Should parents be checking their teenagers’ phones?
Our children will do their best to find ways around our rules, whether we like it or not
Parenting
Stories related to parenting
Life without children: ‘I’d want the investment my mother had, but I don’t have it in me. I don’t have the grá for it’
Women who choose not to have children still find themselves existing in a society that undermines them - but the tide is turning
‘She chose drugs over me’: Mother pleads guilty to ill-treatment of children
Woman’s daughter says she began to self-harm at the age of eight and later attempted suicide
‘My partner can be a fun, kind, loving father, or a raging bully who hurts my son’
Ask the Expert: No child should be physically harmed by their parent
Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix is a cautionary tale: Nature is not always good
The influence of nature-worship is especially potent in corners of media directed at mothers
Phones off: 20 simple ways to cut your family’s screentime
What’s the best way to help parents and kids navigate phones in the always-on age of the internet?
Four signs your cortisol levels are out of control – and what to do about it
The naturally occurring ‘stress hormone’ helps to regulate our stress responses and our sleep-wake cycle
If you’ve never been to this magical children’s music event, there’s still time
No matter how many times you go to the Peace Proms, it never fails to take your breath away. Rhythm is a Dancer indeed
Competitive parenting in China: ‘School starts at 7.30am and I pick him up at 9.30 in the evening. We usually arrive home around 10pm. Then he studies again’
Fierce competition for places at top secondary schools drives some parents to push their youngsters to succeed, believing they owe it to their children to give them the best start in life
Should adult children living at home pay rent? Our readers respond
The average age for moving out of the family home is 28. What kind of financial contribution, if any, should people make in the meantime?
Regretting working outside the home: ‘We’re told to parent like we don’t work. And work like we don’t parent’
Parenting Taboos: The creche was the same as our mortgage. When I look at it now I think, ‘Jesus, how did we buy into it?’
Should I charge my homebird adult children rent?
Extra mouths to accommodate and feed cost money, but parents adopt very different approaches ... and then there are tax issues too
How do I deal with a highly capable 17-year-old girl who does not want to go to school?
Ask the Expert: She seems to be suffering from very high anxiety levels and is stressed about many aspects of school
WhatsApp groups are like Hotel California ... You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave
‘I don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with these WhatsApp groups when menopause hits!'
Becoming a mother at 49: ‘If I didn’t try… I would have lived with regret until the end of my days’
The Women’s Podcast with Róisín Ingle
U2′s Larry Mullen: ‘I knew my son was dyslexic, but I really didn’t understand him’
Drummer discusses raising son with dyslexia during appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show
Storm Éowyn red warning: A survival guide for parents working from home during the bad weather
Our six top tips to help you navigate your children at home for the day while you are remote working
I’ve seen all sorts of kids’ coaches – the good, the bad and the downright he’s-lost-the-plot
Jen Hogan: I convinced myself, for no good reason, that the request for help in a WhatsApp group was really only meant for the dads
My daughter’s new phone number will stay with her for life. It’s like we’ve given her an invisible, digital tattoo
When I sent on the number to Herself she got a bit weepy, in an our-little-girl-is-growing-up way
Have your say: Have childcare costs impacted your employment?
Dublin Chamber of Commerce has warned that the high cost of childcare has damaged the ability of companies to recruit staff and is driving employees, especially women, out of the workforce
‘My 17-year-old says the panic just takes him over and sometimes he can’t go into school’
We want to support him as best as we can, but we also want him to stay in school
Have your say: Are hot school meals too ultra-processed or a nutritious boost for children?
Ruth Hegarty says much of the food being delivered through the scheme is loaded with ultra-processed foods (UPFs)
Young parents: ‘A lot of them would suffer social anxiety and isolation’
The Teen Parents Support Programme helps young people through pregnancy and with the practicalities of caring for their babies, often while continuing in education or finding suitable accommodation
Homeless fathers ‘not seen as fathers’ by services, pushing them farther from children - report
Many men categorised as ‘single adults without dependents’ are fathers may or may not share custody of children
‘Here I am, a grown adult, who struggles to keep my tears at bay’
Jen Hogan: No way to keep the tears in check but maybe I’ll outgrow it, yet
Rosanna Davison: I annoy myself with how organised I am. I wish I could be less efficient
The model, author and former Miss World on being a ‘guinea pig’ first-born and the challenges of getting her own young children out the door
Regretting being a stay-at-home parent: ‘You’re sitting at home doing housework and you’re bored out of your tree’
Parenting Taboos: Admitting that you feel bored, unfulfilled, or even regret your choice to stay at home with your children is difficult but not uncommon
‘My ex-wife is tracking my daughter’s mobile phone location when she is with me’
Ask the Expert: It feels like I am under surveillance about my parenting. What should I do? What are my rights about this?
Dublin school to review ethos statement over message telling parents students must attend all religious ceremonies
Lobby group Education Equality says school's instruction breached children’s constitutional rights
Iceland in a camper van, with a toddler: the first problem was getting the rental company to part with a vehicle
Travelling via camper van in the winter months in Iceland is a challenging but rewarding experience
‘I woke up one morning to 2,000 comments. I’ve had death threats’: How schools deal with social media fallout
Online hatred and toxicity can be hugely damaging, but are digital literacy classes really enough to tackle it?
‘Trust me, I’m a family Christmas expert and these are the rules to live by’
Create time for yourself to enjoy the magic of the season, and take as much of Christmas Eve off as possible
‘It’s given me the motivation to say, I’m not just a mam stuck at home with a disability who can’t do stuff’: Social enterprise Town Scientist
Sessions developed by engineer, scientist, writer and performer Dr Niamh Shaw inspire parents to start new conversations around the kitchen table
Look out ladies. Elon Musk has plans for your womb
The pronatalist movement has roots in creepy tradwife visions, but does that matter if it leads to financial supports for families?
‘There could be two cars, but the fridge is empty’: Hidden poverty in middle-class Ireland
A day spent in the Vincent de Paul southeast region office reveals the large number of requests from vulnerable seeking help with everything from food and utility bills to rent arrears and broken toilets
Is there such a thing as too much parental leave?
The economic benefits of maternity leave do appear to have a limit in terms of mothers returning to work and promotion
Séamas O’Reilly: ‘My little boy is the same age now as I was when my mother died’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
What do children know or understand of life and political issues?
Quite a lot, if only they had the chance to be heard – and reducing the voting age to 16 would give them that voice
‘The hardest thing about being a parent is being unavailable to my kids because I have to work so hard to feed and clothe them’
Our recent article on the topic of regretting parenthood sparked numerous responses. Below, we share a selection of the views we received
‘I believe my nephew may have ADHD or autism, but his parents won’t discuss it’
Ask the Expert: When we do rarely meet up, nobody is allowed to discuss my brother’s son for fear the family will never return to visit us. How to approach this?
How technology created a ‘recipe for loneliness’
The rise of smartphones and social networking apps has forever changed social norms around how we communicate
The Care Dilemma by David Goodhart: A book about the vital unpaid care work that makes society tick will antagonise many readers
Despite the best of intentions and some strong ideas, Goodhart seems to underestimate the extent to which he pushes readers’ buttons
My daughter wants to study engineering at college. I’m not sure it’s right for her
A degree in this area opens a vast array of career pathways and is highly valued around the world
Youth mental health: ‘What we need to try and do is break the stigma attached to talking about it’
Limited funding, staffing pressures and increasing demand make provision of mental health services to the public a major task
Terry Prone on allowing son Anton Savage to be in her publicity as a child: ‘I think it was the wrong thing to do’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
From screentime to dinner time: how parents can improve family life, diet and relationships
The Healthy Families programme helps parents to implement gradual but significant improvements to family wellbeing
‘Be an adult’ we tell our older teenagers but the Irish school system treats them like children
Our 18- and 19-year-olds, who can legally drink and vote, sit in school uniforms, call other adults ‘sir’ and ‘miss’ and must ask permission to use the toilet
Reusable cloth nappies vs disposables: would you put €500 a year in the bin?
Disposables are hardly without their ick factor, and the cost savings and environmental benefits of reusables are compelling
Ivan Yates: ‘The lack of affection from my parents’ generation was a huge mistake’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
‘My daughter enjoys college, but it is getting her there consistently that is the problem’
Ask the Expert: Our daughter has autism and would not attend school for three years. Now at college, her attendance has improved greatly, but we walk on eggshells around her. How can we better support her?
How is childless Clare getting on, I wonder? Is she happier? Hungover?
Perhaps wondering about whether my childless counterpart is happier is fruitless
Victoria Smurfit: ‘Postpartum depression had me manically sobbing in the middle of Ranelagh’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan: In this episode Hollywood actor Victoria Smurfit talks about how her children are coping with their mother’s steamy role in Rivals
‘There are times I regret having kids. They’re adults, and it’s now that I’m regretting it, which seems strange’
Parenting Taboos: Regretting parenthood, or wishing you hadn’t had some of your children, is a deeply guarded secret for some parents
Some ideas for parents that may make the week a little less ghastly for all
Jen Hogan: Halloween and midterm are coming but don’t be afraid, because there’s plenty that you and the kids might enjoy, from a haunted trail in north Dublin to a ninja course in Galway and a book with ghost stories from every county
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