Blog List

My 13-year-old daughter takes after her father in some truly wonderful ways. It’s fair to say, they’re both generous to a fault, incredibly funny and hugely entertaining. But they’re also both masters in the ‘I’ll do this badly so I won’t be asked to do it again’ game. While I’m used to my husband’s antics in this regard, my daughter‘s foray into the dark side has left me a...

I was having lunch last Sunday in a hotel in Killarney, so it was no surprise to see girls in T-shirts and leggings munching toasties with their parents. If I told you that this hotel happens to be within skipping distance of the hotel where the All-Ireland Dancing Championships were being held, you probably would not be surprised to hear that several of those girls also happened to be wearing...

So spring is here. The daffodils are swaying happily in every garden and the weather is just good enough to let the kids venture outside so you get a moment’s peace, a cup of tea and a chance to sit quietly. That’s when you get a proper look at the kids’ destruction. Oh my god, has it always been this bad? Toys were strewn from room to room. Tractors, dollies and bits of Lego had all managed...

Religion in schools is a big topic in the news at the moment, as The Humanist Society runs ads condemning schools that discriminate against children who lack a baptismal certificate. As a non-religious person, the thought that my children could be turned away from the local school because they aren’t the correct religion is scary. Schools seem just as religious as when I attended many years ago...

Having conducted a (not very) scientific study amongst my friends, it turns out that ALL of our husbands are insane. Actually insane. This is a worrying development. All of the men in question are in full-time employment; lawyers, doctors, administrators, even teachers who have regular contact with children. The study came about after we noticed some common behavioural attributes in the men, and...

I’ve always considered myself very lucky to be a stay-at-home mum. While it is financially challenging at times, for us it made the best sense. What I’ve found funny since becoming a stay-at-home mum is people’s perceptions. There are those that think we SAH mums keep coffee shops in business and others who think that it is such an easy job. For me and many others I know, this couldn’t be...

If anybody had told me this time last year that I would be running 5k three times a week, I would have laughed at them. I was the girl who forged notes from my mother every week to get out of doing sport at school. Over the years, I tried fitness classes and hated them all. I was far too uncoordinated (and unfit) for aerobics and spent most of the class praying for the torture to end. I joined a...

When it comes to pregnancy, we have medical professionals saying one thing, friends saying another and family members dividing you right down the centre in terms of what you can and can’t do. And while it is important we listen to what our doctors and GPs advise, a bit of mothering common sense certainly goes a long way. Last weekend, while out for lunch with the girls, one of my friends happily...

The important thing to remember when you divulge information to your teenage daughter in a bid to help and advise her is that it doesn’t always remain between yourselves. Chances are when your beloved daughter is feeling a lot better, she may use your embarrassing disclosures against you. Because teenagers are mean. And that’s just what they do. More than a few mortifying facts I revealed...

A mother from Alabama hit the headlines this week after she named and shamed her daughters on Facebook for deplorable public conduct and I’ve to be honest here, her story didn’t have the desired effect on me. Imploring the woman offended by her daughter’s actions to come forward so that she could attempt to remedy the situation, Kyesha Smith Wood certainly showed us how to parent, and how to...