Click on the links below to read our resident mistress of etiquette's pearls of wisdom on all the most pressing issues of contemporary life... follow Debrett 's on Twitter or read Miss Debrett's Blog

Miss Debrett on...

...Baby Boomers

The streets are thronged with baby buggies, piloted with relentless egotism by the new breed of super-mums...It's easy to feel the world has been taken over by babies...

...The Well Brought-up Child

The well brought-up child is the holy grail of every parent. The very phrase conjures up images of Victorian rectitude, a captivating mixture of demure deference and quirky charm...

...School Bores

There's no bore like a school bore. As soon as the child is reasonably sentient (and sometimes long before) the obsession... kicks in.

...Troublesome Teens

The teenage years may transform your delightful child into an alien being. Agonisingly self-conscious, sullen, lacking all social graces, angry, mind-blowingly self-centred…

...Pets

People and their pets can be positively embarrassing. As you eavesdrop on an apparently cogent (but inevitably one-sided) conversation between a man and his dog, you're filled with the
urge to point out "They're only animals! Not people!"...

...Family Life

Family life seems to expand and grow more complex and compelling as you get older, rather than dwindling into irrelevance...

...Domestic Help

The days of 'below stairs', household staff, scullery maids, skivvies and charwomen are long gone. But large numbers of us
still employ domestic help of some kind...

...Children's Parties

The children's party is all too often the arena in which parental competition reaches its apotheosis, a red-blooded battle to outdo and trump each other, which can often turn very nasty...

...The Christmas Spirit

It's easy to be Scrooge-like about Christmas, and sometimes it feels like the whole world is conspiring to help…

...Entertaining

The burdens of being a perfect host all too frequently prove too onerous. As the evening grinds on, pressures build and standards slip, drink takes its toll, and chaos ensues...

• Share online