AoifeOCarroll's Blog

By the time child number three arrived and helped to redress the gender balance in our house, I felt sure I had mastered the whole parenting lark. I had already endured the terrible twos, threes, and fours with a brace of boys, so raising a girl was going to be fairy cakes and princess costumes all the way. After all, I had been a girl myself in the distant past, so how hard could it be? And, to...

I don’t usually give much thought to the pictures of jubilant teenagers on the front of newspapers every August and September, except to wonder why anybody would do nine exams for their Leaving Cert or 12 Junior Cert subjects... And I will also make a mental note to give Town a wide berth that evening to avoid the reek of fake tan and the sight of several hundred bare legs squeezed into denim...

The Olympics may well be over, but after following it this year, what’s impossible to escape about the Games (when you get past the doping and corruption) is the absolute dedication and discipline of each athlete who makes it this far. It is tempting to dismiss the ones that come last in their heats, fall over, or struggle to finish – until you remember that these people make your average...

Being a mother has never been easy; parents have always had to worry about things like keeping their children fed, healthy, and educated. What I didn’t think they had to concern themselves with (until now) were the implications of showing affection to their sons and daughters. In fact, thinking back on my own childhood, showing affection was not something parents gave much attention to at all...

The sky is a colour usually seen only in holiday brochures, topless lads are turning pink, and sales of 99s are flying. Yes, it is exam season. The weather has obliged us by putting on a magnificent display, just as those who should be enjoying it most are stuck inside panicking over past exam questions. Well, I suppose some of them are. We have the Junior Cert this year. I almost said “only...

I have always worked while rearing my children. For most of those 18 years, I’ve worked from home, but soon I’ll be in an office 20 miles away, and flexitime is not an option. This is of little consequence to the older two, whose awareness of my presence correlates to the supply of clean socks and pizzas in the house. The youngest is an entirely different story, however. This is a girl who...

I have been a mother for almost 19 years, and during that time there is one question I have been asked at least once by all three of my children. It has nothing to do with the origin of babies, the identity of Santa Claus, or why that lady sitting right in front of us on the train has hair growing out of her nose. The one thing that seems to bother all of them is whether he or she is my favourite...

We all know at least one. You know, the child whose arrival in your house or back garden makes the colour drain from your face. Bad things happen when this child appears. Tears are inevitable, breakages are possible, and a litany of unreasonable requests is just the start of it. Usually, you can wave goodbye to this child before the day is out and retreat to your favourite form of stress relief...

I’ve heard the word "fleek" twice this week. Once was in the movie Zoolander 2 (very silly, very funny), and the other time was when my 11-year-old daughter used it while talking to her brother. And he understood. I would love to say that I am completely up-to-date with modern slang and can converse with preteens and teenagers without fear of embarrassment or plain confusion, but I had no clue...

Your morning routine requires the speed and coordination of a troupe of gymnasts to negotiate successfully. Everyone needs to know their position and perform their role perfectly and on time. If even one step is mistimed or omitted, the entire production falls flat on its face. The words “Mom, I don’t feel well” have no place in this routine. Stage 1: Denial Your first reaction is to pretend...