‘I feel like a drug dealer’: the parents using black-market melatonin to help their children sleep

Desperate dads meet in car parks to exchange packets; exhausted parents slip it into their kids’ drinks; families waiting months for prescriptions buy it ‘off label’. But is it worth the risk?

The latest Andrex advert is a life-changing masterpiece

In scraping the bottom of the barrel to find something new to say about toilet paper, they’ve struck gold. If I had seen this as a kid, it would saved me years of fear and shame, writes Adrian Chiles

Baby food pouch hysteria? It’s just another way of making mothers feel guilty

We need a society that supports parents and makes good food choices achievable – not more lecturing of exhausted mums, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Leading baby food brands making high-sugar meals, study finds

Food from brands such as Ella’s Kitchen and Heinz are often nutritionally poor, researchers say

‘One father threatened to stab the referee’: why does kids’ football bring out the worst in parents?

When they’re not shouting at their own children, many of Britain’s soccer dads like nothing more than swearing at the officials, or even trading blows on the touchline. Isn’t this supposed to be fun?

Put your baby down to nap near a washing machine, expert says

Researcher warns that dark daytime naps can disrupt babies’ sleep when they properly go to bed at night

Want your kids to be caring and sharing? Feed them fish

A new study shows that children who eat seafood are more likely to share their toys and help their friends. But why?

It’s the age of regret: gen Z grew up glued to their screens, and missed the joy of being human

A generation who came of age online now feel deprived of real connections. The upside is they are doing something about it, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

‘I couldn’t be left alone with the kids’: when parental exhaustion tips into burnout

Most people with small children are worn out – but for some, the pressure of striving to be perfect parents can drive them to the edge

Soft spaces out, stick-fighting in: Dutch call for the return of risky play

Encouraging kids to play with fire? Hear us out, says party worried by the Netherlands’ increasingly sedentary ways

Stuck in the middle: advice on bringing up babies and caring for your parents

Believe it or not, you know more about babies than you think – and try to have fun with your mum and dad. Advice from the experts for the ‘sandwich generation’

My daughter could have died. I blame US insurance companies

I asked my doctor for a shot to protect my premature daughter against RSV. Then we realized we didn’t qualify for insurance

‘Fear of missing out’ keeping girls and young women online despite sexism

Almost half of girls aged 11 to 21 in Girlguiding survey say sexism and misogyny makes them feel less safe

I’ve pushed it up hills, on to trams and around possum poo – but now I must farewell our faithful pram

I’ve been preparing my daughter for the fact she’ll have to use an alternate mode of transport: her legs

Do you strive to be in control of your life? It might be holding you back …

Beyond being in or out of control, there is an alternative – and it’s one of the building blocks to living well