Questacon opens nostalgic exhibit
Questacon unveils a new exhibition featuring some of its classic interactive science displays from the past 37 years.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
What is passenger parenting and can it be overcome?
Parenting is an intense ride and always being the one in the driver's seat can take its toll. And having someone firmly entrenched as passenger can actually be damaging for both partners and the relationship. Recent research found that in heterosexual relationships, where it is mums most often taking the wheel, some dads can experience a phenomenon labelled "passenger parenting". The term was coined by Norma Barrett, the study's co-author and lecturer in public health and health promotion at Deakin University in Warrnambool, on the traditional lands of the Gunditjmara people in regional Victoria. She explains that while fathers are becoming increasingly engaged in daily family life, the persistence of a gendered norm means some feel on the "outskirts" when it comes to parenting decisions. And parenting alongside a passenger parent isn't easy, says Carly Dober, a psychologist and policy coordinator at the Australian Association of Psychologists. She says mothers who are carrying the lion's share of caring responsibilities because the men in their lives are not participating more may feel burdened. "It can be really stressful if you do feel you are the default parent and wearing the emotional and cognitive load of all decisions," she says. So, what can you do if you're stuck in a driver-passenger parent dynamic? And, because passenger parenting can look a lot like weaponised incompetence, we explain the difference. While some dads Ms Barrett spoke to were "happy to go with the flow" and be led by their partner, most wanted to fully share the whole experience but felt "shut out" from doing so. She says the "sidekick" parenting role often begins for practical and social reasons. For example, it's most often mothers who take time off to care for the baby. "There are physical reasons for that [being the birthing parent], and also if the baby is being breastfed then naturally it will be the mother that is going to do that," Ms Barrett says. Dads may have little to no time off before returning to work, and the parent spending the bulk of the time with the child becomes "specialised" in the gig of parenting. Ms Dober says dads might feel like they are not as equipped to do things like dress the child, how and when to feed the child, and what health appointments they need, for example. Some men in Ms Barrett's research expressed passenger parenting had a negative impact on their relationships. "They are trying to be more involved in decision making, like around caring for the baby, feeding the baby, trying to be part of it, and if struggles were arising, coming up with solutions — but not always feeling like they knew the right language or approach. Fathers can get stuck in their passenger role beyond the transition into parenthood, explains Ms Barrett, because even when mothers might return to work and the caring load should equalise, dads haven't had the same "parenting boot camp", leaving them on the backfoot. Do you feel like the passenger parent in your family? Or perhaps you're tired of always being the one in the driver's seat. Share with us at lifestyle@ Ms Dober says while some women may be happy to take a leadership role in parenting, others may feel there is a pressure to be the "expert parent". Whether it's a role they are comfortable with or not, it can be a difficult one to fulfil, with consequences for their wellbeing, career, and financial future. If current working patterns continue, the average 25-year-old woman today who goes on to have one child can expect to make $2 million less in lifetime earnings compared to the average 25-year-old man who also becomes a parent. Research also shows twice as many women as men experience parental burnout, due to the fact women still carry 70 per cent of the family mental load. "There are so many micro decisions in the day-to-day of parenting that really do add up — an infinite amount of decision to make," Ms Dober says. The relationship can be impacted if women feel they aren't supported, she says. "There might be resentment if you perceive your passenger parent is just deferring to you because they can't be bothered or prefer you managing it." In intimate partner relationships, weaponised incompetence is often evident in the division of domestic tasks and caring labour. It is when someone "demonstrates helplessness, real or false, in order to avoid certain tasks or responsibility, thus making other people [often their partner and/or co-parent] feel they have to step in and do it for them," Ms Dober told us for a previous article. What makes passenger parenting different is intent, she explains. "Weaponised incompetence is when you might be trying to gain more spare time to rest, socialise, or just tend to your own needs versus those of the family. "Passenger parenting is feeling like you have less agency. There isn't malicious intent — although it can look the same depending on some behaviours." Ms Dober says passenger parents will feel like they are missing out on something, and can "take a beating to their self-esteem". Parenting expert and dad to six daughters Justin Coulson says while some dads are "happy to take a back seat", in his experience, men overwhelmingly want to be more involved. While there are societal and structural barriers to reaching equality in co-parenting relationships, such as making it more viable for dads to take parental leave, there are some ways individuals can work towards improvement. Dr Coulson recommends couples have weekly check-ins. "On a Sunday morning when things are relatively quiet, my wife and I sit down and ask three questions. First, 'What's going well?' And we just take a minute to bask in the sunshine of success." Secondly, they ask "What hasn't worked this week?" "It's not a finger-pointing exercise, rather saying 'I've struggled here', of 'I could have done with more support on Wednesday night when three things were happening at once'," Dr Coulson says as an example. Lastly, "What could we work on this week?" "And the critical part of that is put together a plan to make that happen," he says. While Ms Barrett's research recommended couples have conversations early on about their parenting expectations, Ms Dober says those can change over time. She says parents can regularly touch base on what they would like to do more, or less of. For dads who feel like they don't have agency, that might be expressing what they would like to have more expertise in, or what challenges they think could benefit them in learning to do more? Ms Dober says parents need to be kind to themselves, and each other. "Understanding that parenting is hard — you're both on this journey together, and figuring out what parenting looks like for your family. "And that might be different to others, and to how you grew up."
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Ending Victoria's timber industry has created a 'time bomb' in the state's mountain ash forests
Vast tracts of Victoria's alpine forests are one major bushfire away from oblivion, according to a growing number of scientists. Alpine ash, a tall eucalypt, is most vulnerable to fire because it takes at least 20 years to produce seed. "There's probably about 80,000 hectares which is young forest currently and will be young forest for the next decade or so," University of Melbourne scientist Tom Fairman said. Dr Fairman, a future fire risk analyst at the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, has calculated that in the past two decades, half of the state's mountain forests have been ravaged by bushfire. After six high-intensity major fires in those years, government agencies have re-sown tens of thousands of hectares of burnt country, broadcasting seed from aircraft to reach impenetrable slopes and valleys. With fires occurring on average every four years, young alpine ash that has not sprouted since then are at high risk of summer bushfires killing them all. Dr Fairman called it a "ticking time bomb". He and other leading scientists, alarmed at the precarious state of the mountain forests, have accused the Victorian government of not doing enough to address the problem. Owen Bassett, a silviculture, or forest, scientist has spent decades working on the post-fire recovery of Victoria's 600,000 hectares of alpine and mountain ash forests. From a mountain near Mount Hotham he looks across ridges of dead trees rolling to the horizon. Some are weather-bleached skeletons, others are strewn across the bare ground. Devastating fires, not logging as some claim, are to blame. The trees, which grow to 80 metres, once flourished here but this landscape is so degraded some want alpine and mountain ash declared a threatened species. Successive fires have thwarted attempts to re-seed the trees. Mr Bassett said the sudden shutdown of Victoria's native timber industry in 2023, six years earlier than expected, had inadvertently further jeopardised this ecosystem. Vic Forests, which was responsible for collecting and preserving vital eucalypt seed for forest regeneration, was closed. "In their absence, DEECA [Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action] is attempting to put together a seed program," Mr Bassett said. The government has just awarded tenders to seed harvesting contractors who scale the giant trees to gather the tiny pinhead-sized seeds at the tree's crown. Landline can reveal the contracts are only for one to two tonnes of seed from alpine and mountain ash species in the next two years. Mr Bassett describes the amount as "woefully low". In past years about three times that amount was collected. He believes 17 tonnes of seed is now needed to ensure there are sufficient supplies to re-seed burnt areas after severe bushfires. He said responsibility for the alpine forests should be broadened and favours the establishment of privately funded seed banks supported by corporate and community donors to assist the state. Victoria's native species seed bank was depleted following re-seeding efforts after the Black Summer bushfires. Next to no seed has been collected since the timber industry shut down and seed-harvesting contractors were retrenched. Brendon Clark, long regarded as the industry's best harvester, did not put in a tender for the latest seed collection contract. He said the amount of seed and the remuneration were both inadequate. "Our forest is in serious trouble," Mr Clark said. Watch ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm AEST on Sunday or stream any time on ABC iview.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Spicks And Specks: S12 Episode 2
ABC iview Home Watch all your favourite ABC programs on ABC iview. More from ABC We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
