My son’s reel education

David Gilmour let his son, Jesse, leave school at 16 on one condition: they watched three films a week together. He figured it would be the only education he got. In fact their 'film club' became a rare communion between father and teenage son

Tragedy of a star

Dan Kennedy: We typically revel in the misadventures of celebrities, but the pregnancy of Britney's 16-year-old sister reveals the dark side of tabloid trash

A nanny state

Open Thread: British mums and dads are demanding more of their nannies. Are they shirking their parental responsibilities?

Why we have fallen for Africa’s lost boys

Brutalised, war-ravaged and drugged-up, the child soldiers of Sierra Leone and Sudan have become a shocking symbol of today's violent world. But are Africans telling their own stories, or are these merely signs of our appetite for tales of 'savagery', asks Jason Cowley.

Angelina’s maternity bra miracle

Mel Giedroyc: In the photos in this week's Hello! magazine Angelina Jolie has achieved the impossible - she has made maternity bras look sexy.

My brother, the monk

In Mike Leigh's new play, a secular Jewish family is stunned when a son finds religion. Lucy Ward knows how they feel.

When girls get nasty

The film Mean Girls is a shocking reminder of how female bullies cause damage with words and whispers. Joanna Moorhead asks how we can tackle teenage cruelty.

How hard-core acquired a soft centre

In a week when nudity once again found its way into the news, Philip French asks whether pornography has now acquired a veneer of respectability.

Another wonderful thing he does

So you thought The Wizard of Oz was just a dated film fairy tale? Far from it, says Shelley Marsh, whose Oz workshop helps children boost their self-esteem. She explains all to Pete May.