Corrections policy
If we've got something wrong, tell us
Parents act on what we write, so getting it right matters to us. Here's what counts as an error, how to let us know, how quickly we'll come back to you, and what happens on the page afterwards.
Three ways to report an error
Any of these reaches a real person, and there's no account needed.
On the guide itself
Every guide has a Report a correction link at the foot of the page, in the About this guide box. It carries the guide's link across for you.
Through the contact form
Choose "Article feedback or correction" as the reason on the contact form. Only your name, email and message are collected.
01
What counts as a correction
Not every change to a page is really a correction, and lumping them together would make the word mean very little. So we treat four things differently:
Type
What it means
What happens
Correction
A factual error. A wrong figure, a misdescribed research finding, a misattributed source, or guidance that was simply incorrect.
Dated note on the page
Clarification
The facts were right but the wording could reasonably be read the wrong way. Common where a developmental range reads as a target.
Dated note on the page
Update
New research or changed official guidance. The original was accurate when published.
Review date changes
Typo or broken link
Spelling, grammar, formatting, a dead URL. Nothing a reader would need to re-evaluate.
Fixed silently
If you're not sure which one applies, do send it anyway and we'll work it out. We'd much rather look at something that turns out to be fine than miss a real error.
02
What to include when you report
You don't need to make a case for it. A link and a sentence is plenty. These just help us get there faster:
The guide title or URL.
The specific sentence or figure you think is wrong.
What you believe the correct position is, if you know.
A source, if you have one. Not required, we will do the checking.
You're welcome to report anonymously. If you'd like a reply we'll need an email address, and we'll only use it to write back.
03
What we do, and how fast
We aim to stick to these. If we ever miss one, that's worth telling us about too.
Within 2 working days
We acknowledge your report and tell you which of the four categories above we think it falls into.
Within 5 working days
A factual error is corrected and the note goes up, or we explain why we think the original stands.
Longer, with an update
Where a claim needs us to go back to primary research, we say so and give you a date. We do not go quiet.
Health or safety claims
Treated as urgent. If a passage could lead a parent to act against their child's interests, it comes down the same day while we check it.
04
How corrections appear on the page
If a correction changes what a guide told you, we'll say so on the page, with the date, and it stays there. The original claim is described in the note so you can see exactly what moved.
The note sits at the foot of the guide, above the sources.
It states the date, what was wrong, and what it now says.
The guide's review date is updated at the same time.
We do not remove correction notes once published, even years later.
Example of a correction on a live guide:
This guide previously said that most children develop reliable emotional vocabulary by age four. That overstated the source, which describes a range from roughly three to seven years with wide individual variation. The passage has been rewritten and the source is now cited directly. Thanks to the reader who flagged it.
05
When we might not change something
Being open to correction isn't quite the same as changing anything we're asked to. Sometimes we have to reject a correction when:
The disagreement is about interpretation rather than fact, and our reading is defensible and sourced. We will add the counter-position where it is substantive.
The request is to remove accurate information because it is commercially inconvenient. Advertisers and brands get no editorial veto.
The request is to soften a health or safety limit so a guide reads as more actionable than it should.
We are asked to add a claim we cannot source.
Either way we'll tell you what we've decided and why, and we'll log it.
06
Removing or de-indexing a guide
Sometimes a correction isn't enough. Where a guide is wrong in a way we can't repair, or covers something we shouldn't have taken on, we'd rather take it down than patch it.
Guides that are inaccurate and not fixable are removed or de-indexed, not left up with a caveat.
Where a removed guide had meaningful traffic, the URL explains that it was withdrawn and why, rather than returning a bare 404.
We do not silently delete guides to hide a mistake. Withdrawal is itself recorded below.
07
Our correction record
We publish what we've corrected. A corrections policy with nothing in it doesn't tell you much, either the site is perfect, which it isn't, or nobody's keeping track.
To build: dev + editorial
A dated, public list of substantive corrections and withdrawals, newest first, each linking to the guide. Until PRC has published corrections, this section should say that plainly rather than showing an empty table or invented entries.