It's hard to believe a grown man killed a five-year-old in his own defence - or even accidentally - but there you have it.

One thing neither women nor men do anymore, it seems, is give up a seat to a pregnant lady.

As a typical lefty liberal, I defend the right of any woman to walk anywhere at night and be completely unmolested.

As any parent knows, problem solving is a big part of parenting.

It's been a time of pondering sex in the Ikram household of late.

Someone who has done nothing but alienate large groups of teachers is a deadbeat choice for the job of Education Minister, says Dita De Boni.

I feel as though I do deserve a hearty slap on the back because I have safely delivered my first child to the age of five.

It depresses me to think that inevitably, one if not all of my children will make their futures offshore.

I am accustomed to being hailed from the other side of the house to the cries of "mummy! mummy!", but by now, I know I'm not the character in the house that goes by that name.

Now that I am pregnant with my third and final child, I am finding time to prepare for the big event is slim-to-non-existent.

What if your daughter squanders her considerable intelligence on meaningless jobs and other fripperies, waiting for her prince to come?

The Crimes Amendment Bill will only criminalise people who are already on the margins of society, says Dita De Boni.

I wish I could say I had more in common with brilliant US comedian Tina Fey, but there's only one thing I can think of...

We have all had the experience of meeting someone and - for reasons that are often completely unknown - an instant dislike develops.

As her son approaches school age, Dita De Boni wonders about the importance of a 'multi-cultural' education.

I don't know what has happened to my formerly cherubic little girl of late.

Many parents are seemingly conflicted about what to tell their young ones in the wake of such an enormous event, writes Dita De Boni.

'Do you think Ma has a cut on his head?' This from the little voice beside me, as I stared in incredulous horror at the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake.

Sometimes, there's nothing more guaranteed to bring you down than reading the Sunday papers.

This week, the British Government has given its rubber stamp to two quite unique parenting ideas, writes Dita De Boni.

I've very worried about the hinges of the door to my children's room. They are about to snap.

Am I the only one already sick of Victoria Beckham's fourth pregnancy?

Ira*, a social worker through the 1990s, left the front lines because she was sick of seeing so many abused children being returned to their wider families.

It is with huge regret and disgust that once more, New Zealanders wake up to find 'caregivers' accused on brutally assaulting their children.

You may know him as the man mentioned once in 250,000 diplomatic cables sent between NZ and the US, but I know him as "daddy".

Where would the world of childbirth be without those uninhibited European women who feature so prominently in birthing videos?

Dita De Boni is horrified at the fear of a 2-year-old kicked to death after wetting himself.

The first results from a study of 7000 Auckland and Waikato babies shows that 11 per cent of women smoke throughout their pregnancies.

One mundane routine that this mother-of-two will never quite take to is restricting her diet in order to lose kilos of stored baby fat.

Dita De Boni wonders when the right time is to broach difficult subjects with children.