Can a toddler really be transphobic?

Society is failing young boys in a variety of ways, placing even more pressure on parents to pick up the slack. As our writer – a mother of two girls – contemplates a third child, she weighs up whether she is up for the task of raising a boy in today’s world

As parents and caregivers, it is our instinct to protect our children from harm. When they are very small, we teach them what not to touch, we scoop them up before they fall, we hold their hands when they balance on high walls. The instinct to keep our children from feeling hurt never leaves us, so when they are older and come to us with emotional turmoil, it is only natural that our initial urge is to make the bad thing go away. But what if this ref lex is doing more harm than good when it comes to teaching our young people how be become more resilient?

THIS WEEK...

IN AN AGE OF COMPARISON CULTURE AND GLOSSY SOCIAL-MEDIA LIVES, IT’S HARD NOT TO QUESTION YOUR OWN PROGRESS. BUT THERE’S NO RIGHT PATH TO LIFE AS THESE WOMEN, WHO ARE TURNING CONVENTION ON ITS HEAD AND SHARING WISDOM AS THEY GO, DEMONSTRATE…

THE WAY I SEE IT... Wise words from our feisty, fearless and funny columnist

The rise and fall of an undervalued institution