Ilona Bannister and her husband, Tim, with their sons. Photograph: Muir Vidler/The Guardian
A typical weeknight evening in my house might go something like this. I help my nine-year-old son prepare for a spelling test. I sit on the floor and say âterritoryâ, and watch as he lies on his back with his legs in the air and writes it down on a whiteboard next to him, eyes closed, with his left hand. He is right-handed. My seven-year-old is wearing a tank top, regardless of the season, and doing chin-ups using the slats under his loft bed, pulling himself over in a flip through his arms. He interrupts the spelling session to say, âDid you know that the tallest person in the world also has the biggest hands?â He then talks continuously about any topic that crosses his mind during his work out. Meanwhile, my husband, finally done after another day working at the table in our bedroom that serves as his home office, is w
1 month old
My partner is pregnant â and the cost of giving birth in the US is stressing me out
This article is more than 1 month old
It is the most expensive country in the world to have a baby, there is no way of knowing the bill in advance, and you can potentially be charged just for holding your newborn
Itâs a miracle anyone gives birth in the US at all. (Posed by models.) Photograph: Getty Images/Cavan Images RF
Itâs a miracle anyone gives birth in the US at all. (Posed by models.) Photograph: Getty Images/Cavan Images RF
It’s really nasty, the breathlessness, the pain, not being able to exercise and putting on weight. But my young son will see me through it, says Séamas O’Reilly
The argument about kids and screen time is as tiresome as dredging the Blue Peter pond
âYou can forgive us for subjecting our children to Hey Duggee.â Photograph: Studio AKA/BBC/PA
âYou can forgive us for subjecting our children to Hey Duggee.â Photograph: Studio AKA/BBC/PA
Sun 31 Jan 2021 04.30 EST
Last week I made a throwaway comment about the amount of screen time my son is currently enjoying. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference because, to be honest, I donât really have many qualms about screen time. But since then Iâve had conversations with several parents who really do, not least because newspapers, blogs, and extended family members (crucially, never currently looking after toddlers themselves) have made them feel guilty about the fact their child is spending more time with screens right now.