Parenting
The reason middle-class parents are so anxious
On that record-breaking, sweltering day at the end of July, my three-year-old son did a pirouette in the paddling pool…
My daughter’s gone to Magaluf, and it’s hard not to worry
At the Leavers’ Ball held to mark our daughter’s last day at boarding school, there were only two topics of…
The dad revolution hasn’t helped our children – or us
When I was growing up in the late 1960s, boys like me craved the admiration and approval of our dads;…
Parent trap: WhatsApp groups are feeding our fears
The mother of a little girl in my son’s year at school recently committed suicide. On the surface she was…
Home truths: Are nurseries damaging our children?
As any parent of young children will tell you, toddler groups exist as much for the adults as for the…
Did the makers of When I Grow Up have no qualms turning a small boy into a hate figure?
Channel 4’s When I Grow Up had an important lesson for middle-class white males everywhere: you’re never too young to…
Stop going through the motions – committees are a waste of time
God save us from committees. They’re an increasingly outdated way of getting things done. But there’s a certain sort of…
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Dear Mary: How can I get my annoying children to answer my texts?
Q. I have learned through a third party that a friend, who is feeling particularly insecure these days, has not been…
Children are everywhere – and they’re spoiling everything
There was a time when middle-class liberals used to complain that the English were a nation of child haters. They…
Dear Mary
Q. My children are very lucky in that we have bought them all flats. However, they are now renting out…
Why I’d like to be a more dangerous dad
According to figures obtained by BBC Breakfast last week, more than 500 people were arrested in England and Wales in…
Barometer
First test The driving test celebrated its 80th anniversary. The first person to take the test, R.E.L. Beene of Kensington,…
Songs of innocence and experience
We live in an age of generational turmoil. Baby-boom parents are accused of clinging on to jobs and houses which…
Barometer
The not-so-great charter David Cameron wants every child to be taught about Magna Carta. Some bits he might want to…
A lesson in humility
I went to a meeting at Penguin earlier this week to discuss ‘publicity opportunities’ for my forthcoming book. Chance would…
The wrong kind of granny
When I told a friend that my nine-year-old son was staying with his grandparents for the whole week of the…
You shouldn’t lose your children for disagreeing with Boris Johnson
Do your children have a bleak and nihilistic view of the world? It’s hard to tell, really, when they spend…
