One thing they never tell you before becoming a parent is that at some point in their formative years, your little darling will turn around and belt you one.

They might even do it a few times. Much to your delight.

It’s hard not to take it personally, but hitting is often a young child’s way of communicating how they feel when they don’t quite have the words to express it.

As a result, they smack you – or they whack their sibling. Perhaps they’ve hit another child at nursery recently, too? (Cue you feeling like a terrible parent.)

Well, according to parenting coach and social worker Gen Muir there are some dos and don’ts for tackling the issue.

In a TikTok video which has been viewed 1.8 million times, Muir suggested parents should steer clear of a few phrases, including “gentle hands” (because it’s not very clear) and “we do not hit!” because it might shame children, not to mention confuse them as they literally just hit you.

Another phrase parents might want to avoid is: “When you hit it makes mummy/daddy sad.”

“We want to teach our child that their actions have consequences,” the parenting coach explained, “but in a moment where a toddler is hitting, fighting or pushing they have lost the ability to regulate and they need you to do that for them – and we need to be in control in that moment.”

By saying their actions make you sad, you’re “handing the control and the power over to our toddler” which, she suggested, actually makes them feel less safe and more likely to lash out again.

So it begs the question, what are you meant to say to them if all these pretty normal responses are off the table?

Muir recommends saying calmly: “I won’t let you hit. I’m going to move me, the baby or you to keep us safe. You can be mad, but I won’t let you hit.”

She concluded: “I’m a mum-of-four and this works – and it is proven to have a much faster impact on stopping kids from using their bodies to communicate.”

Other parents flocked to share how they deal with their child hitting others. One mum said: “We always say ‘it’s okay to be angry/upset but it’s not okay to hit.’ I heard my four-year-old saying it to my two-year-old the other day.”

Lots of parents agreed that using “gentle hands” worked to stop their children hitting – while others suggested it might work as a quick behaviour stopper, but doesn’t necessarily teach them what to do with their anger if they bottle it up.

And there are also those kids who take the instruction pretty literally.

As one parent explained: “We told our toddler ‘gentle hands’ so now he hits with his wrist.”

Charli XCX has opened up about struggling with her mental health amid the discourse she inadvertently sparked while promoting her upcoming album.

Earlier this year, the Grammy winner gave an interview to British Vogue in which she shared that her musical follow-up to her career-defining Brat album would take a very different approach, taking inspiration from elements of rock.

The piece also quoted a line from Charli’s then-upcoming single Rock Music, in which she sings: “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music.”

At the time, Charli’s assertion that the “dance floor is dead” was met with a somewhat surprising amount of backlash – with even the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna, appearing to take a pop last month.

During a new interview with Rolling Stone, the British star insisted that the lyric in question was “very much about my relationship with Brat” rather than a commentary on dance music.

“My husband runs a dance-music label,” she pointed out. “There’s been such a wealth of incredible dance/electronic-adjacent records that have been coming out recently, whether it’s Slayyyter or Underscores or PinkPantheress. Dance music is in an incredible place.”

Charli added that while promoting her new music, “the discourse” has been “loud”, which “sometimes” can “be very overwhelming”.

“I am finding it tough to [navigate],” she shared. “I don’t know. I’m finding my emotions are very, very volatile at the minute, I’ll be honest.”

She continued: “I don’t really look [online] as much anymore. It’s just better for my brain. I know people probably won’t believe me, because I am inherently, at least in the past, a very online artist. But I recently have been really struggling with my mental health to the point where, if I’m being real, I’m in the worst place mentally that I’ve been in my life.”

Charli is currently gearing up for the release of her seventh studio album, Music, Fashion, Film, on 24 July.

Last month, she alluded to the muted reception lead singles Rock Music and SS26 have received, telling her social media followers: “I made an album and it’s really different from the last one. That is a fact. And I love it! And you might not, and that’s cool.

“If you do [love the new album] that’s cute, but if you don’t, that’s totally OK because that’s just what it is to have personal preferences. Yeah!”

Earlier this year, Charli claimed during her interview with British Vogue: “If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning [after Brat], it would have felt really hard, really sad.

“But what is interesting to me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be.”

Admitting that her new music might not be what fans of the dance-pop she’s already known for would want, she noted: “For me, it’s fun to flip the form. We know there’s gonna be people who are bothered by it, but that’s fine.”

Andy Burnham has just won the Makerfield by-election by a landslide, meaning he is finally in a position to challenge Keir Starmer.

His win in the north-west constituency – with a healthy majority of over 9,000 – means Burnham is now an MP once again after a nine-year absence from Westminster, and Starmer’s premiership has now reached a new level of jeopardy.

As Labour’s most popular politician, the soon-to-be-former Greater Manchester mayor is seen by his supporters as the only man who can win back disillusioned voters from Reform UK.

So what happens now? Here’s what could unfold in the coming days.

He is not expected to challenge Starmer before he is sworn in as Makerfield MP in the House of Commons next week.

But he has dropped heavy hints about his impending plans to topple the PM, saying in his victory speech that it was the “final chance” for Labour to change.

A Labour MP needs the support of at least 81 of his parliamentary colleagues to trigger a leadership contest – and Burnham in understood to have already cleared that threshold.

His allies have also rejected Starmer’s earlier offer of a job in his government, calling it a “non-starter”.

The prime minister has publicly insisted he will not be standing down and those around him are encouraging him to fight on.

Under Labour rules, as leader his name would automatically go on the ballot paper if a contest takes place.

But his position remains precarious, with the possibility that more cabinet members could quit in an attempt to force him out.

Burnham’s team have reportedly told ministers to delay resignations to avoid causing chaos.

That all depends on what Starmer does next.

Burnham’s allies want the prime minister to set out a timetable for his departure in the coming weeks, paving the way for a smooth transition of power to their man.

That would give Burnham time to finalise his own policy platform and prepare for a “coronation”, assuming no other MPs throw their hats into the ring.

Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last month, has said he will take part in any contest, while former armed forces minister Al Carns has made clear his own leadership ambitions.

HuffPost UK also revealed that female Labour MPs are urging Yvette Cooper to run.

However, YouGov polling shows Burnham would comfortably beat them all in a vote by Labour Party members.

The cost of finding a replacement for Burnham is estimated to land at a pricey £4.7 million.

Burnham’s critics have often pointed to that sum – and his 63.4% vote share in the 2024 mayoral election – as a reason for him to stay in the post until his term was up.

But, MPs are not permitted to also work as regional mayors because that role incorporates the job of police and crime commissioner.

So another by-election is set for July 30.

It’s unclear if the government will try to implement a new voting system for the contest, switching to the supplementary vote system from the first-past-the-post system, as previously promised.

Either way, the mayoral election is set to be another hotly-contested race, with the Greens, Reform and Labour all expected to fight it out.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Taylor Swift has opened up about the somewhat chaotic recording process for her contribution to the Toy Story 5 soundtrack.

Earlier this month, the Grammy winner unveiled her single I Knew It, I Knew You, which features over the end credits of the new Toy Story movie.

A week after its release, the song topped the singles chart on both sides of the Atlantic, and to mark Toy Story 5’s arrival in cinemas on Friday, Taylor revealed in an Instagram post that her soundtrack cut was written and recorded over the space of one “hectic day”.

“It’s been kind of a hectic day,” she shared in a video from the day of the recording, posted on Instagram earlier this week.

“At 11am, I went to go see Toy Story 5, got so inspired, got the songwriter zoomies, went home, wrote the end credit song for Toy Story 5.

“We have now produced it, and I’m doing vocals. It’s 6:57pm. In two hours, [Disney CEO] Bob Iger and Tom from Pixar are coming to hear it. We have not recorded it yet.”

However, Taylor was quick to admit that she was embracing the chaos, claiming that it had been “one of the most fun days of my life”.

I Knew It, I Knew You was a collaboration with Jack Antonoff, with whom Taylor worked on hit singles like Look What You Made Me Do, Cruel Summer, Anti-Hero and Fortnight.

She previously recorded a new song for her 2019 movie Cats, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Taylor previously beamed: “I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a five-year-old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?”

A press release also teased that I Knew It, I Knew You would mark a return to the country style showcased by Taylor in the early years of her career, with the song taking inspiration from “the rootin’ tootin’ cowgirl Jessie’s ongoing journey”.

Toy Story 5 is in cinemas now.

The BBC has confirmed that it has shelved a new season of Ashley Cain’s documentary series after misogynistic social media posts of his were unearthed.

Earlier this week, The Guardian reported on the former footballer and Ex On The Beach star’s past social media activity, which included a series of posts on X that were derogatory about women, referring to them using terms like “bitches”, “sluts”, “slags” and “psychos”.

According to the outlet, Ashley repeatedly made jokes about hitting women and used derogatory language towards female users, as well as referring to “degrading sexual practices”.

Last year, Ashley landed his own BBC documentary, Into The Danger Zone, a second season of which was filmed earlier in 2026.

On Friday morning, the BBC said this represented a “failure” of its social media vetting processes, and confirmed it had “no plans” to air season two of Ashley’s doc.

“The posts by Ashley Cain, albeit from many years ago, are completely unacceptable,” a spokesperson said. “The BBC has clear requirements around vetting and social media checks, which are undertaken by the production company.

“In this instance, the process clearly failed and we are investigating why. We are continuing to strengthen our processes to ensure everyone working for, and on behalf of, the BBC meets our values and standards.

“We have no plans to broadcast the new series of Into The Danger Zone, and no future projects with Ashley Cain.”

During his professional football career, he played for a number of British teams, most notably Coventry City, where he served in the winger position between 2008 and 2010.

In 2014, he was one of the original cast members on the reality show Ex On The Beach, returning on a number of occasions over the years, as well as competing on MTV’s The Challenge and the BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef.

His BBC documentary saw him travelling to different dangerous locations around the world and speaking to different groups of men who live on the outskirts of society.

An official synopsis explains: “No judgement, no agenda. Ashley Cain enters a different world with different rules, in some of the most brutal, intense places to be a young man. What does it take to survive?”

Former child actor Daveigh Chase has died at the age of 35.

Daveigh was most recognisable for her work as Samara Morgan in the English-language remake of the horror film The Ring.

She also lent her voice to Lilo in the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch and its many spin-offs.

The award-winning actor’s manager said earlier this week, as reported by BBC News, that Daveigh had been admitted to hospital.

NBC News reported that Daveigh died as a result of complications from bacterial meningitis and sepsis.

Her father told the US outlet that the performer, who retired from acting just over a decade ago, had been homeless and living near the hospital where she died in Los Angeles, having also been suffering from severe malnutrition when she was admitted to hospital.

After a string of roles in shows like Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Charmed and ER, Daveigh was cast as Jake Gyllenhaal’s on-screen sister in the thriller Donnie Darko, with her character subsequently landing her own straight-to-video spin-off, S Darko.

She went on to provide the voice of Chihiro in the English re-dub of Studio Ghibli’s classic Spirited Away, the same year she began playing Lilo for Disney.

From there, she was cast as the unsettling Samara, reprising the role 2005’s The Ring Two.

Daveigh later portrayed Rhonda Volmer in the US drama Big Love, sharing the screen with the likes of Bill Paxton, Chloë Sevigny and Amanda Seyfried.

Her final on-screen roles were in the indie horror Jack Goes Home and the thriller American Romance, after which she took a step back from acting.

In a statement to BBC News, Daveigh’s manager remembered her as “the greatest”.

“She was not very Hollywood,” he recalled. “She’d rather eat at Bob’s Big Boy and go home with the cats. She loved acting but wasn’t into the fame scene.”

Reform UK suffered their “worst night since the general election” after trailing in a distant second in the Makerfield by-election, a top pollster has said.

Luke Tryl of More in Common said the party’s path to power could now become “very, very hard”.

Andy Burnham almost doubled Labour’s majority to easily win the crunch by-election.

Reform candidate Robert Kenyon came second, more than 9,000 votes behind Burnham.

Even more worryingly for Reform leader Nigel Farage, Restore Britain came third after securing more than 3,000 votes on a right-wing, anti-immigration policy platform.

In addition, the Conservatives received a major boost by winning Aberdeen South from the SNP.

That by-election was called after the sitting SNP MP, Stephen Flynn, was elected to the Scottish Parliament last month.

In a post on X, Tryl said: “Think this is unarguably Reform’s worst night since General Election.

“Barely any increase in their vote share in Makerfield. 20 point Labour win in a seat that was one of their best second places in 2024.

“Tories show proof of life and even momentum in battle for the right with Aberdeen South win.

“Restore Britain take 7% [in makerfield]. Replicated elsewhere in fragmented politics Reform’s path to govt becomes very very hard.”

Reform’s defeat comes just four months after the party lost the Gorton and Denton by-election to the Greens.

In addition, the party also lost two council seats to the Conservatives on Thursday night.

Tory frontbencher James Cleverly said: “When people see what Reform is like in office, they change their minds about Reform.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.