The mystery of the surging child hepatitis cases
Meanwhile Israel has detected 12 cases and in Europe, nine countries have so far reported roughly 30 cases – including in Ireland, Spain and Denmark. Of these,…
Children’s early development at risk as Covid still hampers vital NHS services
Children’s early development is being put at risk by disruption to vital speech and language services, with Covid being cited as the reason. Many NHS Drop-in centres…
The rise of the TikTok toddler
As with everyone, pre-schoolers are susceptible to the surge in dopamine – the feel-good chemical produced in the brain – that smartphone apps produce. “The body seeks…
How to talk to children about war
According to Joe Brassington, a primary school teacher and co-author of Bottled, a picture book to help children share their feelings, using the past two years and…
My wife is ignoring our autistic daughter’s needs
Last year, our younger daughter was confirmed as being on the autistic spectrum. It was a fairly late diagnosis, as she’s in her early teens, but, apparently,…
‘My boys and I cried tears of relief’: Readers on the Covid vaccine for children
Covid vaccines will be offered to six million children between the ages of five and 11 on a “non-urgent” basis across England, Scotland and Wales, following advice…
The teens who won’t leave their rooms – how the Covid pandemic fuelled the rise of ‘ghost children’
Every morning, the only way Kate knew if her 15-year-old son Ben was alive was if she heard him open the door of his bedroom, snatch the…
The teens who won’t leave their rooms – how the pandemic fuelled the rise of ‘ghost children’
Every morning, the only way Kate knew if her 15-year-old son Ben was alive was if she heard him open the door of his bedroom, snatch the…
Why it’s fine for our children to be anxious
They say you are only as happy as your least happy child, to which a very wise psychotherapist friend of mine often replies: your children do not…
Should we be vaccinating babies against Covid?
Sarah wasn’t too worried when her two-year-old son contracted Covid in October last year. “I was completely naive. Everyone says children are not that affected by it,…
What the pandemic has really done to our children’s minds
Which might go some way to explaining why Oxford University Press has chosen ‘anxiety’ as the children’s Word of the Year for 2021. Researchers for the Children’s…
How lockdowns left babies more vulnerable to respiratory disease
Lockdowns have clearly disrupted the normal cycle. Infections normally rise in the early months of the year, with a particular spike in January, says Dr Whittamore. But…
Why is school food all so… beige?
She also says she’s seen a real change in the way that the staff relate to their work. “When stuff comes in vacuum packed, you’re very removed…