Readers reply: why do we bathe children before bed, but wash ourselves in the morning?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Why do we bathe children before bed, but wash ourselves in the morning?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

The big idea: are memories fact or fiction?

Truth and illusion are woven together as we tell ourselves into being

Baby sleep has become a sign of parenting competence – and a source of shame

Expectations around infant sleep are often way off, says the Guardian’s assistant Opinion editor, Lucy Pasha-Robinson

Doom busters: why some things aren’t (quite) as bad as we think

We live in worrying times. From the climate crisis to the culture wars, there is always something to keep us fretting. But sometimes the facts tell a different story – a more hopeful one. Here, we speak to experts in search of some optimism and find 13 reasons to be a little more cheerful

‘He could have died’: family calls for better jaundice testing of black and Asian babies

Jaxson’s symptoms were initially dismissed by health staff in a case that could have had fatal consequences

Soft play is a nightmare – so why are adults leaping into the ball pit?

Our galloping infantilisation continues at a new centre where there will presumably be less screaming than usual, greater participant continence and a bar. Is this what modern life has come to, asks Zoe Williams

My daughter will only eat junk food. How can I get her on a healthy diet?

Having a fussy eater is far from unusual, but your child may have a food disorder that can be treated – just don’t put pressure on her

Breast is best if you want top marks for your children? You’ve got to be kidding

A piece of research that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny is piling the guilt on to mothers

Ministers urged to restrict marketing of vapes to children in England

Rachel de Souza points to research showing evidence about pressure to vape and its subsequent effects

Toddlers’ gut bacteria may predict future obesity, study suggests

Researchers identify differences in bacteria that colonise the gut in adults living with obesity

Babies are dying because of NHS failings, poverty and inequality, charities warn

Maternity services need urgent improvement and investment to meet government target of halving stillbirths and neonatal deaths

A psychologist’s guide to talking to teens about online porn

Listen, be non-confrontational, and be clear about what is unacceptable behaviour in online pornography

Sex education review is ‘politically motivated’, say teaching unions

Tory MPs’ claims of extreme graphic lessons at England’s schools written off as ‘inflammatory rhetoric’

Post-birth surfing was my source of joy, and parental guilt

While pregnant, surfer Gill Hutchison voluntarily ‘beached herself’. Her return to the waves required a new type of balancing act