We got answers

Every page of theINmag is an idea by real Aussie kids: their art, writing, comics and photos, in print three times a year. It is a real magazine made from real kids' creations, published in February, June and October, with no ads and nothing written by adults. It is printed sustainably in Australia, designed for kids aged 5 to 13, and any kid can send in a creation for free through the Send IN page.

Two Australian teachers, Ryan and Tam, founded theINmag after years of consulting with kids, then sold their house and converted a van so they could travel the country meeting young creators. The pages themselves are made by kids. A small team of teachers and artists reviews every submission, and a designer and proofreaders carry each issue to print. The business is Australian, ABN 95 229 012 388. More on Behind the mag.

Yes, really, 100 percent. Every page of theINmag is an idea by real Aussie kids: their art, writing, comics and photos, in print three times a year. Every story, drawing, photo, joke and puzzle is a creation from a real Aussie kid, and we do not write any of it ourselves. A team of teachers and artists reviews every submission, and the mag is ad-free and sustainably printed in Australia.

Every page of theINmag is an idea by real Aussie kids: their art, writing, comics and photos, in print three times a year. It is made by kids, not for them by adults; a team of teachers and artists reviews the submissions and writes nothing itself. There are no ads, no sponsored content and no brand tie-ins. Any kid can send in for free, published kids are credited online with their first name, hometown, state and age (the printed mag adds a surname initial), and the mag is built to be multi-age and multi-ability rather than pitched at one year level.

theINmag is designed for kids aged 5 to 13, and in practice littlies, middles and oldies all find something in it, because every page carries a kid's voice exactly as they made it. Sending in is a different story: kids of all ages are welcome, and the range keeps aging up as older kids send in their creations.

theINmag is a real Australian print magazine, independent and ad-free, with five-star reviews from families on Judge.me, an ABC Radio interview and a spot in The Guardian's guide to the best kids' Christmas gifts in Australia. Families most often mention kids getting excited to create, pride at seeing a creation in print, and the quality of the pages. Read them on our reviews page; current prices are on the Membership page.

Families give theINmag five-star reviews on Judge.me. Reviewers most often mention kids getting excited to create and send in their own creations, pride at seeing a creation in print and sharing it with family and classmates, and the quality and design of the pages. It has featured on ABC Radio, in The Guardian and on teacher and homeschool podcasts. Read the reviews yourself on our reviews page.

theINmag is an ad-free children's magazine made in Australia: no banner ads, no sponsored content, no brand integrations anywhere in it. Every page is a creation from a real Australian kid, reviewed by a team of teachers and artists, and the mag is printed in Melbourne on FSC-certified paper with vegetable-based inks. It comes out three times a year and is designed for kids aged 5 to 13.

theINmag is an Australian kids' magazine made entirely from Australian kids' creations. Every page of theINmag is an idea by real Aussie kids: their art, writing, comics and photos, in print three times a year. Each issue carries the IN Map showing where its published kids live around the country, and kids from every state and territory appear in the live gallery. It is printed in Melbourne, ad-free, and any kid can send in for free.

Yes. theINmag is printed in Melbourne using vegetable-based inks on FSC-certified paper, and every issue carries the line "sustainably printed in Australia". There are no ads to pad the page count, so every page is a kid's creation, and print copies are made in one run three times a year. A digital PDF edition exists for families who prefer no paper at all.

Print is the full theINmag on heavy paper, sustainably printed in Australia and posted within Australia only, with the jokes and puzzles section printed upside down. Digital is the same mag as a PDF, emailed within minutes and readable on any device, with those pages the right way up. You can print the pages your kids love at home. Same kids, same creations, different format.

Mag09 is the ninth issue of theINmag, a thick, ad-free magazine of creations by hundreds of Australian kids. Inside, a kid draws how the body heals, others make the case for saving the bees and go dog sledding, there are jokes and puzzles, and an interview with an illustrator. It is one of the back issues still available in print: print posts within three business days and digital is emailed within minutes. Current prices are on the Mag09 page.

Head to our Send IN page, upload the creation and have a grown-up tick the consent box. It is free, and kids of all ages are welcome. A real human on our team of teachers and artists reviews every submission, and nothing is ever auto-published. Hundreds of kids' creations make it into each issue, and the number one thing we look for is effort, not polish, so send in something your kid genuinely loves.

theINmag publishes kids' creations in a real printed magazine, for free, and kids of all ages are welcome. A story, drawing, comic, photo, joke, recipe, song or something they built goes in through our Send IN page, a grown-up ticks consent, and a human team reviews every submission. Selected creations are printed, and creations are shared to the live gallery, credited online with their first name, hometown, state and age (the printed mag adds a surname initial).

Head to our Send IN page. Upload your child's creation there, whether it is a drawing, story, photo, joke or puzzle. It is free, it takes a few minutes, and a real human reviews every single submission. Nothing is ever auto-published. You will see a celebration screen once you hit submit, and if the creation is selected for print and you shared a parent email, we will be in touch before the issue drops.

Just about anything they have made: writing, drawings, comics, photos, jokes, facts, puzzles, songs, recipes, hobbies, and things they built like shelters, veggie patches, sculptures or a really great box. Photograph it with a phone or iPad in bright light, save the largest file you can and add two or three sentences about it. For the gallery, no copyrighted characters, real faces or school names.

Absolutely, grandkids are very welcome. Any Aussie kid roughly 4 to 16 can send in a creation through our Send IN page, and it is free. You do not need to be the parent to help them submit, and a real person on our team reviews everything that comes in. If you would like to make it extra special, plenty of grandparents pair a Send IN with a gift Membership so the mag lands in the letterbox too.

Almost certainly not. theINmag is open to Aussie kids roughly 4 to 16, and the range has been aging up as older kids keep sending in creations. We celebrate all ages and all abilities, so if your child has made something they are proud of, we would love to see it.

First, a celebration screen. Then a real person on our team of teachers and artists reviews the submission. We never auto-publish anything. If the creation is chosen for print and you left a parent email on the form, we email you before the issue drops. The parent email is optional, so we only contact families who shared it. So many creations arrive for each issue that we cannot reply to every submission individually, so look for your child's creation in the live gallery. Published kids do not receive a free copy; a Membership or a single issue is the surest way to hold the page.

Not every creation makes print, because there are more incredible kids than there are pages. Creations are shared to our live gallery, which shows live submissions from recent months filtered by art, writing, photos, puzzles, hobbies and wonderings, so other kids still get to see what your child made. Two things help next time: serious effort, and sending in lots of different creations across the year.

Yes. Published kids are credited online with their first name, hometown, state and age (the printed mag adds a surname initial). We never show full names, schools, addresses, contact details or faces in photos. A parent or guardian must say yes before anything is sent, and the form is for adults only. A real person reviews every submission, nothing is auto-published, and you can ask us to take a creation down at any time. The details are in our child safety and privacy policy.

Yes, anytime. Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will remove the creation from the website and gallery, no questions asked. Print and digital copies that have already been published cannot be recalled, but nothing future-facing stays up once you ask us to take it down.

Your child does. theINmag receives a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual licence, so the child can reuse the creation anywhere else. Accepted creations may appear in print, on the website and social channels, in marketing and on products such as prints or cards, with any proceeds funding future ad-free issues. How long submission records are kept is set out in our child safety and privacy policy.

A theINmag Membership delivers a brand-new magazine made by real Australian kids three times a year, every February, June and October, with shipping included. Choose 4-Issue, 8-Issue or Rolling, in print or digital; current prices are on the Membership page. Pick which mag arrives first, and if an issue has sold out in print we skip it and you still get every mag you paid for. Members get theirs first.

A single print issue of theINmag is $23.95 and a digital issue is $10.45. Print Memberships are $89 for 4 issues, $159 for 8 issues or $28.90 per drop on Rolling, all with shipping included. Digital Memberships are $37.95 for 4 issues, $67.95 for 8 or $10.45 per drop. The Digital Stack, every back issue as PDFs, is $65. Single issues ship at a flat rate, with free shipping over the threshold shown at checkout. All prices are in Australian dollars.

Only one of our Memberships ever charges again: the Rolling Membership. The 4-Issue and 8-Issue Memberships are paid upfront and never auto-renew, they simply finish when the last issue ships. We will email you to let you know if yours is lapsing. If you have a Rolling Membership, we email you a heads-up before each charge, and you can cancel anytime. Not sure which one you have? Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will check for you in a jiffy.

They are coming, one at a time. theINmag comes out three times a year, in February, June and October, and your Membership delivers one mag per issue as each one drops. So a 4-Issue Membership arrives as four separate mags across about 16 months, not four mags in one parcel. Your child gets the fun of the postie four times over instead of once. Every issue you paid for will arrive.

Yes, every single one. Your Membership covers a set number of issues, and each one is posted to you as it drops in February, June and October. Members get theirs first. If an issue ever goes missing in the post, email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will sort it.

Yes, a theINmag Membership is our magazine subscription: a brand-new issue three times a year, in February, June and October, in print or digital. We just call it a Membership. Only the Rolling Membership charges again. It is billed on the 1st of February, June and October with a heads-up email first, and you can cancel in two clicks from your account or by emailing us. The 4-Issue and 8-Issue Memberships are paid upfront, never auto-renew and simply finish when the last issue ships.

The 4-Issue and 8-Issue Memberships are paid upfront for a fixed number of issues, with no auto-renewal. When the last issue ships, that is the end, nothing to cancel. The Rolling Membership auto-debits before each issue, with a heads-up email first, and you can cancel anytime. All three deliver one mag per drop, three times a year, and Members get theirs first.

If you have a 4-Issue or 8-Issue Membership, there is nothing to cancel. They are paid upfront, never auto-renew, and simply finish after the last issue. If you have a Rolling Membership, you can cancel anytime in two clicks from your account, or email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will take care of it.

Easy. Just grab a new Membership on our website whenever suits you, and the next issues will keep coming. 4-Issue and 8-Issue Memberships finish on their own rather than auto-renewing, so renewing is always your choice. If you would rather never think about it, the Rolling Membership continues automatically with a heads-up email before each issue. Not sure when your current one ends? Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will look it up.

Three issues a year, in February, June and October. We wait for kids' creations to come in, and the three-a-year rhythm works beautifully. Each issue is posted on the 10th of its month and usually arrives around the 15th. Members get theirs first and never miss an issue.

Yes, that is exactly what the "start with the next issue" option is for. You skip the issue your kid already has, and your Membership begins with the next drop. The price is the same either way, so there is no extra cost to wait.

We investigate and replace damaged or missing mags. Change-of-mind returns are not accepted on printed single issues, because return postage would exceed the price. For Memberships, shipped issues are not refundable, but unshipped issues can be cancelled and refunded pro rata. Digital mags are delivered instantly so are not refundable, except if you bought digital by mistake instead of print: buy print, email us, and the digital is refunded.

Each issue is posted on the 10th of February, June and October, and usually lands within about 5 days. If it has not turned up within 10 business days of the 15th, let us know. A little patience around the drop is normal.

Our big tri-annual drops go by Print Post, which AusPost does not track, so we cannot give a tracking link for those copies. If you order a single copy between drops, that goes by registered post with tracking. Still nothing after 10 business days? Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will sort it.

Not on the big drops. Release-day Membership mags go by Print Post, which Australia Post does not track, so there is no link for those. Every other order, single issues, bundles and gifts, comes with a tracking link. If something goes astray, email heyhey@theinmag.com.au. We investigate and replace lost or damaged mags, and reply within two business days, same day for lost or damaged ones.

Of course, email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will check your order straight away. Worth knowing first: issues arrive one per drop, three times a year in February, June and October, not all at once. So a Membership always has more issues still on the way. If one has genuinely gone missing, we will resend it.

New issues drop three times a year, in February, June and October. Each one is posted on the 10th of its month and usually lands around the 15th, with Members getting theirs first. The next one, Mag11, drops on 15 October 2026.

Yes, we can resend a mag that went to an old address. Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with your new address and we will sort it. While you are at it, update your address on our update-address page so every future issue lands in the right letterbox. If an address was not updated after we asked, a resend may need to cover the cost of postage.

Two easy ways. Use our update-address page, or email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with your new details and we will change it for you. Update it well before the next drop and your next issue will go to the new address.

Almost certainly yes. When this happens, the payment has nearly always gone through fine and the confirmation email has simply gone to a different address, often one with a small typo. Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will confirm your order and fix the email on file so future updates reach you.

Some back issues are still available in print (right now: Mag09). Every issue that has sold out in print is available as a digital PDF. The Digital Stack bundles every back issue as instant downloads, and Digital Memberships also include access to sold-out back issues. The shop page shows what is in stock in print right now.

theINmag has stockists around Australia, and the locator on our stockist page lets you search by suburb, postcode or state. If your local shop is not on it yet, shops can apply on the same page; they buy direct at a trade discount, one stockist per postcode. Everything is also sold directly at theinmag.com.au, with free shipping over the threshold shown at checkout.

A theINmag Membership is a birthday gift that keeps arriving: an ad-free magazine made by kids, posted three times a year with shipping included. Enter the child's address at checkout so each mag arrives addressed to them, add a gift note in the order notes, and tell us the birthday date so the first issue lands just before it. Current Membership options and prices are on the Membership page.

Try a magazine they can be in. theINmag was named in The Guardian's guide to the best kids' Christmas gifts in Australia: made entirely by kids, no ads, and the gift comes with the chance for the child to send in their own creation and be published. Order by around 15 December for standard delivery before Christmas (a few days later for Express). We confirm the exact date once Australia Post publishes its Christmas send-by dates.

Grandparents are some of our favourite gift buyers, and it is simple. Buy a Membership and put the child's postal address in as the delivery address, so every mag arrives addressed to them. Add your message in the order notes and it goes in with the first mag. Forgot the address? Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with your order number and we will post it straight to the child.

Yes, we love doing this. Just tell us the date, either in the order notes or by emailing heyhey@theinmag.com.au, and we will time the first issue to land just before the big day. It turns the letterbox into part of the present.

Yes. When you check out, add your message in the order notes and we will include it with the first mag. It is a lovely way for the child to know exactly who the mag is from.

Yes, no problem at all. Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with your order number and the child's postal address, and we will post the mag straight to them.

You pick at checkout. "Start with the current issue" ships within three business days while stock lasts; "start with the next issue" means the first mag arrives after the next drop in February, June or October. The price is the same either way. If an issue has sold out in print, we say so and skip it, and the child still gets every mag you paid for.

Printed copies post within Australia only, and digital editions for families outside Australia are opening soon. Meanwhile the free e-mag sampler, the live gallery and the Real kids' voices library are open to anyone, and overseas kids are welcome to send in their creations too.

Digital editions for families outside Australia are opening soon. Until then, the free e-mag sampler, the live gallery and the Real kids' voices library are open to anyone, and expat kids can send in creations too, with a parent's consent.

Yes. Order a theINmag Membership and enter your grandchild's Australian postal address as the delivery address; shipping is included and every mag arrives addressed to them. Add a gift note in the order notes and it goes in with the first mag. If the grandchild lives outside Australia too, digital editions for overseas families are opening soon.

Easily. The digital edition of theINmag is the full magazine as a PDF, emailed within minutes of ordering and readable on any device, so it rides along on the iPad in the car. The print mag is a thick, ad-free read built for long flicking, with the jokes and puzzles section printed upside down for fun. The Digital Stack puts every back issue on one tablet.

Teachers use theINmag for shared reading and mentor-text analysis, "I notice, I wonder" visual prompts, rich numeracy tasks, wellbeing discussions, art room units and as a stimulus for students' own submissions. Each issue is organised into sections spanning persuasive, informative and entertaining writing, art, photography, puzzles, jokes and problem solving, and every piece is by a real Australian kid.

theINmag's Real kids' voices library is a free collection of writing by Australian kids aged 5 to 13, each piece published in the magazine and reproduced exactly as the kid wrote it. It is organised by purpose: persuasive pieces such as "Is Plastic Pollution a Problem for the Oceans?" and "We Need a Gym", informative pieces such as "Daintree Rainforest" and "Aquatic Biomes", and entertaining stories such as "All Hail the Queen!" and "The Re-awakening of Zard".

theINmag publishes real kids' writing free online, no login needed, and its submission terms cover classroom use, so you can project, print and pull the pieces apart. The Real kids' voices library is sorted into persuasive, informative and entertaining to match your unit, there is a free PIE poster PDF, and new pieces are added from every issue. Co-founder Ryan's post Stop Searching for Fake Samples. Use Real Ones explains why kid-made samples beat adult models.

Yes. theINmag's published writers are aged 5 to 13, so its free persuasive pieces span the primary years including the NAPLAN ones, and each was written by a real kid, which sets believable targets rather than polished adult models. Persuasive pieces include "Why We Need to Renovate the Toilets!", "Why Teachers Should Give us More Free Time" and "We Should Get a Dog". More land with every issue.

theINmag interviews a real Australian professional in every issue and publishes them free on Real jobs, real people, written to be read by kids themselves. The questions come from kids, so the answers land at kid level. Jobs so far include a detective, a zookeeper, a DNA scientist, a drone-flying ecologist, a judge's associate, an architect, a chiropractor, an art teacher, a bird artist and a family of travel vloggers.

Not deliberately. theINmag is not mapped to curriculum dot points, because the founders, both teachers, say prescriptive mapping locks content to single year levels when the mag is built to be multi-age and multi-ability. Teachers design their own lessons using it as stimulus across year levels. Its kid-written pieces are cousins of ACARA samples: real pieces kids enjoy, not assessment exemplars.

Yes. Start with our free downloads on the Freebies page, printable activities and creative prompts you can use straight away. The mag itself is a resource too: 100 percent made by real Aussie kids, ad-free, and a brilliant model of what kids can create, so teachers use it for reading corners, writing prompts and inspiring their own students to send in creations. Digital copies for classroom sharing are also available.

There is no special class-set price; the discount comes from the cart. Mix any mags, Snack Packs and Memberships and the saving applies automatically at checkout on a sliding ladder, so the more items, the bigger the saving, with the current tiers shown in the cart. No code is needed, and it works alongside school invoicing. For whole-class reading, one digital issue of theINmag may be shared across the entire school, so many schools pair a few print copies with digital.

Yes. Buy one digital issue of theINmag and share it across your classroom, year level, staff or whole school: project it, email it to colleagues, send it home with families or build a school library. The Digital Stack has every back issue as PDFs. Lots of schools run digital on the classroom screen and print in the reading corner.

Through theINmag's Send IN page, with a parent or guardian giving permission. For classes, there is a free annual consent form that covers a year of submissions, and every issue includes a cut-out page with a QR code students can scan to submit themselves. Sending in is free, open to every kid and curated by teachers.

Yes, when the van is nearby. Founders Ryan and Tam travel Australia in a converted campervan and offer art workshops, writing unit launches, half-hour classroom introductions and assembly presentations. Schools and homeschool groups can email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with where you are and what you have in mind, and we reply within two business days. Public kids' workshops are listed on the workshops page.

Yes, easy. A tax invoice comes with your order, and if you need another copy, or need it made out a particular way for your school, email heyhey@theinmag.com.au and we will send a PDF over. We work with lots of schools, so whatever format your finance team needs, just ask.

Yes. Order through our school-order page, check out as a guest, choose "Schools & Institutions - Bank Transfer" and a tax invoice arrives by email, payable on the terms shown on the invoice. There is an optional PO number field, and a school email address is required. Supplier setup and EFT forms are fine too; just email heyhey@theinmag.com.au.

Of course. Supplier setup and EFT are both fine, we do this with schools all the time. Email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with your school's requirements or forms and we will send through our business and bank details, plus anything else your finance team needs.

Happy to, email heyhey@theinmag.com.au with your school name and we will check your order straight away. One thing worth knowing: issues arrive one per drop, three times a year in February, June and October, so a Membership always has more issues on the way. If one has gone missing, we will resend it.

Shops buy theINmag direct at a trade discount off the recommended retail price of $23.95, one stockist per postcode and no consignment; apply on our stockist page and we are in touch within a week. School libraries order on invoice through the school-order page, and a single digital issue may be shared across the school.

theINmag is a magazine made entirely by kids, with no ads and no timetable, designed to sit alongside whatever you are already doing rather than replace it. Homeschool families use it as mentor texts for writing, art prompts, "I notice, I wonder" starters and a quiet driver for the cool stuff kids already do. Its sections span literacy, numeracy, art, wellbeing, geography and careers. More on our homeschool page.

Many families use theINmag as evidence for homeschool registration and portfolios: the mag as stimulus, the child's response as the sample, and a published creation as a real-world outcome. It is not a curriculum, and we say so plainly. Digital Memberships include access to sold-out back issues, and the Digital Stack has every back issue as PDFs.

theINmag publishes creations from kids of all ages, homeschooled or not, and it is free to send in. Kids can send writing, art, comics, photos, jokes, recipes, puzzles or things they built, and a real person reviews everything. Co-founder Tam has been a guest on the Sisters Who Homeschool podcast, and the mag is listed on Homeschool Resource Finder.

theINmag is an Australian magazine filled entirely with drawings, comics, stories, photos, jokes and puzzles made by kids, and any kid can send in their own. It is a thick, ad-free read, printed sustainably in Australia three times a year, with whole sections of kid-made art across all sorts of media. The Send IN page is where a drawing goes to be considered for the next issue, and sending in is free.

theINmag publishes real kids' writing, stories, persuasive pieces, info texts, jokes and poems, and any kid can send theirs in for free. Writing is sorted into persuade, inform and entertain, plus a featured story each issue. A real person reviews every submission, and published writers are credited online with their first name, hometown, state and age (the printed mag adds a surname initial). Effort is the number one thing we look for.

It can, and theINmag is built for exactly that kid, because every page is made by another kid rather than a polished adult. Children read what kids their own age actually made, which sparks "I could do that too". Pages mix comics, jokes, puzzles, photos and short pieces, so there is always a quick way in. Teachers use the same pieces as believable mentor texts in class.

Being published in a real print magazine is a big first step, and theINmag makes it free for kids of all ages. Kids send a story, drawing, comic, photo, joke, recipe, song or something they built through our Send IN page, a grown-up gives permission, and a human team reviews it. Selected creations go to print, and creations are shared to the live gallery, credited online with their first name, hometown, state and age (the printed mag adds a surname initial).

theINmag's live gallery shows real kids' creations from across Australia with only a first name, hometown, state and age, never full names, schools, addresses or faces. A parent or guardian ticks consent before anything is sent, a real person reviews every submission and nothing is auto-published. You can ask for a creation to come down at any time by emailing heyhey@theinmag.com.au.

A magazine made by kids does the trick. Families use theINmag as a screen-free wind-down, a school-holidays ritual or a bedtime read. A favourite move is to flip to a random page and ask "what does this make you want to create?" and the pencils come out. Kids also flick through planning what they will send IN next. The Freebies page adds printable activities with no email or account needed.

Yes. theINmag's free e-mag is a sampler of favourite spreads from our early issues, sent when you join our email list. Pop in an email address, first name optional, tick the box, and it lands in your inbox, followed each month by theINside scoop with real kid creations and fresh teaching ideas. Unsubscribe anytime, and your details are never shared.

You can, several ways. Join our email list and we send you a free e-mag, a sampler of favourite spreads from our early issues. Browse real kids' creations in the live gallery, read published kids' writing in the Real kids' voices library, and read the career interviews on Real jobs, real people, all free with no login. Then read what families say on our reviews page.

theINmag's free e-mag is emailed when you join our email list, so it reads the same in Perth, Singapore or Oslo. It is a sampler of favourite spreads from our early issues: real Australian kids' art, writing, comics and photos, no ads. The live gallery and the Real kids' voices library are also free to read anywhere.

Yes. theINmag's Freebies page has printable PDFs that are 100% free with no email or account needed, for home or classroom. Categories cover lesson planning, puzzles and games, writing and literacy, animals and nature, photography, art and creativity, inspiration and quotes, wellbeing and mindfulness, and problem solving and numeracy, including the IN-task planner, Finish the Story and Design Your Dream Zoo.

There is. theINside scoop is theINmag's free monthly newsletter with real kid creations and fresh teaching ideas, and joining gets you the free e-mag, a sampler of favourite spreads from our early issues. Unsubscribe anytime, and details are never shared. It sits alongside the Field notes blog, which covers creativity, mindset, homeschooling, open tasks and career pathways.

theINmag keeps a free competitions directory of real Australian competitions for kids, updated weekly, spanning art, photography, film, writing, poetry, spelling, dance, music, STEM, maths, performance and social good. Filter by age group, state or national, free or paid entry, and online, postal or school entry. Adults can suggest a competition and the team checks it before it goes on the board.

Yes. Founders Ryan and Tam run creative workshops where kids meet the team, explore the issues, brainstorm their interests, create characters called mINions, hear stories written by kids and make art. Upcoming dates, places and the small family fee are on the workshops page, booked online and paid on the day. Parents join in; it is not a drop-off. Bring a sketchpad and pencil case if you have them.

Start close to home: a school newsletter, a local library competition or a community paper gives a child a first real audience. For a printed magazine, theINmag publishes Australian kids' writing of every kind, free to send in with a parent's consent. Writing competitions are another route; theINmag keeps a free, weekly-updated competitions directory of real Australian ones. Whatever the outlet, the win is the same: a real reader.

A fridge gallery is the classic, and a rotating frame or clothesline of clips in the kitchen turns it into a proper exhibition. Beyond the house, local libraries and councils often run kids' art shows, and theINmag's competitions directory lists real Australian art and photography competitions. For publication, theINmag prints kids' art in a real magazine and shares creations to a safe live gallery, showing only a first name, hometown, state and age.

Plenty, and they change every year, so check dates before your child starts. theINmag's free competitions directory lists real Australian writing, poetry and spelling competitions for kids, filtered by age group, state or national, free or paid entry and how to enter, and it is checked weekly. Sending in to theINmag itself is not a competition: there is no closing date, no fee, and every creation is read by a real person.

theINmag's free competitions directory lists real Australian art, photography and film competitions for kids, with filters for age group, state or national, free or paid entry, and online, postal or school entry, and it is verified weekly against each organiser's page. Adults can suggest one that is missing. Alongside competitions, kids can send a drawing to theINmag at any time of year to be considered for print and shared in the live gallery.

Give them a reason and a reader. Kids resist writing when it has no audience and no choice, so let them pick the topic, keep it short, and show them writing by other kids rather than polished adult models, so the target feels reachable. theINmag's Real kids' voices library has free pieces by Australian kids aged 5 to 13 for exactly this, and sending a piece to theINmag gives a reluctant writer a real magazine to aim at.

Open-ended beats step-by-step: a box from the recycling, a "finish the story" prompt, a photo walk, or a one-question challenge every kid can get into at their own level. theINmag's Freebies page has free printable prompts and planners with no email needed, and the mag itself works as a flip-to-a-page starter: ask "what does this make you want to create?" Then send the result IN.

Pick a spot people actually gather, usually the kitchen, and make the display easy to change: a string with clips, a cork board or a rotating frame. Photograph the rest before it goes, and keep the pieces that show a jump. For a bigger stage, theINmag prints kids' art in a real magazine and shares creations to a safe live gallery, and reviews describe kids showing their printed page to grandparents and classmates.

Many kids go quiet creatively in the middle primary years, when they start comparing their drawings to adult standards and decide they are "not good at art". The fix is low-stakes making with a real audience: effort praised over polish, other kids' creations as the benchmark, and somewhere for the result to go. theINmag's post Why Your Kid Stops Creating Around Age 8 unpacks the research, and its pages are made by kids of exactly that age.

Hand them a constraint, not a blank page: draw your dream day, a silly creature, a pet portrait, or your future self. theINmag's Freebies page has free printable drawing prompts like these, its post 5 Things to Draw When You Don’t Know What to Draw is written for kids, and flipping through a mag made by other kids is a reliable spark. Whatever they make can be sent IN.

Share the creation, not the child: no face, no full name, no school, no location more precise than a hometown. Pick places that review before publishing and let you take things down. theINmag's live gallery works that way, showing only a first name, hometown, state and age, with every submission reviewed by a real person, parental consent up front and takedowns on request.

Yes, because creating something encourages a child to think, and thinking is where real learning happens. Making decisions, testing ideas and fixing what doesn't work builds a habit that transfers to reading, maths and everything after.

One question every kid can get into and be challenged: a low floor, high ceiling task. The same task can suit a five-year-old and a twelve-year-old, and encourages collaboration and understanding.

A magazine made of real kids' creations is filled with mentor texts, inspiration and real thinking. Children learn powerfully from what other kids their age actually made, not a polished adult example. It sparks "I could do that too". Designed by teachers so you can trust it's linked to learning.

It gives their idea a real audience, and that changes everything. Knowing someone will see it, kids care more and try harder. Being chosen tells a child their ideas matter, and that belief outlasts the creation. Families in reviews describe kids proudly showing their printed page to relatives and classmates, and creations are also shared to the live gallery.

A child in charge of their own idea puts more of themselves into it. Ownership builds confidence, persistence and a willingness to have a go, the traits that carry a child long after the task is done.

Interestingly, the magazine has been 'aging up' lately, with submissions rolling in from teenagers. It's been fun to see. So, the spread is now from 4 years old to around 16. Incredible!