Healthy Living

James argues that the happiness of the parent is "what will ultimately decide whether your child has a fruitful, sane life".

Oliver James: It's all about you

The ultimate question of parenting: how to ensure your baby has a happy childhood. And the answer the flamboyant psychologist Oliver James has come up with? Selfishly enough, it's working out what you want to get out of the experience...

Inside Healthy Living

What's so bad about boys?

Thursday, 27 May 2010

Ursula Hirschkorn is the proud mother of four sons. Yet friends regard her Barbie-free family with pity. No wonder today's males feel undervalued, she argues

How to clean up your marriage

Thursday, 27 May 2010

Shared housework means fewer divorces, a study shows. So in this age of equality, why does the issue of who does what still cause so much angst?

Virginia Ironside's Dilemmas: My husband refuses to speak to my son-in-law because he won't say sorry

Thursday, 27 May 2010

Dear Virginia, Over Sunday lunch, my son-in-law suddenly blurted out some home truths about me and my husband that he said he'd been storing up for ages. We were so upset, particularly considering we've lent them money and always been helpful to them. My husband now refuses to speak to him until we've had an apology. But although I know my son-in-law regrets what he said – or, rather, the way he said it – he won't say sorry. What can we do? Best wishes, Barbie

Fostering: How making new children feel at home can be a family affair

Thursday, 20 May 2010

Being a foster carer can have a positive impact on one's own children as well.

Fostering: Adults of all ages have something to offer children in their care

Thursday, 20 May 2010

Young people make just as good foster carers as their middle-aged counterparts

Fostering qualifications: Continuing professional development provides benefits for all concerned

Thursday, 20 May 2010

When Rob Ford started fostering with his partner six years ago, he had visions of little orphan Annie turning up on his doorstep. "We thought a bit of love and care would sort these children out and they'd be terribly grateful and would love us forever," he laughs. "We were naive in the extreme. One of our first placements – a mother and baby – ended up with the young mother becoming violent, then walking out and leaving the children with us. It was a steep learning curve."

Virginia Ironside's Dilemmas: 'I keep having sex with almost every man I go out with'

Thursday, 20 May 2010

Dear Virginia, I'm 25 and my problem is that I keep having sex with almost every man I go out with, often on the first date. I don't really enjoy it, but I keep thinking each one might come to something and then I'm so unhappy when the man doesn't contact me. Sometimes the affair lasts longer, but the moment a man falls for me, I turn on him and can't bear to see him. I don't know how I'll ever have a proper relationship. What's wrong with me? Best wishes, Viola

Robert Tapsfield: 'Caring for vulnerable children is becoming a viable career option'

Thursday, 20 May 2010

Chief executive of the Fostering Network

Virginia Ironside's Dilemmas: 'My son says I'm a dreadful mother and doesn't want to see me any more'

Thursday, 13 May 2010

Dear Virginia, My son, who's 25, became very depressed and ended up going to see a therapist.

Virginia Ironside's Dilemmas: My flatmate is always moaning about her love life

Thursday, 6 May 2010

Q. Dear Virginia, I share a flat with two girls. One is fine, and keeps herself to herself. But the other is constantly moaning about her love life. She’s got two boyfriends – one’s in love with her and she can’t bear him, and the other she loves but isn’t that interested in her. But I have no one and find it painful to be always advising her and supporting her. She seems insensitive to the fact that I’m lonely. How can I stop her doing this? Or do I have to move out? Best wishes, Nadine

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