Kids First Children's Services

30/08/2026

Does your child fall apart the second they walk in the door, even when it sounds like it's been a good day at school or daycare?

Classroom routines, playgorund pressures, therapy, appointments. Tagging along while an older sibling's at soccer training or ballet. Even just a stop at Coles on the way home. It all adds up, and it asks a lot of your child to hold it together for that long. Especially for neurodivergent kids.

So when they get home and the meltdown hits, or they go quiet, or the tears come over something tiny, or they're suddenly bouncing off the walls, it's not that they've had a bad day or that anything's gone wrong. It's just that home is the one place they finally feel safe enough to let it all out.

Here's something simple worth trying this week: a 30 minute landing zone.

At the end of a busy day, give your child 30 minutes with nothing expected of them. No questions, no "how was your day." Just whatever helps them switch off, maybe that's lying on the floor doing nothing much at all, running around being loud in the backyard, or a quiet snack with no chat needed.

It's a small thing, but giving your child's nervous system that bit of breathing room first often makes everything that comes after, homework, dinner, chatting about their day, feel that bit easier.

Try it this week and see what it does for your child and family.

Know a parent who might need to hear this? Tag them below 💛 And if your child consistently struggles to land after school, we're always happy to help. 9938 5419.

19/08/2026

We're celebrating a birthday here at Kids First! It was cake and candles for a much loved member of our team. Can you guess who?

13/08/2026

Today our American trained speech pathologist, Jillian, shared that she's never eaten an Aussie meat pie!! 🥧 Lunchtime is always a great chance for our multi disciplinary team to catch up and a 'pie run' to Oliver's Pies made today's get together even more enjoyable

12/08/2026

Thank you, Dr Sophie Scamps, for mentioning Kids First your speech to the Australian Senate. We're grateful for your commitment to northern beaches paediatric practices and the families they support

Dr Sophie Scamps is Mackellar's independent MP. Driving a clean bill of health for climate, integrity and the economy.

10/08/2026

🌟 That's teamwork! Speech Pathologist Jillian McLenithan and our university placement student, Hannah, have been busy creating fun resources so that our team can use the Cycles Approach in speech therapy sessions. This method is frequently used to help children who have error patterns in their speech, such as being difficult to understand, leaving sounds out of their words or replacing some sounds with other sounds 💬

04/08/2026

What a treat it was to join the families and staff of Early Learning Mona Vale (now known as Kinley ELC!) for a Kids First Community Service Seminar last night. We had such great conversations and we're grateful for our participants' positive feedback at the end of the evening. Thank you, children, for your magnificent card - and for the warm welcome we received from Hannah and the dedicated Kinley team 😊

03/08/2026

🌟A big Kids First welcome to Macquarie University student Hannah Ryan who has joined us for a placement as part of her studies. We're looking forward to having Hannah with us over the next 10 weeks - so if you see her, please feel welcome to say hello 👋

22/07/2026

Proud to support One Meal - Northern Beaches! Our Kids First Connection Day was made richer by our 'Supermarket Challenge' that enabled us to make a difference. I hope other workplace teams will feel welcome to 'borrow' my idea - because small gifts, given by many, can have a BIG impact. 💕

22/07/2026

Shopping trolleys, a time limit, and a whole lot of heart 🛒 Two teams, opposite ends of the supermarket, a pocketful of cash and one shared goal: Fill each trolley with as much non-perishable food as we could for One Meal - Northern Beaches, a 100% volunteer run local charity supporting thousands of local people with nutritious food and dignity 🥫

There was no rushing. No competition. Just genuine thought about what would actually help 💭 Then, the entire Kids First team drove straight from Aldi to One Meal's door at 12 Powells Road, Brookvale, to deliver our donations ourselves 🚗

What a great way to connect, with each other, our values, and our community 💜

Want to do the same? Feel free to share this with your colleagues, friends or boss! We'd love other local business teams to jump onboard and support One Meal - Northern Beaches' amazing work! See their link in the comments below 👇

20/07/2026

Welcome to the team, Jillian! 💛

We're so excited to welcome Jillian McLenithan to the Kids First speech pathology team. From the moment we met her, it was clear how much heart she brings to her work, warm, enthusiastic and gentle with every child, with years of experience from schools and clinics in the United States.

Jillian supports kids with speech sound difficulties, language delay, autism and complex communication needs, and takes a neuro affirming approach, honouring each child's own way of communicating rather than trying to change it.

She loves working as part of a team too, partnering closely with parents, teachers and other professionals so kids get steady, consistent support at home, at school and in therapy.

Jillian is at Kids First Monday to Friday, and we can't wait for you and your child to meet her. Rebates are available through Medicare, private health funds and the NDIS. Head to our website to learn more about Jillian and book a session, or call us today on 9938 5419 📞