Blog List

Angie* is 21-years-old and has two children, aged one and two. Herself, her partner and her kids are one of the many hidden homeless families in Dublin. She is currently living at her mother's house with their daughter, while her partner lives at his mother's house with their son. There is no private rented accommodation currently available within the rent allowance bracket, and the odd...

A close female relative of mine who shall remain nameless (upon pain of death apparently) recently reached a very exciting milestone in her life and it's fair to say she's slightly overwhelmed. Having wished valiantly to join her friends in an exclusive club they named Period Pals, this particular relative has now gained entry, and doesn't quite know what to make of it. Instead of the...

As a mum of four, there are many, many things I don't have much time for: cleaning skirting boards, matching socks and making soup from scratch to name but three. However, if there's one thing that really grinds my gears, it's when my children tell tales on each other. Yes, if one of you requires medical attention, then by all means point a finger at the perp and allow him to take his...

As any mum knows, children have an innate ability to push your buttons and test their limits, and while the vast majority of us have learned various ways to deal with this, there are times when we simply don't have the energy to tackle the issue. Recently, I was confronted with a shrieking six-year-old girl who had thrown herelf so deeply into her tantrum, it looked like she may never find a...

To my little chicklets…. As a parent, I make lots of promises to you. I also make lots of promises to myself. My New Year's resolutions when I was 18 were, of course, very different to those I make now as a *cough* year old. (Shush!) Anyway, now that I’m your mum, I’m more keenly aware of managing you two little people, who are so impressionable and innocent, and that it is up to me to...

Myself and my husband once made a pact to never go to sleep angry. No matter how blazing the row or how frayed the nerves, we both believed it was important to hash out the issue before turning in for the night. Dragging rebukes and recriminations into the next day was a receipe for disaster, we told each other, as the ill will slowly festers and both parties find further issue with one another...

I recently found a list my daughter had compiled which, and I'm going to be honest here, didn't exactly portray me in a favourable light, to say the very least. Discarded among stray lego pieces and Barbie shoes, the crumbled A4 page outlined my shortcomings in a document which wouldn't have looked out of place in the Mean Girls ' Burn Book. Settling down on her beanbag which was...

My teenage daughter asked me to describe childbirth over the Christmas holidays and despite having given birth four times in the last 15 years, I seriously struggled with my response. The conversation came about after watching an episode of Gogglebox where one of the cast members described labour as the hardest, but most rewarding day's work you'll ever do. Intrigued by the remark, Rebecca...

I was discharged from a mental hospital, not because I felt ready to be, but because they needed the room. I had no permanent address, so they sent me to a 'hotel'. I arrived there only to realise it was a hostel for homeless people. I went into the room I was to share with another man. There was tinfoil and burnt spoons everywhere. I wandered the night, unsure of what to do or where to go. I was...

Hi guys! Im a bit new to this so bear with me! I just wanted to let everyone know I will be addressing the problem surrounding the government basically washing their hands of people when they shouldn't be. I will be using stories from family and friends, the kind of stories you don't normally hear (I know a lot of people who have been let down by the government). I will also be using stories from...