MY CHILD FORUM MODERATORS

All of the forums have a moderator who has been hand-picked by My Child. Moderators ensure that the discussion forum rules are adhered to. They also make sure any messages posted that do not follow the guidelines, or are abusive, are removed quickly to prevent any distress to our members. If you see any abuse or a posting that breaks the rules then please email us.

Moderators will know where you can find all sorts of information within My Child and can often point you in the right direction about a special subject. Although moderators are often very passionate on the subject matter for their forum, they are not expected to give advice to members, just support. If a moderator chooses to give advice, then it is their own decision and not something that is requested of them. Moderators are not medically qualified. Any advice they give you is from their own experiences as a parent.

Meet the My Child moderator team:

ADMINISTRATION & GENERAL

Prior to having her two children, Kazy worked in the customer service field. She is currently enrolled in a TAFE Diploma of Business course to prepare her return to the workforce once her children start school. Kazy lives in NSW and has been a supportive and loyal My Child forum member since the website’s launch. Her other interests include cooking, reading and cricket.

CONCEPTION

After travelling throughout Europe and the US, and a two-year work stint in London, Lulu returned to Oz to marry her long-time partner and now lives in NSW. She is a stay-at-home mum to two girls and is in the trying-to-conceive club after suffering a recent miscarriage. Lulu has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) degree and has previously worked as a human resources officer and training coordinator. She enjoys reading and is currently completing a freelance writing course.

PREGNANCY

Eden is a mother to a school-age son, stepmother to three other children and is pregnant after IVF with her second biological child. She currently works from home in NSW as a freelance writer but has worked for magazines as an editor, sub-editor and writer for many years.

BIRTH

With a passion for birth, Tango believes she should have been a midwife. She is a mother of three children, including one adult stepson (diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder) and resides in QLD. After starting a nursing degree, she switched courses and completed a Bachelor of Health Education/Promotion. She currently does casual market research and has three years experience as a moderator for a hobby website. Tango will also complete her Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning which will qualify her to become a primary school teacher.

BREASTFEEDING

Caz lives in SA with her husband and young son.  A qualified journalist and children’s librarian, Caz writes and edits articles for Essence – the magazine of the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA). As part of her library work, Caz loves purchasing and reading many children’s and parenting books. Currently studying for a Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Education, Caz hopes to combine her passions for literacy and lactation, and books and breastfeeding, by contributing in many varied ways to the parent education field.

INFANCY

Amy believes that too much knowledge is never enough when it comes to your child. She is an avid reader about child health and education, plus has a keen interest in living an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. Amy is struggling to find a new work-life balance after having her first child and starting to work from home as a freelance writer in NSW. Her husband is in the Defence Forces so she has also lived in several other Australian states and one country town in recent years. She knows how important internet communities are in supporting modern families who may not always have friends and family living close by.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Currently working at Tresillian on their parent help line, Nanna Marge has over 20 years experience in caring for women and their families as a midwife, early childhood nurse and women's health nurse. She has also worked in education and management as a nurse and has developed many projects related to services for families in different communities. She is a grandmother to a two-year-old girl, and 28 years ago was a sole parent to a premature daughter. Nanna Marge would like to be able to inform families about the current services and benefits available to parents.

PARENTING

As a mother of three children and author of her own blog (mumsword.net), Mrs M enjoys discussing parenting issues and finds mothers have a very interesting view of the world. She has a Communication degree, majoring in journalism, public relations and video production. She has also completed a Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers course. Prior to having children, Mrs M was a marketing manager, but has since had articles published as a freelance writer. She lives in NSW.

HEALTH

Nat7502 loves books, researching and helping people by offering advice based on her personal experiences – as well as listening to what other parents have to say. She has aromatherapy, food technology and lab technician certificates. She is a senior and child first aider, a health and safety representative, and is also about to commence an infant massage instructor course. Nat7502 lives in WA and is interested in natural therapies, including herbal medicine, yoga and organic skincare. She is a single parent to her two sons and is on maternity leave from her role as a food technologist. Nat7502 has plans to open a baby massage therapy business.

STYLE

The challenge of coping with a newborn with reflux prompted Marija, who previously worked as an accountant, to change careers and pursue her passion for writing. She is My Child’s website/e-Newsletter editor and even after having her two children, she still finds all the funky and fantastic new products exciting. Marija is pregnant with her third child and resides in NSW.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FORUM MODERATOR

1. Foster a sense of community, caring and responsiveness in their assigned forum. This can be done easily by getting involved in discussions, responding to posts (especially those no-one else responds to), and offering their support. They may also pose questions, with some stimulating comments, on a regular basis to promote discussion if the forum is quiet. Please note, they do not have to reply to every post. Moderators are required to check their assigned forum a minimum of three times a week.
2. Enforce the forum rules by monitoring their forum for abusive posts, unauthorised spam or advertisements, copyright infringements, any sort of harassment, and any other violations of the forum rules, and to edit or delete posts that violate these rules. Send emails to the administration moderator for serious and “repeat” offenders, or questionable posts that they aren’t sure about.
3. The moderator acts as a role model for the rest of the members. The moderator’s behaviour has to set an example to how other members should behave in the forum.
4. The moderator should treat each member in the same way. A moderator should not allow personal feelings to influence their judgement about the content of their forum, or the behaviour of the members. These are defined by the forum rules.
5. The moderator is not allowed to edit or delete a thread or a post, simply because she does not agree with its content or the member who submitted it. Typically a thread or a post will be edited or deleted if it contains vulgar or foul language, nudity or comments that can be insulting for other members of the forum.
6. Moderators have the right to move a thread to another forum if they think this would be a more appropriate area for that thread. A relocation message should be left behind so that members can follow up the thread. Please keep in mind that this forum has an abuse policy through which the moderators can issue warnings to members who do not follow the forum rules.
7. Moderators do not have the right to ban a user from the forum. This will be done only after consultation with the administration moderator and the website manager. They should use the warning system to issue warnings for member’s offences. (See Forum Abuse Policy for details)
8. When they participate in a discussion, they should do it in accordance with the rules above. In no case should a moderator ever use their administrative role as a weighting factor in such a discussion. When participating in a discussion, they are treated as just any other member. They are subject to the same rules that apply for the members, only they are judged more strictly, since they have to set the example for the members.
9. Every member who has a specific and documented complaint about a moderator should discuss the problem directly with the moderator. If the member is not satisfied with the outcome, the member can email the administration moderator.
10. Moderators should always keep in mind that forum members come to enjoy themselves. They deserve the utmost respect. Moderators cannot edit or remove a thread or post without explaining her actions to the offending member.
11. Moderators should participate in the private forum moderator’s forum. Only current moderators have access to this forum, visible at the bottom of the main forum listing. This is the place to post questions, concerns and problems, ask for help, and get feedback and input from your fellow moderators. It is a good idea to visit this forum regularly to keep updated with changes in the forums.
12. If moderators face an issue with a member, and they are not sure how to handle it, it is best to contact the administration moderator for advice.
13. Moderators need to familiarise themselves with the forum rules and adhere to them. If they contravene the moderator responsibilities or forum rules they will be given a warning by the website manager. The website manager reserves the right to terminate the moderator’s role without notice.