Blog List

A new study has found that children are more likely to be obese if their parents are stressed. The study, published in the Pediatric Obesity journal, found that children whose parents have high levels of stress are more likely to have a BMI higher than those whose parents have low levels of stress and gain weight 7% faster. It is not clear why there is a link between a parent’s stress levels and...

A report by Girlguiding found that half of seven to 11 year olds wear make-up and a growing number of girls are unhappy with the way they look. The research involved nearly 1,300 respondents aged between seven and 21 and was conducted online under controlled conditions and also included face-to-face interviews. Of those surveyed, 51% of girls aged between 14 and 16 were unhappy with their...

Many mums may already be aware of this, but a new study suggests that children are a greater distraction to drivers than using a mobile phone. The research, conducted by the Monash University Accident Research Centre in Melbourne, analysed car journeys taken by 12 families with kids aged between 1 and 8 years old over a three week period. Each trip was filmed by a camera and in 90 of the 92 car...

Mums and dads in the UK will be able to split 50 weeks of parental leave under new Government plans which come into effect in April 2015. British fathers, who were only entitled to two weeks off, will now officially be able to take parental leave. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it was time to change the “Edwardian” rules that only mums could take time off while dads had to go back after...

Sausages, burgers and chicken nuggets are the most popular items on a kids’ menu, despite Ireland’s ever growing obesity problem. According to research conducted by Safefood, 40% of restaurants offer chips with every kid's meal while just 42% offer any kind of vegetables. The watchdog group, who launched the study at the All-Island Obesity Action Forum, is urging parents to demand that...

A new survey has found that domestic chores and hectic work schedules aren't leaving mums and dads with much time for family fun. Research conducted by IKEA found that the average family spends just over half an hour of quality time a day due to their busy schedules. In a year, a typical family will spend just 15 days together, with Christmas and the occasional Sunday the most popular days for...

Plans to change adoption laws in the country will allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The new Children and Family Relationship’s Bill will allow all couples who are unmarried or in a civil partnership to do the same. While there are concerns that this will cause controversy among religious groups, the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald said these laws have the full support of Fine...

As Mum-in-Residence for MummyPages, I was really excited when IKEA asked me to check out their new “Bring the Family Together” range of ideas. With family life sometimes feeling like it’s running on a timetable of eating, sleeping, drop-offs and pick-ups, that we have no time to just simply ‘be’. Be a family, have fun, get creative, make a mess...and not worry about the clean-up, or...

Many of us grew up believing that good behaviour and success in school or sports were sure-fire ways to win our parents’ favour. Apparently we were wrong. US researchers have found that mothers actually choose their favourites based on similarities between them and the child. Instead of choosing the offspring with financial, career or academic success, the majority of mothers questioned chose...

A couple of weeks ago I was taking my almost-two-year-old son around the shops when I ran over something with the buggy. This trip around the shops is a Saturday ritual at Madden Mansions, but whereas most weeks Mrs. M comes with us, every so often I take AJ (as I'll be calling the almost-two-year-old in this space) on my own to give her a break. This was one of those Saturdays. The ritual is...