Female genital mutilation increase in England ‘only tip of iceberg’
Number of girls being treated for FGM rises to 578 in March, as campaigners warn month-on-month increase looks set to continue
Parents – turn off those screens and get running with your kids
Do your children sit for hours in front of video games and TV? Here’s one way of getting your little couch potatoes out for some exercise
Childbirth expert and campaigner Sheila Kitzinger dies aged 86
Author and advocate for women’s freedom of choice in childbirth campaigned on range of issues including female genital mutilation
My mother, the alcoholic: living with foetal alcohol syndrome
Should heavy drinking in pregnancy be a crime? A recent test case in the UK was thrown out, but in the US hundreds of women have been imprisoned. We meet women and children affected by foetal alcohol syndrome
Dear Nigel Farage – children will play if we close roads, not borders
The Ukip leader should beware misplaced nostalgia (even if he denies it). Traffic and computers better explain the lack of football games in the street
My hot tips for parents with a fat kid: feed them fun, kindness and dignity
Parents may not be able to recognise that their child is obese, according to a new study. Well that’s two fewer people making their offspring feel like a failure
Should I restrict my child’s naps?
A new review concludes that it isn’t a good idea for children over the age of two to sleep during the day. It makes interesting reading, but seems counterintuitive
Fruit and vegetable vouchers could buy poorer people a more nutritious diet
A pilot scheme in London is helping families provide healthier meals for their children while supporting local markets
Plans for sexual consent lessons in schools ‘do not go far enough’
Ministers back introduction of lessons teaching children importance of consent but expert body says they must be made compulsory in order to achieve results
Call for ban on selling ‘addictive’ energy drinks to children
Action on Sugar research finds that some drinks contain up to 20 teaspoons of sugar – more than three times the maximum an adult should consume in a day
Lesser spotted: Melanie’s Marvelous Measles wiped out online
An anti-vaccination book for children has received more than 800 one-star reviews on Amazon
How robots are helping children with autism
Eleanor Tucker: Researchers believe robots hold the key to early diagnosis, as well as teaching social skills. What can they do that humans can’t?
The day I got my first period
From confusing advice – ‘Don’t talk to lads now’ – to bumbling attempts to help, our readers share warm, moving, and funny stories about menstruation
Inflatable incubator aims to help save premature babies
Rebecca Smithers: A design graduate won this year’s James Dyson award for his low-cost inflatable incubator which aims to reduce infant mortality
The perils of having an older parent
When Charles Lambert was born, his father was 64. After a childhood overshadowed by ill-health and old age, he cautions against late-life parenthood