This is the first in a series of interviews with mothers; chatting about home and work and family, and that elusive balance that we all seek. Topics range from childcare to career changes, working from home to stay-at-home mothers, setting up businesses, fitting in homework, the ever-present guilt, and mostly, not doing a lot of ironing. The ...
Maternity benefit has been cut in this week’s budget to €230 per week, down from €262*. This is getting some attention in the media, but understandably, it is overshadowed by more hard-hitting changes. There have been some comments from ISME, One Family, and from the Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland Orla O’Connor ...
Is there really a glass ceiling for women in the workplace? Or is it for the most part, something experienced by mothers in the workplace? I realise that this is a controversial question but I’m genuinely interested to know if there are people reading who have been held back in the workplace simply because of being female. In my own experience ...
So have you entered your daughter in the Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant this weekend? Me neither. Kind of a no-brainer. Kind of not worth writing a blog post really, as there's nothing to debate, the argument makes itself.And I've just read that the Bracken Court in Balbriggan, revealed this week to be hosting the pageant, has ...
If you're reading this, there's a good chance you picked it up from Twitter or Facebook - it's not news that we're getting most of our, well, news, entertainment, information and of course blog posts, from social media. And this includes parenting information - who do parents talk to when they have questions? Maybe mothers or ...
The ferry never changes. The familiar smell of exhausts as engines are switched off and families squeeze between rows of roof-box-topped cars to reach the entry doors. The staff with genuine smiles waiting to greet us and help tiny children clamber up the steep steps. The sense of relief when we emerge on the fifth floor and spill ...
The bags are packed, the kids are packed and takeaway coffees are in hand – we’re on the road to Rosslare to take the ferry to Roscoff. I’m beyond excited to be going on holidays and not remotely worried (read: reasonably worried) about the potential pitfalls that might detract from our enjoyment, including: A five year ...
School's out for summer, and for parents all over the country it's a significant milestone in any year. For our family, until now, this time of year meant just two things: lighter traffic in the morning and holidays jumping to twice the price. But for the first time, we experienced end-of-term properly as my junior infant finished her ...
A short post about a five-year-old girl who wants to be her own boss from now on - in a week of transcripts, here's one of our conversation last night: C: Mum, I've had enough of you telling me what to do. From now on I'm going to decide everything myself. Me: What would you do differently ...
Mommy-wars. Or since we're in Ireland, let's say Mammy-wars. I can't stand the term, but it's the widely-used name for the phenomenon of mothers judging mothers on every element of parenting, originally coined to refer to mothers working outside the home versus stay-at-home mothers. Newspapers love the SAHM/ mothers working outside the home debate, as do radio shows, ...