Commuting is back: ‘When you’re leaving at 7am and coming home at 7pm, you’re missing your kids growing up’Many workers are once again facing unavoidable long commutes to the office as remote working fades, with the unaffordable cost of living and housing prices keeping them priced out of DublinSat Dec 09 2023 - 06:00
Christmas gifts for toddlers to teensComing up with ideas for suitable gifts for the kids in your life can be a pressure. But fear not, we are here with some great suggestionsThu Dec 07 2023 - 05:00
20 Christmas days out for all the family, from ice-skating to Santa trainsLight shows, Santa’s grotto, moving cribs, panto and much more: there are stocking-loads of fun days around the country in the run-up to the big dayTue Dec 05 2023 - 05:00
Sure, Christmas is for kids, but won’t someone think of the parents?Jen Hogan: And yet the complicated and complex operation of household appliances and in particular the lowly washing machine, remains a mystery to themMon Dec 04 2023 - 06:01
No party invites: ‘My daughter is doing well, happy and has great friends - sorry yours hasn’t’Dr Noctor cautions that just because a child doesn’t appear to be struggling as a result of exclusion, it doesn’t mean that child doesn’t need supportMon Nov 27 2023 - 05:01
Attitudes to English people living in Ireland: ‘I’d never, ever watch sport in public’Daily commentary on their accent and sometimes unpleasant ‘banter’ is a part of life for some English expatriates living hereSun Nov 26 2023 - 06:00
‘Too often it’s the same children who don’t get asked to any parties, or on playdates’Jen Hogan: Children might be oblivious to the hurt it can cause, but can adults really claim the same?Mon Nov 20 2023 - 05:31
How to talk to your children about the death of a loved oneIf the death of a loved one is inevitable, it is important to avoid trying to ‘shield’ them from itTue Nov 07 2023 - 06:01
Schools that deny access to toilets during class-time do not prioritise their studentsJen Hogan: Children are treated as second-class citizens all too often in this countryMon Nov 06 2023 - 06:01
What you need to know about moving to BritainWhat exactly what do you need to know before moving across the Irish Sea?Mon Nov 06 2023 - 06:01
Last day of school before Halloween midterm is not like any other dayJen Hogan: Halloween dress-up day will see your crafting and creative skills are about to go on public displayMon Oct 23 2023 - 05:01
How to talk to your children about separation: Striking a balance between reality and reassuranceIt’s okay for the parent start the conversation and if a child doesn’t want to talk, don’t make themTue Oct 17 2023 - 05:31
When the children move out: ‘They don’t write about this in the parenting books’Jen Hogan: Parenting goes very fast. And then one day, your daughter makes the next wonderful step and leaves homeMon Oct 09 2023 - 05:31
How to talk to your children about porn: It’s not one conversationPart 3: With the virtual world at everybody’s fingertips, accessing or stumbling across pornography has never been so easy for youngstersTue Oct 03 2023 - 06:01
How to talk to your children about sex: Start at an early age and build from therePart 2: Following on from our piece on puberty, most of us want open conversation about sex with our children. Achieving that can be complexTue Sept 26 2023 - 06:01
‘Get off my son you little s**t’: Some adults appear to forget they’re attending children’s matchesJen Hogan: I wouldn’t feel comfortable allowing my children to partake in a match without one of their parents presentMon Sept 25 2023 - 06:01
How to talk to your children about . . . pubertyThe puberty talk: ‘We need to deal with our own embarrassment if we want to have an open conversation with them’Tue Sept 19 2023 - 06:01
Does homework have any benefits for primary school children? Jen Hogan and Dr Leah O’Toole discussHomework is an emotive and divisive issue among parents and children. The evidence doesn’t support traditional approachesTue Sept 19 2023 - 06:00
School uniforms: We are back to the days of making children dress like adults of old. Why?Jen Hogan: Schools have returned to pre-Covid days by putting children in itchy, scratchy uniforms while the rest of the world continues in more comfortable waysMon Sept 11 2023 - 06:01
With the kids back in school, here we are with the return of the dreaded homeworkJen Hogan: The sun may be splitting the stones, but maths and Gaeilge wait for no boy or girlSun Sept 10 2023 - 06:01
‘Children have learned to read the calendar so they know when their next book comes’World Literacy Day: It can be very difficult to find the time and space to give attention and quiet time to your childFri Sept 08 2023 - 11:29
Doug Beattie: ‘I suddenly found it really difficult to talk to my 13-year-old daughter or my 13-year-old son’Parenting in My Shoes: The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party says he felt as his children got older that he was replicating what he saw as his own father’s failings, and he ‘really had to work’ at changing thatTue Sept 05 2023 - 06:01
‘The world is divided into two types of people - those who are organised and those who are not’Jen Hogan: Some who are a tad delusional about their place in world believe themselves more organised than they areMon Aug 28 2023 - 05:31
How are schools coping with the minefield of smartphones?There’s plenty of scope for conflict between students, parents and teachers over how to deal with the issue of smartphones. How can everybody involved reach common ground on this vexed subject?Wed Aug 23 2023 - 05:31
Adults and smartphones: ‘I lose about six to eight hours a day on my phone’More than half of adults wish they spent less time on their smartphones, a study published last year has foundTue Aug 22 2023 - 11:01
Why are crested uniforms still the norm at so many primary and secondary schools?Jen Hogan: Schools should do more to keep back-to-school costs to a minimumMon Aug 14 2023 - 06:01
‘When you master a skill, then you believe that you can master other things as well’Equine therapy has provided physical benefits for a young horse-rider along with boosts to her confidence and self-esteemTue Aug 08 2023 - 05:31
Bullying at work: ‘There can be so much shame associated with being bullied’As an adult is responsible for themselves, this may make it very difficult for them to get out of the clutches of a bullysWed Aug 02 2023 - 05:31
Bullying in the workplace: ‘My boss had it in for me from the start’Being an adult is no guarantee that bullying won’t be part of your lifeTue Aug 01 2023 - 06:01
‘I’m a proud Dub but I dread when my teens go into town’ Jen Hogan: I secretly hope my kids won’t have the same grá for the city centre that I once didMon Jul 31 2023 - 06:01
Claire Byrne: ‘I had lived an adult life up to the age of 38 not having had children, so I know what that freedom is like’Parenting in My Shoes: Broadcaster was child-free until age 38, but now adores having youngstersTue Jul 25 2023 - 05:31
The van I drive commands a certain degree of respect on the road and unwanted ‘help’ from some menJen Hogan: ‘Have you encountered helpful men on account of the van being huge too?’ I asked my husband. Strangely, he hadn’tMon Jul 17 2023 - 06:01
Bullying: ‘I was isolated ... I was sitting by myself every day. I would walk into a room and conversations would stop’For teenagers experiencing bullying, it can be a particularly lonely and devastating time, not helped by social mediaTue Jul 11 2023 - 06:01
Bullying: Putting the work into having students ‘who are upstanders, not bystanders’Parental response crucial as ‘it’s about trying to work out a strategy that works for both the parent and the child’Tue Jul 11 2023 - 05:31
Bullying: School days can be the best days of your life – but what about when they’re not?In a new series, we’ll be looking at how bullying affects people, the lasting impacts and asking how we can best support those affectedTue Jul 04 2023 - 05:31
Five tips for parents to help survive the summer breakJen Hogan: The break from routine is fabulous and the unpredictability is chaotic but school holidays can also be a time of stress when trying to be all things to all peopleMon Jul 03 2023 - 06:01
Tips for a stress-free family holiday: Write packing lists and don’t be afraid to do things separatelyFrom savvy packing to factoring in some alone time, here’s how to ensure your family holiday goes as smoothly as possibleThu Jun 29 2023 - 06:00
How often do we give our children mixed messages?Jen Hogan: I hadn’t prepared my kids for what to do if a stranger asks a perfectly reasonable questionMon Jun 19 2023 - 05:31
Jen Hogan: Why this time of year specifically makes me feel unsettledNot even a DeLorean with a working flux capacitor can take you back to those times you wish weren’t overMon Jun 05 2023 - 05:01
‘Who works 10am-1pm?’ Parents share their frustrations with finding the right summer campsMany activities run for just a few hours per day, meaning not only that the cost per hour is higher, but parents still have to navigate around working hoursTue May 23 2023 - 05:31
Jen Hogan: I’m doing the Leaving Cert for the third timeThis is not my first rodeo at the main State examinations. You’d think after all this time it’d get easier thoughMon May 22 2023 - 06:01
Andrea Mara: ‘Dark stories were always rattling around in my head’The crime writer how her latest thriller was inspired by a real-life event from her own childhoodSun May 21 2023 - 05:00
Pat Shortt: ‘My daughter didn’t recognise me at the airport. I got very upset’Parenting in My Shoes: The actor believes losing his mother at the age of seven has partly shaped his approach to parenthoodTue May 09 2023 - 06:01
‘Period poverty’ is a misleading term that gets bandied about. I think it has become very, very trendyIf a woman can’t buy period products, it’s just one aspect of her poverty as she will be struggling to buy all basic necessities, from food to fuelTue May 09 2023 - 06:01
Flights were booked quicker than you could say, ‘but what about the one doing his Leaving Cert’?Jen Hogan: Children grow up so fast, I’m glad we’ve made memories that will lastMon May 08 2023 - 05:31
That challenging time for parents, when you have to be everything to everyone, is on the horizonJen Hogan: Summer holidays throw up the perennial dilemma of trying to work and take care of the children at the same timeMon Apr 24 2023 - 05:31
Bean an tí shortage means Gaeltacht experience may not be available for many Irish studentsNumber of host families in the Gaeltacht region has declined by 30% since 2018Tue Apr 18 2023 - 05:01
Jen Hogan: I have a love/hate relationship with WhatsApp groupsIn ways we never quite credit, amid the relentless beeping, perhaps there is a virtual village in the makingTue Apr 11 2023 - 06:01
‘The stuff they wear leaves nothing to the imagination’: At what age should teenagers be allowed go to parties and discos?These are the times those rules you made get called into question, often sooner than you were prepared forFri Apr 07 2023 - 06:01
‘My 14-year-old daughter was stared at by adult male’: When should teenagers use public transport alone?Parents worry about the safety of their teens on the bus, Dart and Luas - and the concerns are greater for those with teenage girlsThu Apr 06 2023 - 06:01
