When one thing takes up a lot of room at home

What comes round every day: sleeping, eating, getting dressed, brushing teeth.

• How do I talk to my child about their body and their boundariesMain topicNaming body parts, being allowed to say no, good secrets and heavy secrets: what applies day to day, and what's debated.ages 2 to 8 · 6 checked sources
• Giving up the dummyMain topicWhat health services and research say about teeth, why the recommended ages don't agree, and how to stop without drama.ages 1 to 6 · 3 checked sources
• Potty trainingMain topicThe word “training” suggests that using the potty is something you teach. Why it isn't is the most useful tip on this page.18 months to 5 years · 3 checked sources
• Out of nappiesMain topicWhen a child can control bladder and bowel, and why starting earlier often takes longer.18 months to 5 years · 8 checked sources
• My child won't brush their teethMain topicWhy brushing teeth isn't up for negotiation, and how it can still happen without a battle.ages 1 to 8 · 2 checked sources
• My child wakes up at nightWaking at night is normal: the real question is how your child gets back to sleep.ages 1 to 8 · 2 checked sources
• My child won't go to bedMain topicWhy bedtime turns into a battle, and what a bedtime routine changes.ages 2 to 8 · 5 checked sources

When the feeling is bigger than the child.

• My child hitsWhy almost every toddler hits, and what helps more than a ban.ages 1 to 5 · 8 checked sources
• Naming feelingsMain topicWhy a three-year-old has feelings without the words for them, and what's really established about naming them. Including where the research contradicts itself.ages 2 to 6 · 13 checked sources
• My child has tantrumsMain topicTantrums are a normal phase in toddlers and young children: why they happen, and what helps during and after.ages 1 to 7 · 10 checked sources

The fears that belong to each age, and how to make them smaller without brushing them aside.

• My child is scared of monsters and the darkMain topicWhy four- to six-year-olds believe in monsters, what really helps at bedtime, and why monster spray divides opinion.ages 3 to 7 · 2 checked sources

Sharing, falling out, saying no, finding a place.

• Children and friendshipMain topicWhen children make real friends, why “friend” means something different at four and at ten, and what parents can do.ages 3 to 10 · 5 checked sources

When what makes a home changes, and who lives in it.

• Starting nurseryMain topicWhat happens while your child settles in, what helps in the first days, and how to tell it's going too fast. At nursery, crèche or a childminder's.ages 1 to 3 · 2 checked sources
• When parents separateMain topicWhy conflict between parents weighs more than the separation itself, and why younger children so often think it's their fault.ages 3 to 10 · 7 checked sources

The hard topics, told gently and explained at a child's level.

• A grandparent has diedMain topicShould your child go to the funeral? Two studies reach different conclusions, and a common age rule rests on nothing.ages 3 to 12 · 10 checked sources
• Our pet has diedMain topicFor many children, the first death they experience. What a four-year-old understands, what an eight-year-old understands, and why that changes the answer.ages 3 to 10 · 9 checked sources
• How children understand death, and how they grieveMain topicWhy experts see fixed stages of grief as outdated, what has replaced them, and when a child understands that death is permanent.ages 3 to 13 · 14 checked sources

Trying, not managing, and carrying on anyway.

• My child says “I can't do it” and gives upMain topicWhy a child gives up halfway through, what helps at that moment, and why the advice to praise effort is shakier than its reputation.ages 3 to 8 · 6 checked sources