The most important thing your child carries through the school gates isn't in the stationery aisle. Four ways to build a lunchbox that comes home empty, from batch-cooked snacks to making last night's dinner do double duty.

Your child spends hours a day in a life you only see glimpses of. Author Sahira Dharamshi on writing a teenager who could not say what she was carrying, and how parents can keep that door open at home.

Independence sounds wonderful until you are watching them walk through the gate with one shoelace undone. Four ways to talk to your child at home that build confidence without you disappearing from the picture.