Parenting and families

Two women sitting on a log outdoors, each holding a child, with greenery in the background.
LIFE STAGES

An activist weaves motherhood into her world in this gentle short

Directed by Flavien Kressmann and Sarah Des Rosiers

A colourful plush owl toy with polka-dot wings hanging indoors against a polka-dotted wall background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Again, again, again

I’m not infertile, but I experience recurrent miscarriages. I worry about how many more I can take

by Jami Nakamura Lin

Shadows on a wall, showing silhouettes of people and plants. A chair and a plug socket are partially visible.
VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION

Sticks and stones and words

A smart, educated woman, there’s no way I could have ended up in an abusive relationship, could I?

by Zoe Michaels

Black and white photo of two men by a waterfront fence, with boats and a hillside town in the background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Stealing my father

I’d long had a rocky relationship with my dad. Then, a predatory caregiver took over his life

by Mark Teich

Two children’s dresses lying flat, one blue the other white with floral patterns and colourful smocking.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

The daughter I never had

I loved my three sons but still yearned for a girl. Why did this fill me with such shame?

by Emma Wilkins

A dog with a leash standing on a carved wooden bench in front of a field and bare trees under a cloudy sky.
ANIMALS

Dog day blues

We were a new stepfamily, and only the puppy was missing. With Elsa, we lobbed a grenade into the mix

by Lily Dunn

Illustration of two people standing in a forest, at the top of a waterfall, with a dog below; money is washing away down the waterfall into a pond, as well as a car and house pictured in the pond below.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Money

When an investment tanked and buried us in debt, we had to face the truth of how we’d gotten there

by Carol Berkower

Abstract line drawing of a running figure with scattered symbols on a white background.
HOME

In an elegy for his childhood home, a filmmaker constructs a lyrical collage of memory

Directed by Damian Gascoigne

Two people lying on a snowy road in winter clothing with a forested landscape in the background.
GRIEF

Frøydis faces an impossible problem – how to grieve a father she hated and loved

Directed by Frøydis Fossli Moe

Three people chatting at a rustic bar in a pub, with a brick interior and various decorations.
FRIENDSHIP

Our relationships, in five dimensions

Scientists offer a new way to compare and contrast social ties – like a ‘Big Five’ for relationships

by Matt Huston

Photo of a red-eyed tree frog with vivid green, blue and orange colouring, perched on a branch in a lush forest setting.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Dangerous things

Like the red-eyed tree frog tadpoles, my son and I fell into a new beginning

by Heather Swan

Photo of a person carrying a child with blue star shorts on their back, walking on a path lined with green plants.
CAREGIVING

A sister who wasn’t ours

We were her foster family for two and a half years. We had no claim to her, but she became part of us

by Kelsey Day

A man with a beard sitting on a sofa with two young children, one resting on his head, in a room with bookshelves.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Being a dad has made my brain younger

As the father of twins, I could hardly feel more frazzled. But my brain age might paint a different, more youthful, picture

by Christian Jarrett

Illustration of a person carrying a child on shoulders under a tree with yellow leaves on a pink background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Dreamlike fragments capture the pain and beauty of a father-daughter bond

Directed by Susi Haaning

Blurry monochrome photograph of two intertwined nude bodies in an ethereal style.
SEX AND SEXUALITY

How to handle a mismatch in sexual desire

A difference in sexual appetite is a common source of tension for couples. Don’t ignore it – turn toward it with curiosity

by Ann O’Brien

Early 20th-century colour photo of a family sitting and standing outside a rustic building on a cobblestone street.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

The history of family offers a liberating view of custom and love

Chronicling the families of the past shows just how much family values, feelings and decision-making can morph over time

by Katie Barclay