It’s happiness survey time again with the publication of the OECD’s annual Better Life Index. And, for once, it’s not a Scandinavian country that comes out on top. No, this time Australia -- the fabled “Lucky Country” -- hits the jackpot, once you add all its Brownie points together. The most important factor right now is low unemployment compared with Europe and North America:

Strong demand for iron ore and coal exports means Australia's unemployment rate was 4.9% in April, compared with 10.9% in the euro zone and 8.1% in the U.S. More than 72% of the working-age population in the country is employed, compared with the OECD average of 66%.

As consumers Australians are not so happy, given the cost of living, but some 71% of them trust their political institutions (compared with an OECD average of 56%) and 85 per cent rate their health… click here to read whole article and make comments

Graphic: WSJ

Fibbing is an all-too-common childhood malady that parents naturally desire to curb. No one wants little liars at home to turn into big liars out in society, so the Wall Street Journal’s work and family columnist, Sue Shellenbarger, offers some practical advice on the subject. (No droll quips about WSJ being a Murdoch paper, please).

She presents scientific evidence that lying is part of normal child development, which starts as early as age two.

More than one-third of 3-year-olds will lie to keep from getting in trouble, based on research led by Victoria Talwar, an associate professor of developmental psychology at McGill University in Montreal. By ages 4 to 7, more than half of children will lie to avoid punishment … or to gain attention or approval; the same pattern appears in studies in Britain, West Africa and China. 

Shellenbarger claims that parents are “remarkably bad” at spotting… click here to read whole article and make comments

Rihanna -- I'm a Rockstar, not a PARENT!!!  Picture: TMZ

Violence among teenage girls -- towards each other, towards strangers -- is a growing problem in many countries. A US survey a few years ago of more than 33,000 girls aged 12 to 17 found that 26.7 percent had been involved in a serious fight at school or work, a group-against-group fight or had attacked someone with the intent to harm the person in the previous year.

A New Zealand researcher this week is calling on parents and professionals to address the problem which, she says, we ignore at our peril because “these young girls are going to be the mothers of the next generation” and will perpetuate cycle of violence.

Social anthropologist Donna Swift has spent two years on The Girls’ Project studying violence and other anti-social behaviour among girls in one region of the country. She believes the… click here to read whole article and make comments

A sex exhibition due to open in Ottawa today and aimed at children has been modified, thanks to complaints from the public and a letter to a government minister asking for it to be cancelled. The age limit for unaccompanied children has been raised from 12 to 16 and a video showing youngsters how to masturbate has been removed.

Executive members of the Institute of Marriage and The Family Canada, which is based in Ottawa, visited the 80 per cent government funded Canadian Museum of Science and Technology to discuss the exhibition with the director and to see it for themselves. (See Michael Coren’s article on our front page for a description.)

They then wrote to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, James Moore, criticising the show for espousing “a specific point of view including the approval and promotion of anal sex, multiple sexual partners and sex without… click here to read whole article and make comments

This is not exactly family fare but it seems significant that the American Psychological Association is calling attention to the need for “behavioural approaches” along with medical interventions to prevent HIV infection.

The APA’s statement was prompted by the news last week of a new drug, Truvada, that might do the trick. The professional body -- not known for conservative positions -- warns that the drug is “not a magic bullet”:

“Exclusive reliance on a drug to prevent HIV or any sexually transmitted disease could actually result in a worse outcome if those at risk don’t understand how their own behavior affects treatment,” said Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, chair of APA’s Committee on Psychology and AIDS. “We know that medical intervention depends on human behavior. The fact that only 28 percent of HIV-positive Americans in care achieve full viral suppression suggests very clearly that any medical intervention depends fully… click here to read whole article and make comments

And now for something completely normal and very nice from the Mother's Day menu. Recently we put up the Proctor & Gamble "Best job in the world" video. Here's an ad from Publix, the US supermarket chain. It's employee-owned, by the way, and among Fortune's top 100 companies to work for. I would certainly give them a go if I were not thousands of miles away.

I suppose it is hard to get a new angle on an anniversary as hallowed as Mother’s Day, but does that excuse Time magazine for putting what amounts to porn on its cover? They scooped the evening news, all right, but my first thought on seeing that image was, “mommy porn!” And my second thought was, “kiddie porn!” A young woman with what looks like a four-year-old son attached to one breast in the self-conscious, exhibitionist pose demanded by the photographer reeks of sexualization -- of both mother and child.

The cover photo and three others are supposed to draw attention to something called “attachment parenting” but they deliberately set out to shock and, yes, titillate. The intimate relationship of a nursing mother and her baby has already been exposed enough, goodness knows, by women who insist on the right to breastfeed in cafes and restaurants, but Time’s image is straight out exploitation. The woman looks as maternal as a… click here to read whole article and make comments

Wondering what to buy Mom for Mother’s Day? I speak in general terms, of course. This post is not directed specifically at my children. Try to choose carefully; according to this article on Yahoo Shine, nearly half of moms don't like what they receive for Mother's Day. That’s kind of sad, but I'd say they are still ahead of the 18% of moms whose families forgot about Mother's Day entirely.

What constitutes a "bad" gift? There is no correct answer to that question. Some moms collect knickknacks while others abhor them. Some moms expect fancy and expensive presents; others will graciously accept a paperclip necklace covered in sticky-tack (but don’t try this if you’re over the age of seven). Even a bra in a frying pan conceivably has its place. One mom's junk is another mom's treasure, so ultimately, even sites like whydidyoubuymethat.com have no real meaning.

Hint: in… click here to read whole article and make comments

Here is some important info from the US that we missed last week. A report from the federal health monitoring agency, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), brings the news that births to teenagers aged 15-19 are down by 44 per cent on 1990. The 2010 birth rate for that age group of 34.3 per 1000 females represents a 70-year low, and record lows for all racial/ethnic groups.

Actually, by itself a lower teenage birth-rate is an equivocal statistic. It could have been brought down by abortion. It could mean that hundreds of thousands of young women are on hormonal contraceptives that make them vulnerable to diseases and facilitate harmful relationships. It is a matter for ethical evaluation whether it is worse for an 18- or 19-year-old to have a baby than to be subject to these alternatives.

The good news is that the dramatic drop in pregnancies is… click here to read whole article and make comments

I enjoyed meeting the family in this inspiring video, in which ABC’s Barbara Walters interviews Trent and Amber Johnston from Barnesville, Georgia. I’m not sure I understand the ‘extreme’ part of the video’s title, however. It rather seems that, these days, extreme is in the eye of the beholder.

When it comes to ‘family size’, the Johnstons are big and small at the same time, but there’s no doubt where their parental love and dedication fit on the size continuum. They good-humouredly call themselves ‘the real-life seven dwarfs’, embracing their stature and striving to raise their five children to meet their fullest potential. This means making life as normal as possible, and facing challenges head on, whether they be tall cupboards at home, or bullies at school.

It doesn’t include owning tiny furniture. When Walters remarks on the size and height of the household accoutrements, Amber firmly replies: “We… click here to read whole article and make comments