Parenting

What does it mean to be a good parent and what influence do we have on children as they navigate the challenges of the 21st century? Philosopher Elizabeth Cripps, a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, recommends books that shed light on some of the ethics of parenting, including one on how to raise kids who aren’t assholes.

We think of parenting as a level playing field because loving your kids and doing everything you can for them comes naturally and isn't determined by socio-economic status. The problem is that it may not be enough, says economist Nate G. Hilger. Here, he argues for a more activist approach so that kids across society have an equal opportunity to do well in life.

Dr Genevieve Von Lob talks to Five Books about the pressures and strains on family life today, and how a mindful approach can help us all.

The anthropologist explains how infants are socially aware and why behaviour thought inevitable in some cultures, such as tantrums, can be uncommon elsewhere

The professor of perinatal psychobiology at Imperial College, London tells us how our understanding of foetal development and the importance of mother-child bonding has changed in recent decades

We all know how children should be brought up, and rarely question the cultural norms that underly that certainty. But what does that mean for the policies we try to impose on the developing world? Jo Boyden, professor of international development at Oxford University and director of its Young Lives study, picks books that question our assumptions about how to successfully raise a child.

The author of the self-satirising memoir on ambitious "tiger mothers" talks us through the books about motherhood that have made the most impact on her.

Depictions of fathers in children's books have leapt forward in recent years, says illustrator Paul Howard. He talks us through his favourite visions of modern dads in books, from the ultimate macho man to fathers at their most vulnerable.

Clinical psychologist, author and broadcaster discusses the stigmas attached to mental health problems, and asks whether, as a society, we are really doing what's best for our children

Aristotle tells us that all politics starts in the family, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the infamously fraught relationship between mother and daughter. Here, the novelist, playwright and poet Deborah Levy chooses five books – or rather, four books and one film – that explore motherhood.