We now have great conversations – but my boy’s increased mobility sometimes comes to a sticky end‘They grow up fast’ is a thing people say to parents of toddlers and we generally nod in agreement because, I mean, I guess – but do they, really? Sure, we…
My teenager doesn’t want to see her dad again after we split | Ask Philippa
You seem to be making yourself ‘right’ and your daughter’s dad ‘wrong’ – with her a pawn in this fight. Don’t be in league with her against himThe question My teenage daughter has been depressed for 18 months. During the past two years, I have been in …
Dear Santa… I’m not sure what I want
My son starts writing a letter to Santa – but quickly becomes distractedMy son’s in that sweet twilight period of Christmases past; neither completely ignorant of what Christmas is, nor so radically materialistic that he forms his entire year around it…
Samantha Willis was a beloved young pregnant mother. Did bad vaccine advice cost her her life?
When the UK’s jab programme began, expectant mothers were told to steer clear – so Samantha decided to wait until she had had her baby. Two weeks after giving birth, she died in hospitalIt was typical of Samantha Willis that she bought the food for her…
Tim Dowling: A trip to the theatre is on the cards. To go or not to go?
I’ve been on a plane and shaken people’s hands but as restrictions lift, I still haven’t been to a pub or to a live show I am sitting in front of my computer when my wife rings me from a train platform.“Busy?” she says. Continue reading…
How we met: ‘He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen’
Amir, 33, and Amy, 42, met when he helped her move house in 2020 – a language barrier meant they began their relationship through Google Translate. Now married, they live together with their two cats in GeorgiaIn February 2020, Amy had plans to go on h…
Emotional infidelity: the devastating, destructive love affairs that involve no sex at all
An affair doesn’t have to be physical to be intense – or to ruin a relationship. Guardian readers open up about bonding, betrayal and what happened nextChloe had encouraged her husband to accept the new job. “I told him: ‘Life is too short to be unhapp…
Being an only child made me fascinated by siblings – and means I’ve had to learn to share my life
My debut novel is full of the brothers and sisters who were absent though my childhoodPeople often ask me about my brothers and sisters. They have read my debut novel, Girl A, and they expect to find my own family, encrypted in the fiction. There are s…
Living Alone in the U.S. Is Harder Than It Should Be
In ways both large and small, American society still assumes that the default adult has a partner and that the default household contains multiple people. Many who live by themselves are effectively penalized at work too. “Lots of people I interviewed …
Olivia and Oliver remain most popular baby names as Archie hits top 10
Maeve and Otis among big risers in England and Wales in 2020, while Archie enters top 10 for first timeOliver and Olivia retained top places in the most popular baby names of 2020 in England and Wales, but fast risers included Maeve and Otis, possibly …