Your view

Letters, emails, comments

To the girl whose mother thinks she's dim, I just wanted to say you are not. You are probably a late developer, and bored with her silly, competitive obsessions with times tables, writing, reading and the worthless logic of a jigsaw. Somewhere inside you is a dream that no one has seen yet. Soon you will meet a teacher who will see that this needs help to be kickstarted. You will never forget this person who first believed in you. One day, your mother will see that the girl she thought was "dim" is just different from her. If she has any humility, she will then admit to being dim about you.
Michael Proudfoot (formerly "dim")
London EC1

Raising them happy is more important than raising them smart.
Rudy Carroll
Nailsworth, Gloucestershire

It's a shame the mother feels she has to worry about her six-year-old not being able to read and write as well as her peers. In some Scandinavian countries, she would not have even started formal education, and educational attainment there is higher than in the UK. The brain develops throughout childhood and beyond. Our education system has a one-size-fits-all approach; it would do better to facilitate and foster late, as well as early, learning.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London WC1

For anyone who is in any doubt that white men rule the world, see the photograph of Sam Mendes' Charlie team.
Susie Hargreaves
Histon, Cambridgeshire

Hadley Freeman is spot on about internet dating. What makes it worse is that several friends have since married internet dates, so are even more evangelical about it.
Zoe Braybrook

There is nothing wrong with spending time with friends with children. Similarly, those friends should not expect invitations from childless single friends always to include their kids. It's all part of growing your friendship through all life's stages. Nobody is always on the same step, or even on the same staircase.
Regina Yau
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Joe Tombari wins best-ever Experience for I've Played A Game Of Tag For 23 Years. What a record of a well-spent life. What a tribute to the joys of friendship.
John Rigby
Grasscroft, Lancashire

As if we needed another example of the fact that men never grow up.
Adaze Lo
London N16

I love Bill Bailey's gentle humour, and the fact that Simon Hattenstone so obviously finds him likeable. Bailey seems a lovely person who deserves to be successful. Lovable and politically sound? *swoons*
Mishka Bustamante
London W14

Your Weekender can't find good wine in London? And the French wonder why we find them annoying.
Tim O'Sullivan
London SE23

Patrick Maggs, every defendant is not innocent until proven guilty. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Jo Grimley

If I were the lucky owner of a £345 silk blouse, would I all but hide it under a £288 spring sweater? Hmmm. Tough call.
Carol Kurrein

Rye, East Sussex

Carla Bruni's Q&A: "What do you most dislike about your appearance? My reflection in the mirror." Give me a break.
Elena Dennison
Eastbourne, East Sussex
