Dilemmas & solutions

My son aged nine has started throwing strops and is taking much longer to come out of them than ever before. He wouldn't play with his four-year-old sister at her party and when I told him he was being selfish, he took a huge huff and stayed in it for nearly an hour. I got angry with him, threatened sanctions, tried being nice - pretty much everything - but all to no avail? Any ideas?

A clash of personalities or a misunderstanding? Most teachers are far too professional to allow personal feelings to show in the classroom but what if your child is being picked on unfairly and it's making him unhappy?

Whenever you use a babysitter you should feel confident that your children are being well cared for in your absence. If you’re worried about the situation you won’t be able to enjoy a night out. So it makes sense to find a competent babysitter you can rely on. A few simple guidelines can make the babysitter/parent relationship more rewarding.

While your friends and family think you are great, have you ever stopped to think that you may be too nice? To find out, take this quick quiz from NannySuccess.com, an affordable web-based service which helps you to find the right nanny, au pair or housekeeper and then helps you to manage them well.

Research suggests babies are born with perfect pitch, an attribute which makes learning language much easier. So if  two languages (or more!) are spoken in your family, these top tips will ensure children get a distinct advantage.

Sadly one in ten children is never read a bedtime story and many others are only read to sporadically and yet just a few minutes of your time can make all the difference to your child’s future, says Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families.

The Internet is a wonderful resource but are we doing enough to keep our children as safe in the virtual world as we would hope they are in the real world?

Headline news stories about children and drug abuse are enough to make parents want to lock up their offspring for their own protection. It’s just as easy to assume that drug abuse is rife everywhere as it is to think it won’t happen to my kids. Neither case is true and recent research has shown that there really is no stereotypical child or teenager who takes drugs.

Whether you are inviting another child on your weekend away/holiday or your son or daughter is  joining another family for a break a bit of pre-planning  can make it a much more enjoyable experience for everyone.

In spite of the fact that nearly one fifth of families in the UK has just one child, only children are still regarded as a bit of an oddity.

The Government has recognised the importance of of children developing good social skills with the inclusion of the SEAL - social and emotional aspects of learning - programme in secondary schools after it has been running in two thirds of primary schools through classes such as PE and drama. But to improve your child's chances of success in later life, there are simple strategies parents can follow at home.

Exercise, as we all know, is good for you and we should encourage our children to lead physically active lives so that they don’t store up problems in later life - obese children are more likely to die in adulthood from heart disease. However while on the one hand we don’t want our children to become couch potatoes, we should ensure that they aren’t overdoing it and that coaches in gymnastics or specific sports are not pushing children too hard.

It seems to happen more with girls than boys but any falling out among friends can be heart-breaking for the children concerned and can leave parents feeling upset and helpless too.

Playing in, on and around water is great fun for kids and young teens but water can be treacherous and every year children drown unnecessarily.

According to this research our children may have all manner of games and toys but they don’t have the freedom to play outside the home unsupervised. An NOP poll, commissioned as part of the Good Childhood Inquiry, found that 43 per cent of adults thought children should not be allowed out on their own before the age of 14. Are we becoming a nation of paranoid parents?

As anyone who has a daughter knows, girls aren’t always “sugar and spice and all things nice” but as parents we often expect and encourage different behaviour from our sons and daughters. From the moment we dress a baby boy in a blue babygro we are making assumptions about gender that continue throughout childhood.

Whether you’re moving house and area or you have decided your child’s present school doesn’t suit him, transferring from one school to another can be traumatic for some children. So plan carefully for success

Nobody likes a bully so it's heart-breaking when your own son or daughter is accused of being one