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Photo of two boys playfully confronting each other on a leaf-covered path beside a fence in autumn.

Parenting and families

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Trapped with no escape: the hidden problem of sibling bullying

When brothers and sisters victimise each other, the harms can be serious. But it’s never too late to heal old wounds

by Kristen Cvancara

Photo of a child in a pink shirt concentrating on writing in a notebook while an adult assists, showing a learning activity.

Parenting and families

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Why are tiger parents willing to trade love for success?

Growing up under tiger parenting, I’ve seen that pushing a child to succeed often fails – and isn’t worth the emotional cost

by Louis Li

Participants in a parade carry large balloon structures spelling “LOVE” in bright colours, with spectators in the background.

Parenting and families

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Radical love: how my trans child changed my identity as a mother

My child grew into a new version of himself – as all children do – and I wondered about my new role. Anger helped me grasp it

by Patricia Martin

A young child passenger sits on the front of a motor scooter, with an older male rider partly visible behind. The rider has tattooed arms and a sign on the scooter reads ‘Thailand’

Personality

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How babies’ and children’s temperament varies around the world

International research reveals intriguing regional differences in temperament – the infant precursor to adult personality

by Matt Huston

A child meeting Santa in a mall looks disbelieving

Childhood and adolescence

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At what point does the Santa myth become a harmful deception?

Exactly when and how children discover they’ve been duped makes an important difference to the revelatory experience

by Shayla Love

Child wearing a blue gingham school uniform with yellow achievement badges reading “Great Homework,” “Well Done!” and featuring symbols like a star and thumbs up.

Fairness and equality

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Teaching self-confidence can backfire and perpetuate inequality

It’s true that self-confidence is beneficial, but the way in which it’s often taught is misguided and can be harmful

by Eddie Brummelman & Kelly Ziemer

A wooden box filled with vintage black-and-white photographs, showing portraits and various scenes, some faded with age.

Parenting and families

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I’m childfree by choice. Should I feel guilty about ending my line?

My uterus is not my ancestors’ vessel for future progeny. What’s the impact of my choice on my family’s genetic lineage?

by Starre Vartan

Painting of a woman seated on a chair reading a book, with her hair in a bun, wearing a dark dress against a plain background.

Stories and literature

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Forget ‘Little Women’. How did girls learn to be grown women?

How might 19th-century novels for adolescent girls help us find healthier models of what it means to grow up female today?

by Julie Pfeiffer

Photo of a large spider sculpture silhouetted against a city skyline with cranes and a historic building in the background.

Poetry

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A conversation with my spider Maman and Louise Bourgeois

Woman made of braided steel, monster I call Maman: why am I so scared of you? An imagined conversation with Louise Bourgeois

by Pascale Petit

Photo of a grey whale surfacing near a small boat with people observing on a calm sea under a clear sky.

Nature and the environment

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Grey whales taught me how to mother, how to endure, how to live

When I was in crisis, grey whales taught me how to mother and how to endure, till I could find my own paths through change

by Doreen Cunningham

Vintage photo of two babies sitting on a hidden caretaker draped in floral fabric with lace curtain backdrop, Addington, Indiana.

Photography

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Victorian hidden mothers and the continued erasure of mothering

Why do Victorian ‘hidden mother’ photographs shock us? We’re still expected to hide the work of mothering from public view

by Andrea Kaston Tange

A photo of a child in a patterned blue coat and pink hat standing by railway tracks looking to the side.

Personality

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Childhood shyness can be advantageous – don’t pathologise it

Given their cautious vigilance, shy children are more likely to detect social threats and anticipate how events will unfold

by Raha Hassan & Kristie Poole