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.

Not every child returns to school from the same starting line, especially after a disrupted Term 3. GEMS Education's Lisa Crausby OBE on the academic gap parents worry about, why teachers still outrank the tech, and starting the year with a reset rather than a race.

A new school year usually puts the focus on children: new classrooms, new routines and a fairly frantic return to early mornings. But behind every child settling into school is an educator doing far more than delivering a lesson. That was the message from Aisha Miran, Director General of Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority, as more than 8,000 educators joined a series of virtual town halls ahead of the 2026–27 academic year. Miran described teachers as mentors, caregivers, role models and partners to parents, and pointed to the launch of the Dubai Educators Council as a way of giving them a direct voice in how education develops. With teacher numbers across Dubai's private schools up 17.5% in three years, here is why it matters for families.

Two UAE play zones are hiring high-school and university students, and the pay cheque turns out to be the smallest part of it. On first jobs, showing up when you said you would, and what one part-time party host learned.

Everything to have ready before baby arrives, organised by category, with the UAE retailers to shop from and the handful of things the climate here quietly makes unnecessary. A starting point, not a set of rules.

Back-to-school shopping gets out of hand fast. Eight of this season's launches worth a look, from bottles and backpacks to school shoes, picked for parents who want things to survive the term and kids who want to actually carry them.

Complete exhaustion gets written off as part of the job. Neuro coach Rita Baki on where everyday stress ends and burnout begins, the early signs most parents talk themselves out of, and what actually helps.

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.

The 2026 to 2027 school calendar is confirmed, so the flights and annual leave can be sorted before prices climb. Every term break, public holiday and potential long weekend, plus which dates are safe to book and which are not.

August is the stretch where everyone runs out of ideas. Dubai Summer Surprises is still running until the end of the month, with camps, indoor attractions, discounted tickets and family staycations, plus dates, prices and booking links for each one.

When you set out to understand IVF, the missing piece isn't more information. It's someone who has actually lived it. Fertility Doula Cassie Destino on the process, the UAE rules, and the emotional side no one warns you about.

Your baby has arrived. The world has completely changed. And somewhere in the first few days, someone is going to hand you a checklist. Here is the full picture, broken into four steps.

I used to think motherhood would make my working life smaller. Fast forward: Tegan is 11 and Clyde is 8. And I have learned that there is room for success after babies. No one gets to tell you that you are done.

Nobody warned me that choosing a nursery would feel like this. This is not a ranking. It is what I genuinely wish I had known earlier, the questions I did not know to ask, and the things that mattered more than I expected.

I am in the waiting period right now. And the most honest thing I can say is that it is harder, stranger, and more meaningful than anyone told me it would be. Here's what actually helps.

Most parents make this decision quickly and under pressure. This guide is for the version where you choose deliberately, in advance, so when you need your pediatrician, you already trust them.

It is 47 degrees outside and the school holidays have officially begun. A practical, honest guide to making it through, without spending a fortune or losing your mind.