What would you do if you could take a pill while pregnant and greatly reduce your child's chance of becoming obese?

My six-month-old baby is waking every two hours in the night.

There is one topic of conversation absolutely guaranteed at the moment to make Dita de Boni's son light up: zombies.

What more can be said about the Turangi attacker Raurangi Marino who, at 16-years-old, is now a convicted thief and rapist, if not an outed paedophile?

I was reading a story about a new lunch service for the pampered and cosseted kids of high decile Auckland schools and chuckling to myself - before realising my child attends one of the schools referred to.

Since having a third baby, Dita De Boni is frequently asked by friends with two - somewhat mischievously - what it's like.

A British kids cartoon series is being blamed on turning children into, well, little swines.

There comes a time in every household with young children when the existence of Santa becomes problematic – and that time is Christmas 2011 at the Ikram household.

An ex-crime reporter once told me that police had told her that in any given community, there will be a handful of families that cause the majority of trouble - and cost to the taxpayer.

There are some stages kids go through that are so cute you want to burn them into your memory, then there are those stages that you long to forget.

National has plans to grade primary schools using a National Standards ranking, but Dita De Boni wonders, what's the point?

Thinking I was doing everyone a favour, I suggested a family-friendly meal at a Cobb & Co. restaurant.

I can now see how easy it is to abrogate responsibility for learning to the school.

Dita De Boni never imagined she would join the ranks of women who have caesarean births until her third, last birth.

I've been eating hot curries, taking the occasional hot bath. All in following a range of advice, kooky and not-so-kooky, in the service of shifting this last, as-yet unborn baby from womb to cot.

The extreme cosseting of our children was highlighted by the recently-aborted 'Abstain for the Game' campaign.

As baby number three's due date approaches, Dita De Boni finds herself dreading the prospect of another labour.

An overwhelming and heartening majority of New Zealanders polled on the issue of child beauty pageants find the whole thing grotesque.

I am no particular fan of Victoria Beckham. But I did feel sorry for her this week.

Paying for breakfasts for all children in decile 1 -3 schools is a good, concrete start for the taxpayer...

Like most parents of young children, I come to each stage of childhood like a slack-jawed yokel, not knowing the first thing of what to expect.

If the various indignities of late pregnancy aren't enough, I have developed a case of carpal tunnel syndrome.