"On one occasion he decided he did not want to eat a particular vegetable for dinner. We said that he wouldn’t be leaving the table until he did so. I said, 'now use your game theory to forecast what the outcome of this is and let me know what you decide.' He laid out his options, our reactions and everyone’s payoffs and worked out that he would do well to eat his vegetables sooner rather than later."

"It is heard to believe, yet a true story. A pregnant woman in Iowa (USA) had been jailed for "attempted feticide" because she told hospital staff that she once thought about having an abortion."

"In Berlin alone, hundreds of complaints are made each year about noise levels in kindergartens and children's playgrounds. Some day-care facilities have even been forced to close after local residents have gone to court in search of a quiet life. Now Berlin's local government, the senate, has passed a law giving children the right to be noisy, the first law of its kind in Germany."

"Many countries are debating whether they should have population policies. Here are two – very different – examples of nations that rapidly reduced their birth rates."

"Consumers loudly campaigned for another Barbie® career. The winner of the popular vote is Computer Engineer. Computer Engineer Barbie®, debuting in Winter 2010, inspires a new generation of girls to explore this important high-tech industry, which continues to grow and need future female leaders."

"By allowing kids to explore activities on their own, parents not only help children pinpoint the pursuit that fits them best, but they can also prevent young minds from obsessing over an activity, a new study finds."

"Fathers will be able to take six months' paternity leave, the government has announced. The move will allow mothers to decide to return to work after six months and fathers to stay at home for the rest of the 12 months off allowed by law."

"We all know some: parents who can't stand each other, but have made a hard-headed decision to stay together nonetheless. They are exactly the kind of people who would be glued back together by Cameron's policies if they succeeded in their goal. It turns out their children do worse than any other group – including those of divorcees or single mums. If you are raised by arguing parents who stayed together only for you, then you are 33 per cent more likely to become a binge-drinking teen than if you have a single parent, for example."

"Just as I was withdrawing money in a bank lobby, my 5-year-old daughter chose to throw a temper tantrum, screaming and writhing on the floor while a couple of elderly ladies looked on in disgust. (Their children, apparently, had been perfect.) I gave Dorothy a disappointed look and said, 'That argument won’t work, sweetheart. It isn’t pathetic enough.' She blinked a couple of times and picked herself up off the floor, pouting but quiet. "

"A man who fathered a child for a lesbian couple angrily confronted a group of Fathers 4 Justice protesters today as they demonstrated with a banner against 'Lesbo Dads'"

"The Happy Ending Foundation is planning a series of Bad Book Bonfires for later this month, when parents will be encouraged to burn novels with negative endings."

"The Chuckle Brothers - AKA Barry and Paul Chuckle - celebrate 20 years of their BBC children's show ChuckleVision this week."

"Lead researcher Dr Georg Northoff added: "Our results may thus be seen as the first step towards establishing a neurobiology of paedophilia which ultimately may contribute to the development of new and effective means of therapies for this debilitating d

"Two students at Central Kings Rural High School fought back against bullying recently, unleashing a sea of pink after a new student was harassed and threatened when he showed up wearing a pink shirt."

"Natalie Portman is best known for her roles in Hollywood movies like Star Wars, Cold Mountain and V for Vendetta. What is less known is that she was co-author of a scientific paper on the neuroscience of child development. This is about her research."

"When you have a teenager on the rampage, who are you going to turn to? In America, parents send their troubled offspring to Jamaica's Tranquility Bay - a 'behaviour-modification centre' which charges $40,000 a year to 'cure' them." A rather upsetting art

"These are eerily beautiful." Candles with the heads of small children at their base.

"Still, I'm glad he was able to get his FOID [firearm owner's identification card] card. It makes an adorable addition to his baby book."

Article on baby names; "Jordan has suffered a similar fate since Katie Price took ownership: top 100 for four years, then it nose-dived to 600 and now doesn't even make the top 1,000."

"Your science teacher has invented a time machine. You have been selected to take the first trip. Explain in a multi-paragraph letter to your teacher where you will go and why."

Playground tactics.

Aaaand finally...

Every summer, vast numbers of parents are plunged into a childcare crisis - their kids are on holiday, and they're not. What a shame they can't take their children to the office ... well, would it really be so bad if they did? We decided to find out.