By Dr Hamilton McBrien, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and medical director of the Priory Hospital in North London. What is adolescent depression? Adolescent depression is similar to adult depression and appears in approximately 4% of teenagers. A risk factor for teen depression is trauma in early life, such as early childhood adversity, loss of [...]

Students may turn to caffeine and junk food to get through exams but, says Victoria Lambert, there are cleverer and healthier ways of improving their performance.

Is it too late to start learning Latin at 13, and will it really help my son master other languages? At the moment, he doesn’t really manage well with anything other than what I call restaurant French – he can always ask politely for frites and Orangina, but that’s about it. I would love him [...]

Q What is the right age for a child to get himself to school alone? My son is 12 and attends a west London day school. Some of his friends travel across the city every day on the Tube but I don’t feel that’s safe. Am I being old-fashioned? Julia, Clapham

Q Our son and daughter both attend boarding schools thanks to generous bursaries. While we can just about cover the remaining costs, we cannot stretch to paying for exotic trips abroad. My son won’t care (he’s a homebody and boarding itself is a stretch for him). But my daughter is acutely conscious that her friends [...]

Q For the past 12 months my Year 5 daughter has positively thrived within a fantastic independent school in Gloucestershire. Prior to this she struggled painfully and, despite working hard, was made to feel very inadequate within the state system.

Q How can I get my teenage daughters to concentrate? They are intelligent and pleasant girls, but they just don’t seem to be full of energy or mental strength. Could diet make a difference? Sarah, Derby A Lucy Jones: There are many things that can affect a teenager’s concentration. As well as changing hormones, teenagers [...]

Research reveals 38 per cent of children feel pain in their hands when writing. Lauren Milsom, founder of the Left-Handed Club, can help with these top tips for dealing with being Left Handed