X CLOSE

Parenting and families

Black-and-white photo of two babies in vintage robes sitting on a lap against patterned fabric. Both look at the camera.

Photography

idea

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

Group of boys looking up, with one in focus and several others blurred in the background. The scene is outdoors.

Gender

idea

Talk of toxic masculinity puts the blame in all the wrong places

Toxic masculinity discourse harms vulnerable boys and men and distracts society from the true sources of gender inequity

by Heidi Matthews

Portrait painting of a large Renaissance family. The mother and father figures look at each other with disdain, the children are unsmiling.

Parenting and families

idea

DNA testing is easy. It can also turn your family upside down

DNA testing is bringing the era of family secrets to a close. When a surprise is uncovered, lives can change forever

by Libby Copeland

A man pushing a child in a pram up a grassy hill with mountains and a small village in the background on a sunny day.

Parenting and families

idea

It should be OK for parents to express regret about having children

Regret is common to all humans. So it’s no surprise that some parents regret having children: it shouldn’t be a taboo topic

by Jenna Abetz & Julia Moore

A serene woman lying in bed with her newborn baby who is resting on her chest.

Parenting and families

idea

Philosophy can explain what kind of achievement it is to give birth

Pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding are physical achievements, like marathon running: give them the same respect, and no more

by Fiona Woollard

A child in a blue silk coat with a golden motif stands by a railway line, half-hidden behind an adult in similar attire.

Personality

idea

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

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

idea

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

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

idea

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

A glass container with a domed lid on display, with blurred silhouettes of people in the background.

Bioethics

idea

When does a human embryo have the moral status of a person?

Weighing up the science and the ethics of research on human embryos beyond its current 14-day restrictions

by David Cox

A baby in a yellow outfit in a white cardboard box, covered with a blanket on a patterned carpet.

Parenting and families

idea

Finns start life safe and sound with a baby box from the government

In Finland, mothers can choose a cash benefit or a baby box – 95 per cent choose the baby box, a richly emotional object

by Tanja Vahtikari

A woman crouched on a beach with two young children. One tugs at her from behind, the other strains against her grasp towards the water.

Parenting and families

idea

Why parenting books are not really written for the parents

Parenting books are not really for parents but for the people writing them, and speak more to their own lives than our own

by Olga Mecking

A child meeting Santa in a mall looks disbelieving

Childhood and adolescence

idea

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