I have a child who is not great with change. When our old car shuddered to a halt and died last year, and we replaced it with a shiny new one, she wrote a note that said "I hate the new car" and left it on the kitchen table. When our Sky box was replaced, ...
“I think it’s a good example to set to your kids that mums work too, so on balance I’m pretty guilt-free, but nothing is ever quite perfect especially when you hear the words ‘Mama, STOP LOOKING AT YOUR LAPTOP AND PLAY WITH ME’!” This week’s interview is with Clare Holman – the Dublin mum of three ...
It's been eight weeks of school-runs. Eight weeks of yellow-box waves and headlight nods. Eight weeks of leaf kicking and breath taking. Eight weeks of russet and orange and yellow journeys. An up and down start to a whole new phase; finding feet. It's the most beautiful autumn I've ever witnessed. I don't know if it's because ...
Midterm break crept up on me this year, and I realised this morning that we have no plans at all - other than not getting dressed until as late as humanly possible every morning. The kids are here all week, so day-time working is suspended, but I forgot to come up with actual things to do. So I ...
When my eldest was two, I remember that she really disliked saying sorry. I remember because I found it fascinating that at such a young age, she instinctively recoiled from apologising. It seemed like a very adult reaction from someone too small to really understand the concept of right and wrong, actions and responsibilities. I'm guessing ...
I thought I knew a thing or two about parenting. Not so much the big stuff, like how to get everyone out to school in the morning without repeating "hurry up!" four million times even though apparently you're not supposed to tell kids to hurry up. And not how to get them to eat vegetables ...
Your big sister likes facts and figures and general knowledge. She'll tell you about Tom Crean or the American Civil War or the latest episode of My Little Pony if you like. And your little brother likes whatever comes into his head at any given moment. It might be stealing bagels from the cupboard and stuffing them ...
"Oh!" I said to my husband, as we drove under a blue autumn sky to Glenroe Farm. "I've just realised it won't always be like this" It was a Saturday morning some years ago, and prompted by warmer than expected weather, we had packed a picnic and headed off on an unscheduled trip with our three smallies. Looking out ...
“I do often find it hard when they are going to bed and I can’t be there to read them their story or tuck them in. I work with a lot of parents who feel this guilt and stress of a long working day.” After an extended summer break, the interview series returns with Aoife Lee. ...
Whenever it all falls apart on the parenting front, I look to see the underlying cause and what I could have done differently. Like when the small boy had a meltdown on the way to school and I carried him screaming all the way, I knew it wouldn't have happened if we'd left earlier - ...