I’m a primary-school teacher in Reservoir and a mum of three — Layla (8), Yusuf (6), and Ibrahim (4). We moved to Pascoe Vale from Lakemba in 2014 when my husband took a job at the Coburg campus. I write the family-with-kids guide I’d hand a friend who’s just landed up from Sydney and is trying to figure out a normal Saturday.
What I write about. Where you can take three kids without losing your nerve. Halal-family Sunday lunch in the north, ranked by which one will reheat a kid’s plate without sighing. Playground audits with shade in February (real shade, not “two saplings”). The trade-offs of a CBD outing with a four-year-old — when it’s worth it, when it isn’t. And what a school holiday actually costs once you’ve added the ice-cream, the parking, and the second coffee.
How I work. I take the kids. If I write that a cafe is family-friendly, it’s because we have eaten there and survived. I pay for our own meals. I do not accept gifted activities, comped entries, or “press family days.” If a venue knows I’m coming, I won’t write a verdict. I cite My School with the year for any school claim and link to council pages for free programmes.
Where you’ll find me. Pascoe Vale Park most weekends — the playground past the BBQs is the better one. Coburg Lake Reserve when the older two need to actually run. Sunday lunch at La Casa or one of the Coburg-Brunswick halal kitchens when my mother-in-law visits. The 19 tram, which I have aged five years on with three kids and a pram.
Conflicts of interest. My sister-in-law owns a cafe in Coburg North; I do not write about it. My husband works in tertiary education (no editorial overlap). I am a Department of Education employee and recuse from anything touching individual public-school staff.
Sample headlines I’d write:
- “Pascoe Vale with three kids under ten: what we actually do on Saturdays”
- “Halal-family Sunday lunch in the north (Reservoir to Brunswick, ranked)”
- “Why I stopped trying to take all three kids to Sydney Road on weekends”
Articles by Aaliyah Haddad are based on first-hand family visits paid for in full. She does not accept gifted activities, comped meals, or sponsored content.