I am a child of the ‘LIE TO THEM!’ era when it came to teaching kids about sex I had a book flung at me when it came to The Talk About Periods, and I can’t actually repeat what my mother told me about male masturbation, in case someone books her in for a mental […]

4 years ago

Bedtime is exhausting – for parents. By the time my other half and I have wrestled with our kids, cajoled them, read the thousandth story, sang ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ for another ten minutes and they have finally gone to sleep – we are completely and utterly SPENT. I was recently so defeated that I […]

7 years ago

One of the main lessons I had to learn as a new mum was learning to live with having a buggy attached to me at all times. Well, you’ve got to transport the kid around, right? If or when you’re not using a sling, you get them snug into the pram or buggy and off […]

7 years ago

I have always said that I never realised how much my parents loved me until I saw how much they love our kids. Like, they are OBSESSED with them. We moved closer to their home two years ago and it was the best move in terms of how much more quality time they all get […]

7 years ago

My son – my firstborn – my baby – is starting primary school this September. Holy crap. While I’m completely unsure as to how the time has passed so quickly to get us to this point, I am totally confident that he’s ready for Big School. He turns five in September and has had a […]

7 years ago

‘I blame the parents’ is a phrase that is bandied around a lot, whether in jest if a kid dumps his spaghetti over his head, or with intent if a child is wild or really badly behaved. When my son lashes out in temper, I wonder if he somehow picked it up from seeing me lose […]

7 years ago

It recently occurred to me that in the days before I had kids, I had zero idea how to behave around my friends who were becoming parents. I’m sure I visited and everything but I’m not sure I was any real use to them, if you know what I mean? I probably just rocked up […]

7 years ago

Morning sickness, or ‘All Day Long Sickness’ as some women call it, affects all pregnant women in different ways. Some women don’t experience nausea or sickness at all when they’re pregnant, some have it at certain points throughout the first twelve weeks and some have it for the entire duration of their pregnancy. Feelings of […]

7 years ago

Tread carefully. If you ever saw a dog growling at someone who was trying to take their food away, snapping and drooling from the mouth, baring their teeth in disgust that someone might dare to interrupt them.. then you have a fair idea of what I’m like getting woken up in the mornings. POOR ASS […]

7 years ago

When you’re pregnant, one of the very worst things that anyone can do to you is relay all the birthing horror stories of their own or that they have ever heard. Not that I am all for lying to pregnant women when they are curious about what’s ahead of them – I mean, I think […]

7 years ago

Having recently just gotten back to work, I have to admit: I am in my ELEMENT. Sure, there is a lot to organise now that I’m gone three days a week, between the kids and the house and the dog and the feckin ironing that seems to have quadrupled since I started back. But the upside […]

7 years ago

We parents always have a story or two up our sleeves from when we gave birth – whether they be about the journey from house to hospital or how long the labour actually took in the end. Some of the things we also remember most are the conversations we had with our midwives, nurses and […]

7 years ago

Our four-year-old son is a shit sleeper. He didn’t start out that way; in fact, he was a really good baby – always smiling and laughing and we had him in a pretty good routine so he slept soundly for most of the night. Then we started him in a crèche when he was one, […]

7 years ago

I swear a lot. A whole f*cking lot. My parents despair of me, random strangers who I chat to can’t figure me out as the sweet-smiling lady who opened her mouth and a trash can fell out. It has always been a part of how I communicate, mostly because of my comedy background and the […]

8 years ago

The term ‘threenager’ has been coined in recent times to describe a willful toddler who displays between seven and eighty-two different emotions in any given minute. Ok, that’s a (slight) over-exaggeration, but you know what I’m talking about. One moment, you are being kissed non-stop in front of random strangers and told how beautiful you […]

8 years ago

Sad but true.

8 years ago

We have an on-going battle in our house with trying to get Jacob dressed in the mornings. He employs every single delaying tactic known to human boy toddlers and there doesn’t seem to be any good reason for it. A few theories have crossed my mind, for example; is he destined to be a nudist and […]

8 years ago

NO, you cannot leave your children unattended while they are having a bath.  YES, you must supervise them at all times as they play with bubbles, brush their ears with toothbrushes and attempt to deliver all of the bathwater to the sitting room below. BUT! While your kids are happily splashing around, they mostly don’t […]

8 years ago

Gotcha! Of course I’m not going to write 20 million reasons down for you to pore over – I COULD, but I won’t. Here’s the fact though: little boys are deadly. Not deadly as in dangerous, but deadly as in amazing. (Although sometimes the other one too, after they’ve had one too many helpings from the cookie […]

8 years ago

Is it a good idea?

8 years ago

Keep the faith.

8 years ago

Do you use one?

8 years ago

Dining out over the festive break?

8 years ago

My daughter Eva won’t be two until July and so we haven’t officially started to potty train her yet. My son, now four, was trained in a hurry when he was two and a half because the pre-school we wanted him to attend required that he was out of nappies. We had a few challenges […]

8 years ago

If you’re on the hunt for beautiful baby names for your upcoming arrival, you may look no further than right here, because we are always on the hunt for ALL of them to share with you! So even though you have a couple of boy and girl names picked out, there’s always room for a […]

8 years ago

When you are pregnant for the first time, you are completely overwhelmed with all the information that you have thrown at you. You read all the books, attend all the antenatal classes, ask questions on online forums and chat to friends and family who have had kids ahead of you, hoping to absorb all of […]

8 years ago

Each kid to their own.

8 years ago

Happy Pride!

8 years ago

“Mum, I’m BORED.”

8 years ago

Pimp your ride.

8 years ago

Because their routines are completely out-of-whack.

8 years ago

My partner and I have been trying to get more protein into our diet in an attempt to give ourselves a bit more energy. We were doing ok in terms of lunches and dinners but when it came to breakfast, we were either grabbing a coffee and pastry on the go, or doing that Irish […]

8 years ago

Miracles do happen.

8 years ago

Carrying a baby for forty weeks – or more if you go overdue! – can really make some serious changes to your body. Your stomach area, hips and thighs expand at such an alarming rate in order to facilitate this little human growing inside you, that it can often result in stretch marks, saggy skin which may […]

8 years ago

I am of a generation who isn’t really down with all the labelling. I never wanted to be a ‘Ms’ or a ‘Mrs’, I didn’t want to be ‘straight’ or ‘middle class’, ‘home owner’ or even ‘broad shouldered’ (who decided we all needed a body type?!). I didn’t want anyone to describe me in any […]

8 years ago

If you are a shy, retiring type, and you are also a parent to a toddler, the chances are that your offspring have drawn quite a lot of unwanted attention your way. Their shouts of protest turn heads at the supermarket as you try to coerce them to sit in the trolley. Their cries of […]

9 years ago

A neighbour recently asked me if I was a full-time wife. True story. I’ll just leave that hang there with you for a moment. A full time wife. Like, there are seventy-four different things wrong with that sentence. The neighbour in question is male, perhaps in his early fifties, so not exactly so old school […]

9 years ago

Why not drag down the make and do box and get busy with these cute Easter crafts ideas? Here are 3 of the cutest Easter-inspired crafts that we have sourced just for you and the kiddos: 1. Stick Chicks! (Via Crafty Morning.com) How cute are these? All you need to do is: A) Eat lots of […]

9 years ago

Some people take this whole motherhood lark like a duck to water and some take to it like a tiny baby deer slipping ungracefully on a pool of ice. Personally, I was in the latter category – slip-sliding through the mass of responsibility, decisions, nappy sizes, stale milk smells from the sofa and emotions that […]

9 years ago

We are about to embark on potty training Child Number 2. Jacob, our first, was pretty sound about the situation when we trained him in a panic when he was just gone 2-and-a-half because his new pre-school required that he be out of nappies. You see, he has the ‘Show Off Gene’ (inherited from his […]

9 years ago

Let’s be clear: pregnant women are not to be messed with. They have little or no control over their hormones, bodily expansions, moods or farts.  In our dreams, we are ethereal and gorgeous, basking in the pregnancy glow that Mother Nature has bestowed upon us, and strolling hand-in-hand with our partners, barefoot on sandy beaches. […]

9 years ago

It CAN be done.

9 years ago

As the weekend rolls around one more time, we parents start planning precisely what it is we can do with the kids to inject some family fun into the two days! If finances are tight, then there’s nothing cheaper than getting everyone all wrapped up for a big walk outdoors and back home for hot […]

9 years ago

‘It has become a part of our family’s daily routine.’

9 years ago

Certain foods can trigger an outbreak.

9 years ago

If you have a small kid or two, you’ll know exactly what ‘Witching Hour’ refers to. It’s the time of day when everything starts to go tits-up in your home. Up until Witching Hour, you may have survived a trip to the playground, an unexpected knock on the door or even a flyaway comment from […]

9 years ago

There’s just so much to do at bedtime; feed the kids, tidy up, finish up any bits of work or chores that you started, locate the bottles and soothers, wash hands, face and teeth, promise the dog that you’ll walk her when they’re asleep (coz she sort of understands English) and get everyone settled down. It […]

9 years ago

It CAN be done.

9 years ago

I recently found myself volunteering to pack bags at a local supermarket to raise money for a kid’s charity, on Hallowe’en evening from 3-5pm. You know, right when I should have been at home having Hallowe’en fun with my own kids. I had already jumped in with both feet and offered my services which had […]

9 years ago

Sharyn Hayden is a writer, presenter, and comic actress. She lives in Dublin with her partner Alan, their two young children and a dog with a weak stomach.  Jacob has a lisp. A tiny one. It’s cute. And his pronunciation is a bit off on certain words. He replaces the letter ‘C’ with ‘T’, and […]

9 years ago