Two things happened yesterday within ten minutes that stopped me in my tracks - not in a world news, earth shattering way, just little things that made me stop and think. We were out on the green (that is where I live now) and my eight-year-old was running up and down the road. She wants to get fit, ...
Isn't spring just brilliant. Whether you believe it starts on February 1st, March 1s or mid-March (I need guidance on this - my kids are asking every day on which date does summer start) it's all good. Longer evenings, brighter, (theoretically) warmer weather, and a casting of clouts all about - or at least the duvet coat. My two ...
At midnight last night, I reached for the book on my bedside locker, then put it back. Before getting lost in the world of Upper-eastside Manhattan, I needed to have a think. To look back on the day, and trace where things went wrong. It wasn't a terrible day, just a mediocre-not-great day. I spent ...
There’s a boy in my house. I met him for the first time last Friday, just for a few hours. He’s back again today, out of the blue. He’s agreeable and charming – he reminds me very much of someone I used to know; someone I forgot existed. Because for months now, we’ve been on ...
There are some platitudes that annoyed me as a new mother more than others, though I think it often depended on who the platitude-giver was and how little sleep I'd had the night before. My personal blood-pressure-raising one was "sleep when baby sleeps". I wanted to cry every time I heard it, and ask how that would help when ...
This article first appeared in maternity & infant, October/ November issue, and after watching Sugar Crash on RTÉ earlier this week, I thought I'd post it here. Why is dental decay in kids on the increase in Ireland, and why is nobody telling parents that waiting for primary school screening is not advisable? Paediatric Dentist Dr. Rose-Marie ...
Since switching to work-from-home life earlier this year, I'm re-learning being with my kids, and one thing I've noticed is that they lack self-sufficiency. It's entirely my fault - only being off at weekends meant that my priority was spending quality time with them. Whether or not they knew how to make breakfast or get their ...
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 ...
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 - ...
It's after-school activity sign-up time, and I'm looking for some quite specific courses: 1. How to get through the day without changing your clothes fourteen times A course which isn't necessary for anyone who has a diploma in "putting clothes back in the wardrobe" but is mandatory for everyone else. 2. Ready Brek pouring for beginners Because sweeping and wiping up ...