Being a parent presents some problems. Irrespective of what you want, your children are going to take actions or be exposed to things that you may not relish.

I'm Lonnae O'Neal now, but I was Lonnae O'Neal Parker for more than two decades. The pain is for a body of work I produced as my three-named self.

At least four farmers have taken their lives since Fonterra cut its milk payout forecast for the coming season.

Bryony Gordon has always had a troubled relationship with alcohol - but can a hypnotherapist change the bad habits of a lifetime?

Parents who have patiently sat through countless music recitals and questioned their sanity at encouraging all those trumpet or violin lessons need do so no longer.

While it might feel like those extra minutes leave you more rested, morning snoozes can leave you feeling groggier and less alert. And late.

"I took some contrary pleasure from being a doctor who smoked," writes Max Pemberton. "Looking back, I realise I was in denial."

Have you ever wondered why children so easily accept that once every year, a terribly generous man travels by magic reindeer to all children across the world?

If you're struggling to get your beloved under the mistletoe this year, then help is at hand.

As Australia reels from the Sydney siege and its unhappy end, many will be wondering what can be done for the hostages stuck for hours with the gunman in the Lindt cafe.

We've rounded up the top ten health stories that you, our readers, clicked, shared and talked about this year.

If we treated people with diabetes the way we treat those with depression, there would be an outcry, says the new president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Christmas crackers around the dinner table and Champagne corks popping are sounds of festivity and fun for most people.

The family of a man stabbed to death by his childhood friend and fellow online gamer are praying for the killer's loved ones.

My mother had clinical depression. As a consequence, I experienced difficult and upsetting moments in my childhood - none more so than when she was absent from home, residing in a psychiatric hospital.

An Auckland man who stabbed his friend to death thinking he was "slaying a demon" has been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.

Gardening, lying in bed, drinks with friends and hitting the gym are among the many weekend hazards to your health.

Far from experiencing peace and goodwill at Christmas, nearly half of men admit to feeling sad or depressed over the festive season.

Larisa Van Zyl doesn't sweat the small stuff these days. The South African-born Kiwi feels it isn't worth it and, with what she has been through, you can understand that.

Ewan McDonald’s father taught kids to swim. Except for one child who was scared of the water.

This week, the state of Texas intends to execute Scott Panetti, who in 1992 shot dead his mother-in-law and father-in-law in front of his estranged wife and their 3-year-old daughter.

Mass killer Stephen Anderson who in 1997 gunned down 10 people, killing six of them, including his 60-year-old father is no longer tutoring at an art school.

As family, friends and cricket legends gathered at a Sydney hospital to say goodbye to Phillip Hughes, the 25-year-old's sister, Megan, sat with devastated cricketer Sean Abbott to offer him support.

'We neurosurgeons do wonderful, but terrible things' The memoirs of a London brain surgeon are a surprise contender for a literary award, writes Victoria Lambert.

Eddie has struggled with his sexual fascination for children but has now spoken out as radical new theories on how to prevent child abuse are aired.

Sarah Rainey talks to a sufferer of 'the most common disease nobody has heard of' - a form of dementia.

The long holidays are only weeks away. But how much relaxing we do will tend to depend for many on gender and psychology, writes Jill Goldson.

Let's face it - life is easier with confidence. Here are four techniques to raise your confidence that you can start applying today.

The boss of an art school that hired Raurimu massacre killer Stephen Anderson as a tutor is "seriously shocked" the school did so without knowing his history.