Have you ever noticed that most parents seem to hope their children will be gifted, talented, bright sparks? They mistake unexpected spikes in performance with genius as if having a savant in the family will bring reflected glory. It’s one thing to b...

One of the things we instil in our children, as a duty to society, is respect for their environment. The dropping of litter has come to symbolize the frontline between those who care and those who couldn’t care less. The other day I saw a man casuall...

I was somewhat concerned the other day to discover that my eldest son was confused about the difference between astronomy and astrology. It always makes me chuckle when people reveal their belief in astrology as if it were an indication of their intell...

Here in chattering-class England, the subject of head-lice, or nits, is an ongoing saga. You see, it is considered de rigueur for boys to wear their hair middle-length, in contrast with girls who have it long. In point of fact, it is considered rather ...

All three of our children wake up too early. We consider 6:30 a lie-in, and it makes no difference what time we put them to bed either. During the week we have to rise early anyway, but at weekends and holidays it can be a bit much being woken to ...

Our eldest son has reached the age where he is curious about how babies are created. Enter the perennial problem; how to explain sex to a child. I chose the straightforward approach, reasoning that if I explained sex in a matter-of-fact way then he wou...

What is it with those signs that new parents hang in the back window of their cars saying “baby on board” or something similar? That sort of thing just deserves ridicule because it is, well, ridiculous. I mean what does it say to the driver followi...

There is a theory that humans instinctively gravitate towards other humans with which they share characteristics - physically and mentally. The idea is twofold, as it relates to survival, both in terms of trust and in terms of the likelihood of shared ...

As I have to deal with school drop-offs and pick-ups four days a week I find that I have to contend with rather too many mothers with nothing better to do than chatter at the school gate. While I’m attempting a military operation, so that I ...