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The first 1,000 days of life shape every day that follows.
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A beat by Irene Caselli
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Populism meets parenting
Childhood is political. The decisions about who has a child, when, and how go far beyond personal choices. Authoritarian and populist politicians the world over are despairing over falling birth rates. They are trying (and often succeeding) to set strict rules about conception and birth
Forever in the archive
Lessons from a ‘no-go’ neighbourhood
Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is a tidy, green city, with wide boulevards and neoclassical architecture in the city centre and socialist apartment buildings in the outskirts. In autumn, the air pollution becomes bad because the city is enclosed by mountains, but overall Sofia is
A surrogacy ban is not feminist
The Italian parliament made it illegal earlier this month for people to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy. Giorgia Meloni, the country’s first-ever female prime minister, has been battling to get the bill passed since she came into office in 2022. For Meloni,
Abuse affects millions of children. I was one of them
**This article contains discussions of childhood abuse, including sexual violence, that may be distressing for some readers. Please proceed with care and take breaks as needed. If you are affected by these topics, consider seeking support from a trusted person or professional. I don’t usually
What language does your inner child speak?
“Sí.” Your inner child speaks Italian, said my therapist, and I burst into tears. We had been discussing some revelation I had about how severe one of my internal voices is — and how connected that voice is to my childhood. And my therapist had
A very modern 70s cartoon
When I was little, my mom used to call me Mafalda, after a popular comic strip. Mafalda was first published on September 29, 1964 — 60 years ago this month. Created by Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known as Quino, the comic focuses on an
Motherhood and medals
I grew up in a family where sport was not actively promoted. My mother was an only child, raised by her single aunts, and she was discouraged from doing sports. My dad, who went to military school, tried all sorts of sports before dedicating himself
What to do with kids in the summer?
There is a poem that has always stayed with me. It’s by acclaimed Italian writer Gianni Rodari and it’s called “Ferragosto”, after the Italian public holiday that falls on August 15. It’s about children who can’t afford to go on vacation. I can’t find an
What would a world without men look like?
It all starts with a birthday party: Madalena, a stay-at-home mother, organises a birthday party in the park for her daughter Rosa, with an incredible homemade cake and lots of other delicious food. Madalena is waiting for her partner Andrea, who has an important job
The art of slowing down
I was pregnant with my second son León in 2022, walking around the central Italian town of Perugia with my friend Tanmoy, the author of Sanity, a journalism platform on mental health that you should definitely be reading (and supporting). It was our first in-person
A doctor called me an irresponsible parent
Whatever fears you may have as a parent or as someone who cares for young children become all too real when you enter a children’s hospital. Hearing children crying and screaming — because of a burn, or a broken arm, or a doctor’s examination they
Forever in the archive:
Why play is not just for kids
“Sometimes I feel so boring,” said a woman I had just met on the beach. We were watching our respective young children running on the beach, screeching in excitement about the goals they scored and bouncing quickly from one game to another. I get it:
Thou shalt not judge…
Another day, another internet mob. This time, it’s because of a baby at a Taylor Swift concert. At first glance, it’s just another cute photo that’s popped up in your feed. A baby, bathed in a soft purple glow, seems to be fast asleep. Her head
How should media cover children in conflict?
It is a haunting image: a woman dressed in blue, her head covered, holding a child’s body covered in a white sheet. The photograph is by Palestinian photographer Mohammed Salem, who works with Reuters. It was taken on Oct. 17, 2023, and won the World
Why women can have it all
“You can’t have it all.” That’s something I’ve heard over and over again. I can hear one of my best friends saying it to me, almost scoldingly, when we were in high school and I wanted to study yet another language, and swim, and travel,
Bye bye breastfeeding, a special phase of motherhood
A work trip recently pushed me (or maybe helped me) to accelerate an otherwise difficult decision: to stop breastfeeding León, who is now a year and a half. It wasn’t easy to decide to travel alone for the first time ever, and to do so
Who cares for the caregivers?
There are stories that keep me up at night, that I get obsessed with and scheme away until I find a way to go out there and report on them. One theme that has been very much on my mind is what happens when those
Lice and life lessons
It is Sunday. We have just successfully pulled off a birthday celebration in the park for my son Lorenzo, who turned five. The sun shone during an otherwise rainy week, my sugar-free banana bread turned out moist and yummy, and the bottle of Prosecco I
A war on children
Since October, I have been writing an essay about Gaza. About the children, the pregnant women, about how the world is failing thousands of children every day. None of my words make sense. I am stuck. Unlike in the past, where the urgency of writing
So long 2023, year of burnout
About eight months ago, my physical exhaustion and mental deterioration had become so intense that I did something I’d never done before: I lied to an editor about why I couldn’t make a deadline. You know that kind of old-school excuse like “my cat died”?
I’d love to meet you in person
León, my youngest son, has started walking. For weeks, he had been trying to do it. If you’ve never seen a baby learning to walk, I highly recommend you do. As Nacho, my partner, rightly pointed out in his own newsletter (which comes highly recommended!), there
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