Parents

What do children know or understand of life and political issues?

Quite a lot, if only they had the chance to be heard – and reducing the voting age to 16 would give them that voice

Parents’ group criticises closure of hundreds of schools to facilitate general election

Schools to shut for third time this year following last March’s referendum and local elections in June

‘The hardest thing about being a parent is being unavailable to my kids because I have to work so hard to feed and clothe them’

Our recent article on the topic of regretting parenthood sparked numerous responses. Below, we share a selection of the views we received

Our Government aspires to boost education through Irish - yet student numbers have fallen for the first time in 50 years

Parents should have a right to choose Irish-medium education for their children - otherwise, the status quo will never change sufficiently to meet demand

‘There are times I regret having kids. They’re adults, and it’s now that I’m regretting it, which seems strange’

Parenting Taboos: Regretting parenthood, or wishing you hadn’t had some of your children, is a deeply guarded secret for some parents

Some ideas for parents that may make the week a little less ghastly for all

Jen Hogan: Halloween and midterm are coming but don’t be afraid, because there’s plenty that you and the kids might enjoy, from a haunted trail in north Dublin to a ninja course in Galway and a book with ghost stories from every county

‘How should I talk to my teens about masturbation?’

Surely it’s vital to tell them to discover what pleases them and to get to know their bodies, or is this still taboo?

‘I went to a CrossFit session on her due date’: Julie-Ann Russell on pregnancy as an elite athlete

Parenting in My Shoes: Working and training, the Republic of Ireland and Galway United player suffers from the dreaded parental guilt

‘Our 16-year-old daughter has stopped going to school regularly – should we take her phone away?’

Ask the Expert: Her school says she is always on her phone and not getting enough sleep, but she disagrees

Having a favourite child: ‘Unfortunately, it impacts on them, but they do it all to themselves’

Parenting taboos: If parents are aware they have a favourite child, there are things they can do to address the situation

Baby loss: If they had said to me, ‘you can keep him in there forever’, I would have done it

For Gill Lee, October will always be the month she lost her son Danny, in her sixth month of pregnancy

I see students in class watching sport on YouTube or shopping on Amazon. The pull of internet distraction is exhausting

Banning phones in schools is just the start – we need to do more to educate pupils on fighting the urge of distraction when they feel uncomfortable or bored

The ‘gender disappointment’ taboo: ‘That’s it, I’m never going to have a little girl’

Parenting taboos: Experiencing gender disappointment is understandable, and parents shouldn’t feel guilty for having those feelings, says expert

‘My nine-year-old is starting to be self-conscious about her body, which worries me’

Ask the Expert: The best way to check if your daughter’s development is healthy is to measure her height and weight so you can assess her BMI

I worry my daughter will drift during a ‘doss’ transition year. Should she skip it?

This can be particularly beneficial for students who thrive in interactive and collaborative learning environments.

Free schoolbooks extended to Leaving Cert and free meals for all primary pupils from next year

Budget 2025: Last year’s ‘one-off’ €1,000 cut to third level fees extended into the new academic year

‘In school people are scared to be a bit strange’: Gifted students on life in mainstream schools

Exceptionally able students can often feel like outsiders - but many feel at home at the Centre for Talented Youth Ireland

Budget 2025: Tax cut, mortgage interest relief and other measures in Coalition’s final roll of the dice

USC, inheritance tax, childcare, child benefit, social welfare, college fees, VAT rate: How the budget will affect parents, students, renters, mortgage holders, farmers, pensioners and carers

‘I am keen on making my kids deal with uncomfortable situations, but my daughter is struggling’

Ask the Expert: 'Is there something we should do to boost her confidence?'

One of best-kept secrets for access to college is a new route that does not require CAO points

One of best-kept secrets for access to third level is a new route that does not require Leaving Cert points

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