Kids West Western Sydney Paediatric Fund Raising Inc

21/10/2026

Kids West Weekly Parenting Tip — 21 October 2026

By Trevor Oldfield, on behalf of Kids West Children's Charity

Welcome back to this week's instalment in our ongoing weekly parenting tip series.

This week: setting warm but consistent boundaries. A piece published this month (The Conversation, via Daily Maverick) revisited the "gentle parenting" debate and made an important point: true gentle parenting was never about having no limits. Drawing on decades of developmental research, it combines high warmth with clear, consistent boundaries — what psychologists call authoritative parenting. The confusion comes when warmth slides into permissiveness, which some researchers link to more behaviour struggles down the track.

In practice, warmth and limits work together, not against each other.

Keep safety limits firm and non-negotiable, even while you explain the "why."
Validate the feeling before holding the line: "I know you're upset, and bedtime still stands."
Stay calm yourself first — a steady adult helps an upset child settle faster.
Be predictable: the same boundary today as yesterday builds trust, not resentment.
Aim to be a "good enough" parent, not a perfect one — consistency over time matters more than getting every moment right.

Follow along each week for more practical tips, and thank you for supporting Kids West Children's Charity as we walk alongside families and sick children across Western Sydney.

15/10/2026

Kids West Weekly Parenting Tip — 15 October 2026

By Trevor Oldfield, on behalf of Kids West Children's Charity

Welcome back to our ongoing weekly series, where we share a practical parenting tip for Western Sydney families.

This week's focus: building confidence through everyday praise and encouragement. A study of 565 children aged seven to eleven, tracked over 18 months and reported in Australian media in July, found that constant praise - telling kids they're exceptional at everything - was linked to higher narcissistic traits, while genuine self-esteem was tied more closely to parental warmth and support. The take-home message from researchers wasn't to stop encouraging kids, but to make praise specific and honest rather than constant and blanket.

Here's how to put that into practice:

Praise the effort and the specific action ("you kept trying even when it was tricky") rather than labelling your child as "the best" or "amazing" at everything
Save big praise for genuine achievements so it keeps its meaning
Show warmth and attention every day - sitting with them, listening, being present matters more than words of praise alone
Let your child know mistakes are a normal part of learning, not something to be praised away
Notice kindness and persistence, not just results

Follow along each week for more tips, and remember Kids West is here year-round supporting families and sick children across Western Sydney.

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25/09/2026

When a child enters a hospital, the heroic medical team supports the treatment. But who supports them?

In Western Sydney, Keith West started KidsWest with a simple, massive mission: bridge the gap where standard healthcare funding ends and real care begins.

Most people don't realise what actually fills that gap. It isn't just high-tech machines—though KidsWest provides Advanced Pediatric Life Support training and specialised equipment for critically unwell kids.

It’s also the "simple things":
* Workshops and staff sessions
*Wellbeing and play equipment for the patients
* Toys that bring a sense of normal to a scary room

It’s the tools that allow local hospital staff to give kids the exact care they need, right close to home, where their families are.

As one of the hospital nurses shared: "It's important that simple things are provided that sometimes people don't understand the importance of."

If you work in healthcare, community support, or give back to your local community, help us with some ideas, tell us: What is one "small" thing you’ve seen make a massive, night-and-day difference in patient or community care?
Drop your thoughts below, we’d love to start a conversation around what often gets overlooked.

14/09/2026

Kids West Weekly Parenting Tip — 14 September 2026 By Trevor Oldfield, on behalf of Kids West Children's Charity

Welcome back to our weekly parenting tip series, where we share practical advice for Western Sydney families.

This week's focus: managing big emotions and tantrums in toddlers. Earlier this year a viral TikTok trick did the rounds, where parents shout a random name like "Jessica" mid-meltdown to snap a child out of it. Australian child development experts, including Dr Kristyn Sommer, Dr Rachael Sharman and Professor Mark Dadds from the University of Sydney, weighed in, and the consensus was that it's just a distraction technique. It might interrupt a tantrum once or twice, but it doesn't teach a child how to cope, and can even startle or escalate things further.

Their advice points back to the basics that actually build emotional skills over time:

Check the simple stuff first: is your child tired, hungry, or thirsty
Stay calm yourself, a firm and loving voice works better than raised emotion
Name and validate the feeling before trying to redirect
Set expectations before outings, so kids know what to expect
If tantrums are frequent, prolonged, or feel unmanageable, it's worth a chat with your GP or a child health professional

Follow along each week for more tips, and know that Kids West is here supporting families and sick children across Western Sydney.

06/08/2026

When you give to a cause, you want to know: How much of my dollar actually helps?

At Kids West, we have a very simple answer: It goes to the kids. 💙

We don’t spend your donations on massive marketing campaigns or heavy corporate headgear. Because we are a local organization powered by this community, the vast majority of every dollar raised goes straight toward life-saving equipment and vital paediatric programs.

Since 1991, we’ve put more than $7.2 million back into Western Sydney's hospitals—Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Nepean, and Westmead.

Your support isn't paying for a "budget line" or a "marketing fee." It’s paying for:

Humidicribs for newborns 👶
Children’s rehabilitation gyms 🏃‍♂️
Play areas that make hospitals less scary 🧸
Western Sydney looks after its own, and we make sure your generosity goes exactly where it’s needed most—to the bedside.

How to help:
✅ Play: Join us for Cash Housie at Club Blacktown (Tues, Fri, Sat).
✅ Donate: Give directly at kidswest.org.au.

04/08/2026

30/07/2026

Looking for something fun to do this week? Come along to Cash Housie at Club Blacktown — and help local kids while you play. 🎱💙

Every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night, our community comes together for cash prizes, jackpots of up to $2,000, plenty of fun — and a brilliant cause.

Every dollar raised goes straight to Kids West, helping fund vital equipment and programs for children in Western Sydney hospitals.

📍 Club Blacktown, 40 Second Avenue, Blacktown
📅 Every Tuesday, Friday & Saturday
🕔 Doors open 5pm
🎉 Games start 7pm sharp
📌 Horizons Room

Bring a friend, enjoy a night out and make a genuine difference for sick kids close to home.

Kids West Western Sydney Paediatric Fund Raising Inc. Raising over $7m to support children and their families.

23/07/2026

Right now, at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospital, there’s life-saving paediatric equipment in use because our community stepped up. 💙

Funded through Kids West — not a government budget line — this equipment is helping local children when they need it most.

For 35 years, Western Sydney families, local businesses and Housie players have helped put more than $7.2 million into paediatric and neonatal care at Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Nepean and Westmead hospitals.

That means:

Humidicribs for vulnerable newborns
A children’s gym at Nepean Hospital
A play area at Blacktown Hospital
Shaken Baby Prevention education supporting safer outcomes for local babies
Every contribution becomes something real for a local child and their family.

Western Sydney looks after its own. Thank you for being part of it.

🔗 Support local kids: kidswest.org.au

20/12/2025

Back in quirindi supporting the families less fortunate donating hundreds of presents and gifts cards. A big thankyou to Blacktown City lions represented by Rebel and Rachael, Colleen Wills and her team and the Liverpool Plains Business Chamber making it all happen. I wish all the families in and around Quirindi a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year.