How to defuse an argument: prepare, repair or ‘let them yell it out’

A negotiator, a psychologist, a wedding planner, a conflict mediator and a maitre d’ share their hard-earned techniques for keeping the peace at Christmas

A Christmas that changed me: I ended up on all fours in A&E having my buttocks syringed

It was just a cup of steaming mint tea – but when it spilled into my lap and onto my seat, the enormous blisters were inevitable

Just say no: 13 ways to get out of everything – from extra work to Christmas parties

Do you yearn to set strong boundaries, but are scuppered by a lifelong tendency to people-please? Here is how to stop now

My youth has all but faded. But my three-quarter-life crisis is filled with fascinating revelations and boundless joys

As someone fortunate to be on the cusp of a seventh decade, it’s not often I sense the icy spectre of mortality. But posterity, familial and cultural, really matters now

My parents and in-laws are making inappropriate comments about my baby. Should I let them go?

You are allowed to have rules about how you and your child are treated, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith, but enforcing them will feel awful

‘It’s extortionate’: a mother’s struggle to afford rising price of baby formula

Lone parent Rebecca Anderson feels women in UK who do not breastfeed are being penalised after 25% price rise

My sister is getting opportunities I feel I missed. How do I grieve my past, but support her?

Beware of grass is always greener thinking, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Instead, reflect on what has stopped you before and what is possible now

Births among women over 50 rise 15% in England, figures show

Births to older mothers have increased in recent years alongside average ages for childbirth and IVF treatment

A home help for eight days after giving birth? Why Dutch maternity care is the envy of the world

Everyone who gives birth in the Netherlands has the legal right to a kraamzorg to help with everything from breastfeeding to laundry. How do these new mums find it?

My grandmother’s support – and Creole cooking – helped me to love myself when I didn’t know how

When I felt lonely growing up, my grandmother’s company and cuisine were a soothing balm