Georgy Jamieson

Mother, blogger and writer just making it up as I go along!

I've never been the sort of Mum for charts and plans and timetables. I like things to go more organically than that. Maybe this time though I'd like a little more uniformity, a bit more normality and conformity. I'd like him to just DO IT.

Kathy Lette

Author, ambassador for the National Autistic Society

Trying to protect a child with special needs from being bullied is like trying to stop ice melting in the desert. There were calls to the school, meetings, promises of closer scrutiny in the playground. But basically, when it comes to defeating bullying - particularly when your child is an obvious target ­ - a parent might as well be standing up to Voldermort with a butter knife.

Rory Natkiel

Blogger and Head of Digital Marketing at Great British Chefs

Crawling, walking, catching, running, riding a bike and learning to swim - all essential activities to learn for a child. But cooking? It might not sound like a core skill but an increasing amount of evidence points to the fact that learning to cook has numerous benefits for children.

Melanie Kendry

English Teacher, Tutor and Writer

A lot of boys struggle with reading. And yes, it usually is boys. They go from class readers and Horrid Henry to Diary of a Wimpy Kid straight onto Call of Duty, never to be seen again. Unlike great literature, shoot-em ups are easy.

Alice Wright

Business owner, wife, dog lover, seaside dweller, late to motherhood

I haven't enjoyed a full, uninterrupted eight hours sleep in nearly six years. I know this because I have had a lot of time to think about that fact. A lot of time spent lying in bed in the dark, eyes wide open pondering how long it has been since I have slept a full night and since when.

Magnus Scheving

Star and creator of LazyTown

Children don't really understand the concept of health. You can't give them an apple and say "if you eat this you will be healthy when you're older" because they don't understand. You have to find a different way to motivate them.

Gerri McAndrew

Chief Executive of Buttle UK

Informal kinship carers have to date been a largely 'hidden population' who take on a huge burden from the state in providing care, often at very little notice, for children who would otherwise end up in the care system. I know, after a career spent in delivering services to children and their carers.

Planet Ivy

News for the bored generation

As we all inevitably leave our twenties and begrudgingly begin the slow pitiful march towards responsibility and self-loathing, it's important to ask the question - what next? For some it's fulfilling careers and the exciting discovery of our greatly unrecognised adult self, and for some it's children.

Caroline Davey

Director of Policy at Gingerbread, the national charity for single parents

This week accusations flew, rhetoric abounded and, with the Philpott case, one newspaper made a particularly grotesque leap to try and paint this convicted criminal as a poster-boy for what they decried as the welfare "lifestyle". Meanwhile, on the ground, huge changes are taking place to benefits that will affect millions of ordinary - and, dare we say it - hard-working families.

Zoe Armstrong

Writer, blogger, solo parent. Forthegirlblog.blogspot.co.uk

The faster one travels, the slower time moves. We know this from Einstein's theory of relativity. So if something is moving incredibly slowly - a todd...

Jemma Wayne

Author and Journalist

There is a quieter, yet just as dangerous trend undermining feminist values, and this trend is being perpetrated most, by women. The arena: online forums, Facebook groups, press articles, NCT circles, even groups of friends. The reason: Mother Judgement - the war between those who do and those who don't.

Bansi Kara

A Head of English in Hackney who believes in the possibility of change in education

I think if teachers had just one opportunity to stand up to the nation and give advice to parents, they would probably all say very similar things. So, in the spirit of sharing and dispelling the awkwardness and to start a dialogue, this is what I want to say to parents.

Sue Porto

Chief Executive of the charity Beanstalk

The pleasures and benefits of reading are still denied to many children - in 2012, one in eight left primary school unable to read to the required standard. Beanstalk trains volunteers to give one-to-one support to children who have fallen behind with their reading, using the delights of storytelling to enthuse and enrich them.

Sonal Patel

I'm a mother of two young boys, an osteopath by profession and a year ago I kicked cancer's butt!

Questions were flashing through my mind. Who would look after my son, Rohan? What would happen to my unborn baby? How would my husband cope without me? I broke down and the cancer care nurse gave me a huge hug as I left with an appointment for scans and went home to tell my husband.

Frank Furedi

Professor of sociology, author and broadcaster

It seems that everyone believes that parenting classes are wonderful idea - except for the parents.

Jody Brettkelly

aboutlastweekend.com

My four kids have three different Spring-Easter Breaks so I planned to take the two youngest boys. The forecast was not bright: rain, no snow and rocks galore, but the place we'd booked would only allowed cancellation with two weeks notice.