“Look at you in your gorgeous dress!” I said to my friend’s five-year-old daughter, then remembered, too late, that I’m trying to avoid telling little girls that they’re beautiful. This was prompted by a Huff Post article I read a few months ago that suggested asking little girls about a
“How was your day?” What do you reply? I guess it depends who asks. If it’s Facebook, your day might look great. If it’s your other-half, you might be very tired. If it’s a friend, it might depend on the context. If she had a bad day, you might commiserate
Recently scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across this: It had been “liked” by over 1.2 million people at that stage. I was taken aback to see that so many people agreed with the sentiment; agreed that spanking children is a good thing to do. Agreed that teaching
This is a post for any first time or expectant mothers out there; some tips that I wish I’d known when I was having my first baby six years ago. Information is power – that’s an inarguable truth. But where to get the information? How do you know if it’s the right information?
“Mum can I tell you something?” I looked down at the sad little face of my four-year-old and tensed slightly, hoping it would be that she was thirsty or hungry (states often inexplicably accompanied by a sombre tone) “Today the twins in my class – you know Sarah and Robert*?
“He loves his new baby sister” enthused my work colleague about his little boy, “he’s not jealous at all, he’s always hugging and kissing her, he’s so good” Great so, the upcoming birth of my second child was bound to lead to exactly the same kind of loveliness. I wasn’t
Tongue Tie. Have you heard of it? Most people haven’t. I hadn’t, when my third baby was born a week before Christmas in 2011. I felt very blessed to have a healthy baby, and excited that we now had a boy. I felt confident about breastfeeding. So very different to
Motherhood can be lonely. Especially the first time. When you don’t know anything much, and you’re overwhelmed by this small, soft, wriggling being for whom you have suddenly become responsible. When it’s your first child, and you have no toddler or pre-schooler to keep you busy, but keep you company
This is how homework goes in our house: Me: Clara please can you come and start your homework Clara: (silence) Me: Please, come on, we need to get started Clara: In a minute mum Multiply this and various other responses by well, a lot, and fast forward to half an
From sandals to boots overnight – summer is a goner. And we’re all fine with that; as a nation we’ve agreed that we can’t complain, because the summer was just so good this year (by nation I mean three real-life conversations plus the general consensus on Twitter) I’m thinking back
You stepped silently down the stairs, gliding almost, and quietly joined us in the kitchen. The skirt that grazed your ankles a year ago when you first wore a uniform is now swishing around your knees. You slipped wordlessly into your seat, entirely focused on breakfast to the exclusion of
Two weeks ago, the toddler discovered television. And I am so happy. I know it’s not good for him, I know at twenty months he is too young for TV, but my happiness outweighs any anxiety or guilt I might have about this. For the first time in six years,
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
You know it’s back-to-school time when RTE starts to reel us in for The Rose of Tralee. It reminds me of shiny new pencil cases and covering school books and writing my name on everything. Everything. I loved the Rose of Tralee as a child. As an adult, I laughed at it
I worry a lot that I’m not very good at being a parent. I work outside the home because financially I have to, as many mothers do. I also enjoy my job, and wonder sometimes if it’s easy to hide behind the financial obligation – how would I really feel
Today is our childminder’s last day, and the kids are upset. They are reacting in different ways. I asked Emmie, who is four, how she feels about it. “Sad” was her answer. I gave her another big hug and said that I’m sad too. I think she will be OK.
Tips for finding a childminder she said. Post your questions here she said. And the Gods of Taking Down Smug People thought “ha!” And even though I wasn’t being horribly smug, take me down they did. Within one week of writing a blog post with tips for finding a childminder,
Just before teatime: “Mum can I use the big scissors to cut some paper? please say yes, mum please, just say yes” from my five year-old. My instinctive response was “No, I’m getting the tea ready now, I can’t let you use the scissors on your own” But I stopped
As a follow on to my post for the Irish Parenting Bloggers World Breastfeeding Week blog march 2013 (that’s some title!), I’ve pulled together a set of links for the many groups and websites you can access for advice on and support with breastfeeding: Breastfeeding.ie is a one-stop shop which