhood Educators’ Day
On Wednesday 2 September, Australia marks Early Childhood Educators’ Day, a day set aside to say thank you to the people who show up for our children, every single day. This year’s theme, The Future Starts With Us, is a reminder that the work happening in classrooms and playgrounds right now is shaping the adults our children will become. It’s been a big year for early education in Australia, and today is about the people who’ve kept showing up for our community through all of it.
Book Week 2026: Why Stories Are the Secret to School Readiness
Book Week 2026 runs from Saturday 22 August to Friday 28 August, and this year’s theme – “Symphony of Stories” – is a reminder of just how many different voices and ideas live inside a good book. At Milestones, we love the dress-ups and the storytelling corners. But Book Week is also a great moment to talk about something bigger – just how much a shared story does for a young child’s development.
NAIDOC Week 2026: How Children at Milestones Connect with Country, Culture and Community
Every year, NAIDOC Week gives us a chance to pause and ask: how do we help our children grow up understanding and respecting the world’s oldest continuing cultures? At Milestones, it’s a question we come back to often, not just during NAIDOC Week, but as part of how we approach learning every day.
Warm From the Inside Out: Our Winter Menu Is Here
When the temperature drops, food becomes something more than fuel. For little ones, a warm, nourishing lunch in the middle of a winter day is comfort and care all at once, and at Milestones Early Learning, that’s exactly what we aim for. Our 2026 Winter Menu has just launched, and it’s been designed with both little bodies and big feelings in mind.
Fussy Eaters and Childcare: What’s Normal, What Helps, and How We Support Variety at the Table
If your little one pushes peas to the side of the plate, refuses what they happily ate last Tuesday, or survives entire weeks on what feels like three foods, you are in very good company. Fussy eating is one of the most common, and most exhausting, challenges of early childhood. At Milestones, it’s something our educators see and support every single day. Here’s what the experts say is actually normal, what we do at the table to gently encourage variety, and what you can try at home too.
Why Risky Play Matters – The Case for Letting Children Climb, Tumble and Explore
If you’ve ever winced watching your child scramble to the top of a climbing frame, or held your breath while they negotiated a muddy bank on a bush walk, you’re not alone. The instinct to protect is one of the most natural things in the world. But there’s a growing body of research, and a strong consensus among early childhood educators, that when it comes to play, some of the most valuable experiences are the ones that involve a little bit of risk. Here’s what that actually means, why it matters for your child’s development, and how we think about it at Milestones.
Reading Together: How Milestones Celebrated National Simultaneous Storytime 2026
Every year, there’s a moment when children across Australia, in libraries, classrooms, preschools, and homes, sit down and hear the same story at exactly the same time. On Wednesday 27 May 2026, our Milestones centres were part of that moment.
National Reconciliation Week 2026 – How We Learn From and Celebrate Country With Children
National Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to 3 June each year, marking two of the most significant milestones in Australia’s reconciliation journey – the 1967 referendum and the 1992 Mabo decision. This year’s theme, All In, is a call for every Australian to commit to reconciliation not just this week, but every day. At Milestones Early Learning, that commitment begins in the earliest years of a child’s life, in the stories we tell, the Country we acknowledge, and the relationships we build with First Nations communities.