It goes without saying that parents want the best for their children. We hope they’ll thrive in all they do. When our children encounter academic difficulties, it can be tricky to navigate. How much should we expect from the child? There can be a fine line between being a supportive parent and a pushy parent, […]
Parenting Column: Discovering that your child’s friend vapes
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By Louise Flanagan My oldest child is eleven years old and I can feel the pull of her friends starting to take hold. She has a great bunch of pals and I know that leaning more on them is a natural part of growing up. However, there seems to be a general consensus that for […]
PARENTING: When the time comes to wind back on your child’s dodo
By: Louise Flanagan ALL three of my kids loved their dodo when they were tots. At the baby stage, a dodo was omnipresent; I wouldn’t have left the house unless I had at least two with me. Only an amateur would put themselves in the precarious position of relying on just one. As they got […]
PARENTING COLUMN: The Hot School Meals programme – is it working for you?
By Louise Flanagan Last year, I wrote a column about how tricky and annoying it was to pack a school lunch for my kids. Between them turning their noses up at various options to the cost it added to the weekly grocery bill, I really struggled with the lunchbox. Then, low and behold, the government […]
Parenting column: Offering some useful parenting advice in just four words
By Louise Flanagan A few days ago, I saw a post on social media asking for people to comment with four words that capture their best parenting advice. There was actually some pretty solid advice offered; albeit there were humorous responses in the mix too, such as ‘Keep stocked in wine’. Of the sensible answers, […]
PARENTING COLUMN: Let’s go back in time to simpler Nativity play costumes
By Louise Flanagan Nativity plays were in full swing in primary schools across the county in the lead up to Christmas. First of all, fair play to the teachers for all the hard work that goes into these performances. As my late Granda, Paddy Doherty used to say, ‘It would be like herding mice at […]
Parenting column: Thankfully our Elf on the Shelf seems the sensible type
By Louise Flanagan It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Between the recent switching on of the town lights and the much anticipated Toy Show this weekend, I’m finally feeling the Christmas spirit. It’ll be lovely to snuggle up with the kids to watch it. The Toy Show is a fabulous annual tradition that […]
COLUMN: How do you keep your pregnancy to yourself on a night out with friends?
By Louise Flanagan FINDING out you’re pregnant and keeping it secret for those first few weeks can be quite a task – particularly if you have a social event in the mix. Letterkenny Babies received the following message during the week: “I recently found out that I’m pregnant – very early stages. I’m absolutely delighted. […]
PARENTING: Breastfeeding is a wonderful, natural experience, but it’s not without its challenges
By Louise Flanagan The first week of August marked World Breastfeeding week, a global campaign to raise awareness and promote the benefits of breastfeeding. Alas, my own breastfeeding experience was short-lived. I’m glad I tried but overall, I found it hard and the pull of the bottle was too much for me to resist. (Not […]
PARENTING COLUMN: Disappointment is a fact of life
‘Where there are winners, there are of course losers.’