Children

Did I deny my son a shot at the Premier League?

9 November 2024 9:00 am

When my youngest son Charlie was seven he was talent-spotted by a QPR scout who saw him playing football in…

My glimpse into a childless world

9 November 2024 9:00 am

If you are looking for a pointer for the future of the world, the free-diving fisherwomen on the matriarchal, shamanistic…

Letters: we have let down white, working-class boys

24 August 2024 9:00 am

The lost boys Sir: The only statement in your powerful leading article (‘Boy trouble’, 17 August) which can be challenged…

In defence of strict teachers

17 August 2024 9:00 am

Labour have become alarmed by the strict, ‘cruel’ approach to discipline in schools and the rise in the number of…

Why children have stopped reading

10 August 2024 9:00 am

It’s only when you read the old stories again, to a child maybe, that you become aware of the extent…

Who is your favourite character in children’s literature?

10 August 2024 9:00 am

Rod Liddle Rabbits, always rabbits. I remember at age 13 forcing my poor parents to trudge despondently across hilly downland…

Keir Starmer’s parenting lessons

3 August 2024 9:00 am

Before he became Prime Minister, Keir Starmer admitted he was concerned about what life in Downing Street might be like…

Are kids’ games under threat?

20 July 2024 9:00 am

We hear a lot about the rights of the child, but the first I heard of the child’s right to…

I’m taking mental notes for my old age

1 June 2024 9:00 am

I know straight away, from the look on my friend Alice’s face, whether it’s a ‘bad carer’ day. Five years…

Why is the government making it harder to get an au pair?

25 May 2024 9:00 am

You will have heard, I am sure, of the Conservatives’ recent largesse towards working parents, as their ‘free’ childcare policy…

Why Mummy smokes

20 April 2024 9:00 am

It’s 7.02 p.m. and I’m standing outside my house by the bins smoking a fag. Upstairs, I can hear that…

Stop worrying if your child is a picky eater

6 April 2024 9:00 am

One parent in our class WhatsApp chat raised a pressing concern: her daughter was coming home every day with a…

‘Childhood has been rewired’: Professor Jonathan Haidt on how smartphones are damaging a generation

4 November 2023 9:00 am

Something strange is happening with teenagers’ mental health. In Britain, the US, Australia and beyond, the same trend can be…

The insane craze for dog ice-cream

19 August 2023 9:00 am

During the few hot days we had in June, I came across my first tub of dog ice-cream nestled among…

Why British women are turning to Danish sperm donors

13 May 2023 9:00 am

How the import of Danish sperm has become big business

What Miriam Cates gets right – and wrong – about declining fertility

24 February 2023 2:11 am

Fulfil your civic duty. Get married. Have children. That was the message from Miriam Cates, the increasingly prominent Conservative backbencher, to guests…

What happened when I took my son to Drag Queen Story Hour

13 August 2022 9:00 am

Why are protestors so angry about a children’s story hour?

The toxic cult of the superhero

30 July 2022 9:00 am

Why this mad insistence that everyone has special powers?

Parenting matters. It's about time we were brave enough to say so

19 June 2022 7:04 pm

The Duchess of Cambridge has been out and about hosting roundtables with very important people, discussing what can be done…

Enjoyably plummy and male: Battleground – The Falklands War podcast reviewed

14 May 2022 9:00 am

The Battlegroundpodcast on the wars of the 20th century, said presenter Saul David happily, ‘will have lots of bombs and…

Letters: The hard truth about soft power

23 April 2022 9:00 am

Soft ground Sir: We have heard much over the years from the overseas aid lobby about the value of soft…

A question of bravery

16 April 2022 9:00 am

Joe Biden announced in November: ‘Transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know.’ When Conservative MP Jamie Wallis…

Our children are at breaking point – and it’s our fault

9 April 2022 9:00 am

I think it’s time we stopped scaring the children. I think they’ve had enough. They’re at breaking point now, every…

Anxiety is killing parenthood

7 April 2022 10:40 pm

Britain is on a slow descent to oblivion. Scotland is even closer to the abyss, with a birth rate of…

What really happened when my wife left me in charge

12 March 2022 9:00 am

I’m currently standing at the top of Brownie Point Mountain, having spent the past two weeks looking after our three…