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The first 1,000 days of life shape every day that follows.
We need to know more about them.
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
From boys to feminists: raising a child in a gender-free environment
Wanting to raise a feminist son has forced me to confront some of my own uncomfortable biases. But a world without gender benefits boys just as much as girls.
A match made in Evin: an encounter that showed me no story is too small to tell
In this, the season for gift-giving, we correspondents reflect on interactions with members that have enriched our journalism. After my story on children born in Evin, Iran’s most notorious prison, I heard from a member still coming to terms with her birth there. Back in
We need to end the stigma around menstruation. Period
Last weekend, I travelled for about 30 hours to get from my birth family that was reunited in Trento, Italy, to the family I married into that lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some 25 hours into the journey, on the plane, I suddenly felt a
Trauma can be inherited. We need to understand what we’re passing on
When it comes to negative experiences in childhood, the body seems to keep score. But even small changes can positively affect health in later life.
Leaving crumbs behind
Little Thumb is one of those old fairytales with so many horrible details that it would never make it into a children’s book these days. It became popular in the 17th-century version, written by France’s Charles Perrault, the author of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The story
Reading time
(Featured photo: Andrea Spinelli Barrile) “Are you reading to him?” This was the question that my son’s paediatrician asked when I last called. I wanted to make sure that I would not miss any important check-ups or vaccinations since we are going to be in
Why I’m “wasting my time” writing about children
I will be blunt this week. If you are a parent or carer, or are expecting at some point in your life to be part of the first 1,000-day journey, I’m thrilled to have you among my readership. But you’re not the readers for whom
Let’s remember the day play went from being a privilege to a right
The Convention on the Rights of the Child set out to enshrine children’s wellbeing, safety and security – not to mention their right to play. There is much work still to be done, but on its 30th anniversary, it’s worth reflecting how much has been achieved.
Childhood pictures
If you have been reading my newsletters and my work for The Correspondent so far, you already know that I have a nine-month-old son, and that his name is Lorenzo. You will, however, not have seen an image of him, and that will stay like
Who can afford to become a mother?
Kabul-born illustrator Moshtari Hilal did this drawing to accompany my article in Unbias the News. I am using the drawing with their permission. Lorenzo was born nine months ago, on a Tuesday evening, 10 days earlier than the expected date. On the Monday night, unaware
Forever in the archive:
Doing the laundry
A laundromat may not be your ideal location to spend a Saturday afternoon. Even less so if you are out and about with a small child. But I have to admit that my Saturday afternoon doing laundry was actually quite pleasant. My family and I
What’s in a name?
“Is this a girl?” An elderly lady, seeing my baby, asked my husband and me this question as we were waiting to get on the funicular to visit Bergamo’s Upper City over the weekend. I smiled and replied: “His name is Lorenzo.” Except that in
Children are a quarter of the world’s population. Imagine urban planning from their point of view
What are your best memories of playing as a child? What were you doing? Were there any adults with you? It was the beginning of October, at the Health Summit in Uppsala, Sweden, and Mariana Brussoni, a developmental psychologist, was putting these questions to an
Fathering
This weekend I met up with my parents and it surprised me that they both congratulated Nacho, my husband, for being a great father. Don’t get me wrong: Nacho is an amazing father. He spends many hours a day taking care of our son Lorenzo, makes him
Bouncing around
As I walked around the outskirts of Stockholm this week, I noticed tonnes of trampolines: it seemed like every other house had one in its backyard, or in front of the garage. Swedes take children’s play seriously, at least that is what emerged from the
Why can’t we remember our earliest years?
When it comes to remembering our childhood, scientific research still leaves us with more questions than answers.
Laughter in the children’s hospital
Hello from Sweden, where autumn is already turning the leaves red and the rose hips are getting ripe! One of the hardest things about writing about the first 1,000 days is that childhood looks so different around the world, and there are few commonalities across
Callout: Share your earliest memories with me
In the first series on my beat, the First 1,000 Days, I will be digging into memory-making. You can help me by telling me what you remember and why. Memory of the first 1,000 days depends on other people. In our own lives, we rely
Eat, play, love: Just how much are you shaped by your first 1,000 days of life?
Neuroscience has identified this period – from conception, through nine months of pregnancy, plus two years – as critical for brain development, but it also matters in so many other ways.
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