Are school holidays too long? A mother of two and school principal debate
Parents are frustrated at juggling work demands and childcare while children are off for up to three months every summer
Parenting
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Bernie and Crohan O’Kennedy could not conceive a baby naturally. Their daughter Pippa, ‘a long-awaited miracle’, arrived in July 2023
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I saved my favourite wax crayon colours for special occasions that never came. Now they bring me back to my own childhood
Back to school costs: Handy tips you can use to ease the financial burden
It’s an expensive time of year, but resourceful use of WhatsApp uniform swap shops and taking stock of usable existing items are among ways of cutting back
Let’s stop glorifying motherhood and glorify parenthood instead
But we’ll need more than just a cultural shift if we’re to stop birth rates falling further
My father has been having affairs with men and has walked away from our family
Ask Roe: My father left my mother telling us that he is gay after almost 40 years of marriage
Making fatherhood work: ‘The feeling you get from caring for your child, I’d swap it for a few zeros’
Changing attitudes to fatherhood are shaping the workplace and men’s careers
‘I don’t love my husband. I care for him and don’t wish him ill health, but I’m struggling’
Tell Me About It: I just feel so deflated, with nothing to look forward to any more
‘I had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mum ... but I’m exhausted’
Ask the Expert: Moving to vulnerable communication about feelings neutralises resentment
Posting photos of your children online just got a lot riskier
Meta is trying to work out how it can use the billions, if not trillions, of photos and posts people have uploaded to Facebook and Instagram going back decades to train its AI
‘Our four-year IVF journey cost €40,000’: What are the options for couples with infertility issues?
There is tax relief for treatment costs and medication in line with State schemes, and travel expenses for treatments unavailable in Ireland
We couldn’t afford Rome due to our ridiculous number of children. Galway it was
I still feel 25, never mind 25 years married, though my right hip begs to differ
Only children: ‘I have great colleagues, some are as close to me as any family members I could wish for’
With one-child families becoming the new normal, what is the effect of growing up without siblings?
I was the first pregnant senior manager in the organisation. My employers were shocked
That was 2004. Now, structured parental supports from employers improve retention, loyalty and the management pipeline
Third of parents expected to go into debt to fund back-to-school costs
Irish League of Credit Unions survey finds 35% will deny their children a back-to-school item
I roar at my daughter so loudly for not wearing a bike helmet, a passerby asks her if she is okay
When she says even with the roaring she stills wants to spend the day with me, I’m moved almost to tears and we hit the greenway
‘My three-year-old daughter won’t let me wash her hair ... I’m not sure what to do’
Ask the Expert: She is really sensitive, is easily upset and has lots of fears
I have a secret urge to throw a good portion of my young children’s ‘art’ in the bin
If your young child catches you trying to secretly sneak some of their Van Goghs into the bin, well God help you
A summer of down time: how can three months with nothing to do be good for teenagers?
We often hear how it’s good for kids to be bored, but surely that depends on how long it’s for
Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power - parenting ideals challenged by real-life experience
From Plato to Dylan, Augustine Sedgewick outlines how fatherhood has constantly been redefined by political, economic and religious changes
Róisín Ingle: What a gift to get married when your children are there to see it
This will be our 25th summer together. None of us know how many more summers we have left
What can your boss do to make your working life easier when you have children?
‘When leaders share how they manage children and work, this brings an environment where family commitments are respected’
The loss of never becoming a grandparent: ‘You always assume it’s going to happen to you’
Parenting Taboos: It’s normal to feel a sense of loss if you know you won’t have grandchildren, but it’s important to respect your adult children’s decisions
Thinking of private school for your children? Better start saving now
When should you start saving? ‘When a child is born’
I’m paying €757 to keep my child busy for 3.6 hours a day. Summer childcare maths doesn’t add up
A patchwork of mostly privately run summer camps, supplemented in many cases by parents taking turns to mind each others’ kids in ad-hoc arrangements, are sure signs of failure at the macro level
Breastfeed ‘too long’ and you’re a creep; choose formula and you must not love your child
The rhetoric flowing through decisions about motherhood online can be poisonous
Parents in legal battle over whether daughter should receive medical care in Ireland or Poland
Mother says daughter will not receive care she needs in Ireland due to waiting lists
The motherhood penalty: ‘Once they’re in bed, you log back on at 9pm or 10pm and work’
Hybrid and flexible work helps but juggling work and children is stressful and requires both support and organisation
Bringing up baby: the tech you need and the stuff you don’t
New parents are confronted with a world of tech-enabled assistance that the marketing tells you no responsible parent can live without
Foster carers wanted: ‘You can be over 55, gay, single, a job seeker, of ethnic minority, and be a carer’
There are lots and highs and lows with fostering, says one family who have taken in four children over 20 years
The summer juggle: How to work while the kids are off
Hurray for no more homework, lunchboxes or hurried school mornings. But boohoo for the panic and stress of school holidays
Irish influencers trolled on Tattle Life: ‘They said I’m a bad mum. That I’m ugly. They wrote my address on it’
Social media influencers in Ireland have been the subject of ‘horrific’ commentary on the gossip website, including about their children.
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