How to talk to your children about terrorism
When terrible events happen, such as yesterday’s terror attack in London, parents’ immediate instinct is to shield their children from the news. While this is perfectly natural, it may not always be …
Female primary teachers have higher risk of suicide, statistics show
Female nursery and primary school teachers have a significantly higher risk of suicide than the average woman, statistics show, amid warnings it is ‘one of the most highly stressed occupations …
Sesame Street to introduce new character – a muppet with autism
Sesame Street is to introduce a new character. Julia, a young Muppet with red hair and bright green eyes, also has autism. She is being introduced to help “reduce the …
Should I let my 6-year-old change his rather unusual name?
A mother has asked Reddit users if she and her husband are “crazy” to consider letting their adopted son legally change his name. The mum explained that the couple adopted …
Bullying: what to do when your child is the bully
It’s a call no parent wants to receive. “There’s been a case of bullying involving your child,” the voice on the other end explains. You demand answers. You want …
Mozart or Motown – what sort of music should parents play to their baby?
Parents have been singing and playing music to their babies since the beginning of time. But what sort of music benefits our children the most? Music teachers often champion traditional …
Much-loved children’s author Dick Bruna dies, aged 89
Dick Bruna, whose much-loved cartoon rabbit Miffy has sold more than 80m books since her creation in 1955, has died aged 89. Bruna devised the character to entertain his infant …
Where’s the Love? Only 52% of parents celebrate Valentine’s Day, survey finds
Before kids, Valentine’s Day seemed like a big deal – a day for couples to celebrate their love with some elaborate romantic plans (or at the very least, a restaurant …
Teenager’s new book aims to teach children about mental health
A teenage girl from Wiltshire has discovered success as an author after writing a book about mental health, aimed at young children. Scrambled Heads is aimed at children aged 5-11 …
Girls start believing they are less smart than boys as early as age 6, study finds
“There are lots of people at the place where I work, but there is one person who is really special. This person is really, really smart. This person figures out …
Fantastically great women who changed the world
‘Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World’ is a lovely book that will inspire and encourage young children to dream big. Written and illustrated by the great great granddaughter of …
Mum banned from LinkedIn for dropping the F-bomb
A Scottish mum has been banned from LinkedIn after posting an emotional article on the platform about the struggles faced by parents who work from home. Cara Mackay – whose …
Mum turns Kent into London Tube-style map
A Tunbridge Wells mum has created a tube-style map to showcase Kent’s road network. Jessie Wilson, 38, a former demographer and market researcher, originally created the map as a Christmas …
LEGO-Style Braille Bricks Help Visually Impaired Children Learn to Read
A new LEGO-style toy is helping young children learn Braille. Braille Bricks are building blocks that look almost exactly like LEGO but have one distinct difference: instead of every block …
10-year old autistic girl wows Internet with Christmas version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’
A 10-year-old’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” has gone viral. Kaylee Rodgers, a student who has autism and ADHD, gave a remarkable solo performance of the famous song during her …
How To Make An Origami Darth Vader
Paper Crafts
These shopping baskets ensure you never have to talk to a salesperson again if you don’t want to
Shopping can be hard work at times. There’s never a sales assistant around when you need one, yet when you don’t need one, they won’t stop asking you if you …
Why shopping online doesn’t always give you the best deal
Crawling along the A21 behind a UPS van on the school run this morning got us thinking: how much of the increased traffic at this time of year is down …
School grades its parents on their level on involvement in children’s education
A primary school in Nottinghamshire is grading its pupils’ parents based on the support they give to their children. Greasley Beauvale primary school marks parents from A to D based …
21st Century Nativity: Reimagining the birth of Jesus in ‘Selfie’ era
“It’s been about 2,000 years since the nativity set was designed. We think it’s ready for an upgrade.” An American company called Modern Nativity is reinventing the Nativity by giving …
Furnishing retailer Dunelm to buy Kiddicare
Furnishings retailer Dunelm has agreed to buy baby goods specialist Kiddicare in a push to boost its online offering. The acquisition is part of an £8.5m rescue deal for UK …
Using car seats for more than 30 minutes puts babies at risk of suffocation, experts warn
Newborn babies shouldn’t spend more than 30 minutes in a car seat, experts have warned. Doctors say very young babies, whose neck muscles are not strong enough to stop their …
The Christmas 2016 advertising battle begins
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The battle of the Christmas adverts has begun, with retailers hoping shoppers will jingle all the way to the tills. There are …
Knitting Granny Comes up Trumps for Halloween
A keen knitter from Kent has recreated the American presidential candidates out of wool, but with a hilarious Halloween twist. Drawing inspiration from his infamously orange skin tone, Pat Wilson, …
Baby ‘born twice’ after life-saving surgery
A baby girl from Texas has been “born” twice after she was taken out of her mother’s womb for 20 minutes for life-saving surgery. During her 16-week ultrasound, Margaret Hawkins …
Parents are turning their children’s drawings into tattoos
Most parents display their kids’ artwork on the fridge, but some have gone above and beyond the call of duty by inking their offsprings’ artworks on their skin. The trend …
This is NOT a suitable car seat, parents told
Car seat safety experts have warned parents about the need for proper restraints after discovering a ‘shocking’ substitute. Staff from Child Seat Safety Ltd were carrying out spot checks on …
Had spots as a teenager? We have some good news
Teenagers cursed with acne could have the last laugh over their peers with “perfect skin” as they will stay looking youthful for longer, new research suggests. Experts claim it’s because …
Baby from Nirvana’s Nevermind recreates album cover for 25th anniversary
Spencer Elden was just a few months old when he was photographed by an acquaintance of his dad’s as part of a photoshoot for an up-and-coming band called Nirvana. Elden’s …
40% of children not going to dentist, NHS figures show
Over two fifths of children in England have not visited an NHS dentist in the past year, figures show, despite official health advice urging regular check-ups. More than 6.7 million …
Feeding babies peanuts and eggs reduces risk of developing allergies in later life, study shows
Feeding babies as young as four months foods such as peanuts and eggs can significantly reduce the risk of them developing dangerous allergies to the foods later in life, new …
Leading private school offers bursaries for children of parents who earn £120k a year
Families earning up to £120,000 a year receive bursaries if they send their children to a leading independent school, it has emerged. St Paul’s School in south London, which is …
Just Add Sperm: Making babies without eggs may be possible, say scientists
Research by a team of UK scientists is challenging the age-old belief that life can only be created by fusing a sperm with an egg. The landmark research by the …
The world’s first breastfeeding bench is unveiled in Croatia
Hum na Sutli, a Croatian town inhabited by just over 5,000 people, has unveiled what has been billed as the world’s first breastfeeding bench. According to Croatia Week, the municipality …
World’s smallest surviving baby thriving at nine months old
Emilia Grabarczyk was born 15 weeks early, and is believed to be the smallest ever baby to survive such an early delivery. Born in the German city of Witten after …
Grans on the Run: British grannies steal the show at Rome’s Colosseum
Rome had a new attraction this week when two British grannies pitched up in front of the Colosseum in a knitted car. Pat Wilson, 60, and Gillian Burford, 62, drove …
Study reveals cost of buying a house near a high-performing state school
Parents seeking to buy a house within the catchment area of a good school can expect to pay a premium of up to £630,000, new research has revealed. Lloyds Bank …
“We’re expected to be perfect, like Barbie”: Record number of UK girls are unhappy with their looks
Girls in the UK are becoming more and more unhappy, with appearance being one of the main reasons they felt miserable, according to a new report by the children’s welfare …
Research finds iPads are as effective as sedatives in calming children before surgery
New research suggests that allowing children to use iPads to distract them before surgery is as effective at lowering anxiety as conventional sedatives. The study authors, from Hôpital Femme Mère …
Robotic babies used in sex ed classes found to increase number of teen pregnancies
One might think that caring for a robotic baby doll — one that cries and sleeps like a regular human baby — might discourage teenage girls from getting pregnant. According …
Kate says baking with Prince George is chaos: ‘He makes so much mess’
Toddlers love to make a mess, and it’s good to know that little Prince George is no exception! During a recent charity visit, the Duchess of Cambridge offered a rare …
School with 7 pupils on a tiny, remote Scottish island seeks new teacher
With a registered population of just 30, the Isle of Muck, Scotland, is not exactly bursting with career opportunities. However, a new position has become available at Muck Primary School …
Mum presents teenage son with a cardboard cutout of the family dog to take to university
For 19-year-old Jake Ostrowski, the thought of leaving his beloved dog Jesse behind when he went off to university was too much. When he told his mum Sharla just how …
NSPCC’s new dancing dinosaur Pantosaurus proves a hit
After years of relying on shock tactics to get their message across, children’s charity NSPCC is trying to put a positive spin on its branding. The charity recently teamed up …
Research sheds new light on how babies feel and respond to pain
Medical professionals used to believe that babies simply don’t feel pain. Building on critical work started in the 1980s that proved them wrong, a team from Oxford University is developing new ways to see inside the minds of newborns.
A-level results day: Record number of UK university places awarded
A record number of UK university places has been awarded to students this year, it has been revealed. Thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their A-level …
A typo in your Harry Potter book could see it fetch up to £20,000
A first edition of JK Rowling’s debut Harry Potter novel, which features a rare mistake, is expected to fetch as much as £20,000 when it goes under the hammer at the Bonhams …
Dad’s horrifying tale of Roomba’s run-in with dog poop goes viral
“So, last week, something pretty tragic happened in our household.” One poor dad experienced an unfortunate incident the other night – one that he describes as ‘the poopocalypse’. In a …
The ‘Prenup House’ that can be split in half in the event of divorce
With divorce rates on the rise, it is becoming increasingly common for couples to draw up prenuptial agreements before tying the knot. In response to this, Amsterdam-based Studio-OBA have come …
Why more mums are letting their kids into the labour room
Jamie Oliver’s wife Jools gave birth to their fifth child earlier in the week. But along with the pictures of their new son came the news that the couple’s two …
Parents in Italy could face jail time if they impose a vegan diet on their children
Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party wants to see parents who feed children under 16 a vegan diet jailed for up to a year. Elvira Savino, who proposed the law, said …
Hilarious AC/DC Parody highlights the struggles of “Nursing All Night Long”
Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing. But as any nursing mother will tell you, it can also be thoroughly exhausting, especially when your baby keeps you up all night. In their …
Breastfeeding mum squirted breastmilk at woman who asked her to move
A breastfeeding mum allegedly squirted breastmilk at a woman who asked her to move while she fed her child in a park. The incident is said to have happened in …
Group of mums kicked out of ‘Bad Moms’ screening… for being bad mums
A group of mums planning to see the film Bad Moms were kicked out of the cinema before it started for what staff ironically deemed to be bad behaviour. The …
Lazy school holidays causing children’s health and fitness levels to fall ‘dramatically’
Lack of physical activity during the summer holidays is having a detrimental effect on children’s fitness levels, a major study has found. The study – the first of its kind …
Parents call on government to expand vaccination programme after toddler suffers ‘worst case of chickenpox’
A mother whose two-year-old son spent five days in hospital fighting a severe case of chickenpox is calling on the government to make the chickenpox vaccination freely available to anyone …
This Finding Dory lamp looks quite cute until you turn it on
When Imgur user benjaminknight spotted this Dory night light, he thought it would make an ideal present for his friend’s daughter. But when he got home and turned it on, …
GapKids under fire for sexist stereotyping (and shocking spelling)
Popular fashion retailer Gap has come under fire for an advert that has been described by parents on social media as an example of ‘disgracful sexism’. The ad, which currently …
Reluctant dad creates hilarious ‘dog contract’ for his kids
The decision to get a family dog is never an easy one. So when these kids begged their father to get a family dog, he reluctantly agreed — but with …
Tesco to hand out free fruit to shoppers’ children at over 800 UK stores
Tesco has announced that they will be offering free fruit for children to munch on while their parents shop. The UK’s biggest supermarket tested the initiative in Scotland last year …
Magical sleep-inducing doll sends parents into a frenzy
Parents around the world are clamouring for a doll that promises to helps children sleep. The Lulla doll was created by an Icelandic psychologist, who wanted to find a children’s …
First ever CBeebies Hotel to open in 2017
Alton Towers has confirmed it is to open the first ever CBeebies Land Hotel. Due to open in summer 2017, the 76-room hotel will spread over four floors and will …
Move over James Bond! MI6 invites schoolchildren to play spymaster for the day
MI6 opened its doors to schoolchildren for the first time earlier this month, in a bid to dispel the perception that Secret Intelligence Service staff are only chosen via a …
You’ve been cutting cake the wrong way and you didn’t even know it!
Think you know how to cut a cake? Think again. According to mathematician Alex Bellos, cutting triangular-shaped wedges out of cakes leaves them susceptible to drying – instead, we should …
Kensington Palace releases adorable photos of birthday boy Prince George – but not everyone is happy
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released four new photographs marking Prince George’s third birthday. But not everyone is happy. In one picture, George appears to be offering Lupo, …
Syrian children hold Pokémon photos in hope that ‘world will find them’
Children in war-torn Syria have been photographed holding up pictures of Pokemon, in the hope that the world will “come to their rescue”. The pictures were shared by an online news …
Home-cooked food no healthier than infant ready meals, research finds
Only 16% of UK mothers cook from scratch every day, much to the dismay of healthy-eating advocates. However, according to new research published in the journal Archives of Disease in …
School bans clapping and encourages pupils to silent cheer or punch the air instead
A primary school in Sydney has banned clapping out of respect for children who are “sensitive to noise”. Instead, the school is asking its pupils to “silent cheer”, “pull excited …
Woman gives birth to three sets of twins in 26 months
A mother in the United States has given birth to three sets of twins in a little over two years. Danesha Couch, 20, from Kansas City, gave birth to daughters …
Beach cafe introduces five minute warning for children having tantrums
A cafe owner is taking a stand against children having tantrums, saying they will step in if “parents are too scared to discipline their children”. South Kiosk in Felixstowe posted …
Brighton introduces two week half term to help parents keep holiday costs down
Schools in Brighton and Hove are extending the October half-term break to allow parents to access cheaper holidays. The city council said the new two-week October half-term, to begin in …
Mum takes over sons’ Tinder profiles to help them find love
Twins Luke and Adam Monastero, who came out publicly to their parents on camera back in 2014, are looking for love–and they’ve asked their mum to help! After approving their …
Barbie’s running for President, and on an all-female ticket
Mattel has launched new president and vice president dolls as part of the brand’s “careers” line. While Barbie has run for the White House in the past, this marks the first time she’s had a female running mate.
Chardonnay Go: Pokemon for mums
The world has gone Pokemon mad. People of all ages can be seen roaming parks, museums and even cemeteries trying to “catch ’em all”. But if Pokémon Go isn’t your …
Mums not teaching kids to swim because of concerns over how they look in swimwear
More than half of British mums say they won’t teach their children how to swim because they worry about being seen in a swimming costume, a new survey claims. The …
Uninsured mums putting family finances at risk
A third (33%) of women with dependent children could only pay three months of household bills if they or their partner lost their income due to unforeseen circumstances, and 10% …
Pokemon Go: a guide for the uninitiated
A guide for the uninitiated
Mums-to-be ‘are wasting their cash’ on multivitamins
Multivitamin and mineral supplements, often promoted to pregnant women as a means of giving their child the best possible start in life, are an “unnecessary expense” and do not result …
Jennifer Aniston says she’s ‘fed up’ with pregnancy rumours in furious essay on motherhood
Jennifer Aniston has been pregnant for years. For almost a decade, tabloids and celebrity weeklies have been printing covers with headlines trumpeting the news of her impending motherhood. But now …
Sex education in British schools is “unfit for the smartphone generation,” survey finds
HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust has released the findings of a major new survey of over 900 young people about sex and relationship education provisions in schools. …
Victoria Beckham under fire for kissing her daughter on the lips
Victoria Beckham has received a barrage of negative comments after posting a photograph of her and daughter Harper kissing in a swimming pool. The former Spice Girl posted the mother-daughter …
Mother raises awareness of daughter’s debilitating PMS through horticultural art installation
A garden at the world’s largest annual flower show is helping raise awareness of a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Sometimes referred to as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), the …
6-year-old blogger receives $2000 from Facebook for ice-cream video
A 6-year-old food blogger from India has received $2,000 from Facebook for the rights to one of his cooking videos. Nihal Raj, who is better known by his pseudonym Kicha, …
New petition seeks to ban smoking from children’s playgrounds
A mum-of-one has launched a petition to ban smoking in park playgrounds after observing a woman smoking on a seesaw near her son at her local park. Singer-songwriter Annie Dressner …
Hilarious photocards help new parents celebrate their own small victories
We all know about the common baby milestones – the first smile, baby’s first steps, the first tooth. But what about all those momentous milestones that aren’t in the baby …
British Prime Ministerial Candidates in ‘Mum’ Row
New audio footage has emerged in which prime ministerial candidate Andrea Leadsom has suggested that having children gives her an advantage over rival Theresa May in the race to Downing …
Girls cost significantly more than boys to raise, even during the toddler years, research finds
As any parent can attest, children are a costly investment. But it would seem that daughters cost significantly more to raise than boys. According to new research by Sainsbury’s Bank, …
Parents fuel obesity epidemic by feeding children adult-sized portions
Parents are being warned not to over-feed their children after research found around one in 10 regularly serves up adult-sized portions of popular meals. In a survey of 1,000 parents, …
Identical twin sisters give birth to their first babies at exactly the same time on exactly the same day
It’s a well known fact that twins often have a special bond, but these two sisters have taken that connection to the next level. American identical twin sisters Sarah Mariuz …
Toucan Box turns to grown-ups after £2.7m investment
Toucan Box, a subscription-based arts and crafts delivery service for children, has its eye on the grown-up crafts market. The startup recently secured £2.7m financial backing from the Business Growth …
The secret to a happy marriage lies in believing it will improve, say researchers
If you want your relationship to last, try focusing on your future happiness together. That’s the key finding from a series of studies from the University of Maryland. In a …
Japanese parents get fruity on Instagram
Japanese parents have been sharing photos of their babies online, covering up their babies’ tiny backsides with a peach. Uploaded using the hashtag 桃尻, which means “peach bum” in English, …
The simple nappy mistake that many parents are making
Confusion over the sizing information provided on nappy packaging means many babies are wearing the wrong size of nappy. Many parents assume that the plus symbol on packs of nappies …
Should babies really be sleeping through the night?
Swansea University has released a video to help new parents understand their baby’s sleeping patterns. Based on a study of more than 700 families, the video challenges the idea that …
Ikea recall following shocking video showing how easily drawers can topple and crush a child
IKEA is facing growing pressure to withdraw a popular range of drawers from sale in the UK. Ikea has announced that it is recalling 29 million Malm chests of drawers …
Simple Eton Mess
5 minute dessert
School population rises by 121,000
The school population in England increased by 121,000 since last year, according to annual figures from the Department for Education. The number of children enrolled in schools in England has …
Artist buys vintage dress and discovers it belonged to her mum 20 years ago
An artist from Cornwall was astounded to discover that a vintage dress she bought in a Brighton shop once belonged to her mother. Lally Macbeth said that she was instantly …