Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor The Telegraph
Sunburn: Children with sunburn could be a sign their parent are neglecting them, new guidance has said. Repeated infestations of headline and a lack of treatment for tooth decay should also trigger doctors and nurses to consider whether the child is being maltreated, under new guidance form the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence. Sunburn could be a sign of neglect if the child has not been appropriately supervised, the guidance said. One in ten children will suffer some form of maltreatment during their …

Health and Safety or madness?
Would it not be refreshing for a bout of common sense to break out regarding health and safety? Hopefully the Secretary of State for Education will read the Teachers TV survey that was published today which suggests that health and safety regulations are damaging children’s learning and development. I write this, as my granddaughter is about to go with her school on a weeks camping to the Peak District. Yes, I will worry all week and probably feel sick when I think of her …

POSTED BY: Mark Ling, Ipswich
This Government’s ceaseless hostility towards families has lead to an explosive rise in divorce and broken homes. The Government looks on gormlessly as social breakdown occurs, then shamefully blames parents, teachers and children for the consequences. On the face of it their latest assault on families taking a single, term time holiday looks impossible to defend. After all, children have twelve weeks a year holiday, so why should parents believe it necessary to take them out during school time ? The truth is, however, that this …

I agree that we need to capture the voice of parents and to have a proper dialogue which fully involves them. After all if we can have a Children’s Commissioners office to capture the views of a very wide range of children from different backgrounds, ages and cultures, then why not a Parent Commissioner’s office?
It isn’t enough to make the excuse that all parents hold different views depending on their circumstances - it is the responsibility of government to represent the views of parents in the way children are …

Sats tests have been criticised by teaching unions in recent weeks, culminating in a decision by headteachers to proceed with a boycott of exams in 2010. I am attempting to find parents who may be acting early by withdrawing their children from Sats being taken in schools across England this month. If you intend to keep your child off school on the day of the tests please contact Graeme Paton at The Daily Telegraph by emailing: graeme.paton@telegraph.co.uk.

Should grandparents be paid for caring for grandchildren ? Who should pay and how? Will it change the family relationships?
What are your views on this ?

Geraldine Nicholson
Chair, No Third Runway Action Group (NoTRAG)

To build a third runway at Heathrow airport the No Third Runway Action
Group say:
“Schools will be bulldozed or rendered useless, removing parental choice, dislocating children’s lives, disrupting their friendships, and having a detrimental effect on their education. Apart from the 80+ schools in the London Borough of Hounslow that would suffer the disruption of continuous noise throughout every school day, seven schools in the London Borough of Hillingdon would be severely affected. You cannot soundproof playgrounds and you cannot expect our children to …

Looking for mums and dads to inspire others to overcome difficulties at school
Has your child been bullied at school? Has your child got problems with truancy or been excluded? Have you had problems with the school admissions system? Did you hate school and are you worried about how to support your child through their school years? Has your child had mental health problems?

Lots of parents go through issues like these and we’re looking for people to share their stories of how they overcame them. If you are a mum or …

I have always supported teachers and admire the work they do. Anyone who has spent time in a classroom understands teachers earn every penny they get and more, so can I put that one to bed. I have learnt a lot today by the number of comments placed on this Blog, some by those who admit to being teachers, have been rude , personal and offensive. I would not dream of writing about a person I did not know in such a manner. You have every right to …

Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, has been charged with drawing up the new guidelines which are expected to be ready for publication in the spring, according to reports. The Government is also reviewing whether the current age at which it is legal to drink should remain at five. Current guidance on safe drinking levels exists only for those over 18. But health department officials say the gap between five and 18 is significant given the risks of drinking to health and development children are greater for children than for …