I recently visited a “girls club” – a safe space where adolescent girls come together with trained mentors to build their social networks and learn life skills – in the Tonk district of Rajasthan, India. As I arrived, I was greeted by a group of teenage girls bouncing along the road, so full of energy and laughter that I couldn’t help but smile, too. Just imagine, I thought, the potential of 600 million such girls.

One of the few positives for U.S. women and girls in recent years has been the increased awareness of female genital mutilation (FGM) as an urgent issue which affects over half a million people on American soil. The first ever U.S. trial is about to take place too and the government is finally taking action to end it.

The Manchester Arena was packed with thousands of children and young people when a suicide bomber detonated his device.

It happened two months after a deadly attack in Westminster, after which Nicky Cox MBE, editor-in-chief of children's newspaper First News, offered this advice for parents who want to explain terror attacks to children:

1. Don't try to turn off the news when there is bad news.

Thousands of videos on YouTube look like versions of popular cartoons but contain disturbing and inappropriate content not suitable for children.

If you're not paying much attention, it might look like an ordinary video featuring Peppa Pig, the cheeky porcine star of her own animated series. But soon after pressing play on this particular YouTube clip, the plot turns dark. A dentist with a huge syringe appears. Peppa's teeth get pulled out. Distressed crying can be heard on the soundtrack.

My child Elodie is a daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend, she is funny, cheeky and strong-willed – she is not defined by her Down's syndrome and we don't define her by it.

But a label can be a very hard thing for some people to see past and because of the sheer amount of appointments, paperwork and work we have to do to encourage her it is sometimes hard to see her for her and not the label.

It is news that no-one wants to say and no-one wants to hear. But what is the best way to tell your child that you have cancer?

One in two of those born after 1960 in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime - many of those will be families with children who will face that question.

Wondering why our kids are not so great with money? Just look in the mirror; it's because adults are often financial train wrecks themselves.

Even so, all is not lost. You can still try to instill your children with the right lessons about spending, saving and investing, to prime them for a more secure financial future.

It’s an alarming moment for any parent: Your 6-year-old daughter announces that she wants to wear a miniskirt or crop top to look “sexy.” Or your 7-year-old starts dancing like a seductive pop star in a music video.

Parents worry about their children being bullied online, but what if it is your child who is doing the bullying?

That was the question posed by a BBC reader, following a report on how children struggle to cope online.

There is plenty of information about how to deal with cyberbullies, but far less about what to do if you find out that your own child is the source.

I KNEW everything about parenting before I had kids — I knew I’d never use TV as a babysitter or give them chips two nights in a row, and I definitely wouldn’t bribe them to behave.

Then, of course, I had children.

If becoming a parent has taught me anything, it’s that die-hard mantras come back to bite you.