A Playmobil pirate ship set has sparked a media firestorm over a toy that resembles an African American slave wearing a neck shackle. It was when her 5-year-old son asked her to help assemble his new birthday present that Ida Lockett from Sacramento in California found the dark skinned figurine – and the instructions telling her […]

11 years ago

According to a new shocking report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) brought out yesterday, a staggering ONE IN EIGHT families sending their children to particular primary schools are homeless. According to the ESRI report, our growing homelessness crisis is being felt and seen first hand at at number of schools, predominantly in […]

11 years ago

Even though we have been beyond lucky with this year’s autumn weather so far (touch wood!), there is no denying that the mornings are getting cooler by the day, and it is time to start wrapping up in cozy coats and snug layers once again. If your little ones are anything like ours, they have […]

11 years ago

Five year old Lauren McConnell, who suffered stress and psychological abuse in a creche which figured in an RTÉ exposé, has been awarded €17,500 compensation in the Circuit Civil Court. During the case the court was told the story of how Lauren had gone from a happy child to a cranky one after she was […]

11 years ago

Under a new digital strategy plan the Government is set to invest €200 million in schools over the next five years. As part of this €200 million spending spree there are plans to bring high-speed broadband to all schools, as well as the wider use of digital devices in classrooms. The funding will drive the […]

11 years ago

A new Irish company has built an app which helps children train their brain and become more focused. Cortechs was set up by entrepreneur Áine Behan and is behind the brain-training game Zip and the Misty Mountain, which is being launched this month. Behan herself is a trained neuroscientist who, in an attempt to bring […]

11 years ago

Well-known US celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has come under attack this week after he posted a selfie of himself taking a shower with his 2-year-old son. The image, posted to the blogger’s (who’s real name is Mario Lavandeira) Instagram account Monday, is showing himself and little Mario Jr. grinning widely inside a shower cubicle. The […]

11 years ago

Some stories of medical amazing-ness really makes you stop in your tracks. And this miracle rescue of a a toddler who nearly perished in a car crash is one of them. Two weeks ago 16-month-old Jackson Taylor from Melbourne in Australia was in his mother’s car when it collided with another vehicle. Upon pulling her […]

11 years ago

Depending on where in the country you live, a “minute” can actually range from anywhere between three and eleven minutes. And according to a new survey carried out by EBS, we are all guilty. “I’ll be there in a minute” is a phrase we utter and hear practically everyday, and yet the definition of how […]

11 years ago

The Cuan Álainn refuge in Tallaght, that house mothers and children before they move into long-term housing, has said it will have to close its doors unless it receives emergency government funding. Currently nine adults and 18 children are staying at the shelter, which costs €350,000 yearly to run. The refuge, which opened in 2012, […]

11 years ago

“Still with you. Thank you mom and dad.” These were the last words little Leland Shoemaker left for his heartbroken mother and father before he passed away last week. Leland’s mother Amber posted a picture to her Facebook page of the  note she found on her dining table when she returned home from hospital to […]

11 years ago

Sick of gorgeous knitwear that only looks good for two wears, then start shedding everywhere and finally just becomes a ragged mess of pills and fluff? Yeah, us too. (weeps into piles of discarded Zara cashmere…) Anyway, turns out all your need is this GENIUS trick! According to the know-it-all gurus at eHow, the way […]

11 years ago

Following a pioneering clinical trial in Sweden last year, the UK’s first womb transplant is set to take place next year and give 10 women the chance to carry their own babies. It is on the back of the the birth of a baby boy last year after a successful procedure in Sweden that ethical […]

11 years ago

There are lots of things that will never quite be the same after having a baby. Tummies, boobs, a good night’s sleep, there is no denying that a baby brings on a lot of change. Many of us also claim to be suffering from the aul’ baby brain when we are pregnant and in the […]

11 years ago

Good news for those planning on making a baby in the next few months: According to today’s Irish Independent the State will begin paying two weeks worth of paternity benefits to fathers from as early as June next year. The budget is due to be announced next month, and this new measure, knows as the […]

11 years ago

Anyone sick of yielding the aul’ “So when is the baby/more babies or tick-tock-the-clock-is-ticking” questions? So was Emily Bingham, a 30-something freelance writer from Michigan, who recently took to Facebook to share her opinion on intrusive questions about people’s reproductive plans. Last week, Emily posted an image of an ultrasound picture on her Facebook page […]

11 years ago

A brand new survey by the Irish Independent has shown that parents are paying up to €10,000 a year for after-school care for just one child. That childcare is expensive in Ireland is no news to anyone who has children and go to work. But it might come as a surprise that even after children […]

11 years ago

If you dish up with some Shakshuka (we are obsessed with the name!) for brunch today, you are bound to impress even your most foodie of guests or family members. If you frequently visit gorgeous food-blogs from near and far, you will no doubt have heard about this currently very trendy dish, but have you […]

11 years ago

Emily Morgan was still four months away from her December due-date – and on the middle of the ocean on a cruise holiday – when she in August of this year started experiencing intense labour pains. The mother-of-one, who was enjoying a holiday with her husband and three year old daughter, made contact with the […]

11 years ago

Are you guys as OBSESSED with washi tape as we are over here at HerFamily HQ? No, we are not a little late to the table (in case you have been washi-ing for yonks already), but we just continue to be blown away by the seemingly ENDLESS things you can do with these pretty little […]

11 years ago

There are plenty of creative ways to announce your pregnancy – and we blame Pinterest a little for making us all want to up the bar, in fairness. When businesswoman and daughter of the infamous Donald, Ivanka Trump, decided the share the news of her third baby being on the way earlier this week, she […]

11 years ago

Police officers from North Swindon were visiting a class full of 5-year-olds recently to talk about traffic safety, but the conversation quickly became centered on more serious issues, like whether the police car siren goes nee-nah or woo-woo. Never ones to not investigate a pressing issue, the community support officers swiftly hauled the young students […]

11 years ago

It never rains but it pours, as they say. And let’s all agree that that was very much the case for Andy and Sarah Justice from Tulsa in the US – who after having just adopted newborn triplets found out that they were now expecting twins. That’s right. This family went from two to seven […]

11 years ago

Breastfeeding does not improve a child’s intelligence, despite the widespread belief that “breast is best” for IQ, according to a new study. Scientist from Goldsmiths, University of London have recently completed research on 11,000 British children, and have found “no reliable association between breastfeeding and higher IQ at age two.” Nor was breastfeeding related to […]

11 years ago

Last year, for the first time ever in the UK, more babies were born to mums over the age of 35 than to mothers who have yet to turn 25. The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, show that 21 percent of births in England and Wales in 2014 were to mums aged […]

11 years ago

We all have a week spot. For some it is chocolate. For me, crisps are my nutritional fall from grace. Every evening without fail, as I (finally, after wrestling two kids to bed) get to sit down and switch out of mummy-mode, I get a craving for something crunchy and savory. And much as I […]

11 years ago

A friend’s pregnancy announcement deserves a good card. But before rushing off to Hallmark or M&S and getting some sappy card that will make your hormonal friend weep into her pickle sandwich or tub of Ben’n’Jerry’s, why not take a look at Etsy – where you will find cards that are of the little more, […]

11 years ago

Much like dinosaurs and George Clooney being single and up for grabs, the days when it was commonly accepted that a woman’s place was in the home are long gone. But according to a new British study, it looks as if we are doing our health – and waistlines – a disservice by having careers […]

11 years ago

In a time where our social media feeds are bombarded with glossy happiness, tight post-baby bodies and Pinterest perfect newborns, this honest, raw pictures of new motherhood made mothers everywhere stop in their tracks. Last week Danielle Haines, from Phoenix, Arizona, posted a picture to her Facebook page of herself holding her newborn son, Ocean, […]

11 years ago

Weekends fly by, no? We hope you had a great one! And if you fancy a little catch up on what everybody was reading about here on Herfamily.ie today, here are our Top 3 stories for you to enjoy – now that the kids are (finally) in bed: 1. Spending time with grandchildren can reduce […]

11 years ago

Who doesn’t love a little crafting on a weekend afternoon? This one I particularly love as: 1. It is so EASY to do. 2. It is cheap as chips. and 3. These babies will make for perfect little hostess gifts/organizing bits and bobs/just inject a little fun and colour to your living room. And all […]

11 years ago

Have you ever experienced being interrogated about your plans to have children – or – if you have a child – if more children are on the agenda? Many will experience that once you reach a certain age or the minute that wedding ring is on your finger, the age-old questions will start being thrown […]

11 years ago

Best selling author Jackie Collins has passed away, aged 77, from breast cancer. After keeping her illness a secret from anyone that wasn’t close family, the English novelist  died in Los Angeles last night, having given an interview only five short days ago, where she told the world of her condition. In the interview with […]

11 years ago

Ever felt guilty about leaving the kiddos with granny and granddad while you go to work/hit the town/pencil in a much needed date-night? Turns out there was no need to worry – you were in fact doing them a HUGE favor. (If you are not doing this TOO often, mind you.) According to research carried […]

11 years ago

Weekends can be busy with little ones (oh, we know!). But if you were left a little short on time to catch up on what’s trending today, we got your back. Here is a handy little guide to our top three stories this Saturday: This is our  7-step guide to bringing ROMANCE back (post-babies) Read […]

11 years ago

Everyone who has children will know that they frequently say crazy things. Often at the worst possible time. But as a parent, I bet you have noticed yourself coming out with some rather bizarre sentences too. As did Nathan Ripperger, a video producer and graphic designer from Iowa in the US. Nathan, a father of […]

11 years ago

If you needed an excuse to kick the kids out of the house and into the garden for a few moments of piece and quiet, here you go: Researchers in China have actually found evidence that spending an extra 45 minutes per day outside may reduce the risk of nearsightedness, or “myopia,” according to a […]

11 years ago

Just in case you were a busy bee all day, here are some of our most read posts today – all there should you want to kick off your shoes, pour yourself something nice and just catch up on what’s trending: 1. 12 things that become IMPOSSIBLE when I had children. Read it here. 2. […]

11 years ago

Trying to squeeze in time (and even the energy!) for some romance when you have a 5-year-old, a 2-year-old and two parents with full-time jobs is rather, well, challenging. Most couples reach the point where they need to up the romance game a little. Or, let me amend that; A LOT. For me and my […]

11 years ago

A 3-year-old girl from Texas has become the youngest person in the world to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after reaching 5½ stone (35 kg). While this largely preventable disease is usually associated with adult-onset, according to  Dr. Michael Yafi, Director of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Texas, “The incidence of type-2 diabetes […]

11 years ago

After a week in a coma following an emergency C-section, doctors had given up hope that Shelly Cawley would ever wake up again. Then her baby started crying… It was last September when Cawley, from North Carolina, went into labor and had to undergo an emergency C-section due to complication. “I clearly remember lying on […]

11 years ago

Now, everyone who has ever had to deal with a 3-year-old will have had moments where you found yourself wondering if this child is crazy. Whether or not a child can actually be a flat out psychopath is debatable, but a recent Australian study shows that traits associated with the condition can be spotted in […]

11 years ago

If you have children, you more than likely have a lot of STUFF. It never stops to amaze me just how many loom-bands, hair clips, plastic pearls, pebbles, treasures, Barbie shoes and small Kinder Egg toys that float about on the various surfaces in our house. But if you find yourself with some empty jam […]

11 years ago

“Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.” After a Texas teenager was taken away in handcuffs this week when staff at his school mistook a clock he had built for a bomb, President Barack Obama himself sent […]

11 years ago

The age in which women have their first child has increased steadily over the past 20 years, a trend that has led many to seek out fertility treatments to try and beat their biological clock. But a major new study, conducted over the last 16 years at the HARI clinic at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, has revealed gloomy […]

11 years ago

“Your child is what you eat” If you are pregnant and find yourself craving less-than-healthy food (read: mountains of Ben & Jerry’s and chocolate muffins), you should probably look away now. A new advertising campaign are using some rather disturbing visuals to warn expectant mothers about the effects their food and drink intake can have […]

11 years ago

A verdict of medical misadventure has been returned at the inquest into the death of little Caoimhe Mulcair, who died shortly after birth at the Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick nearly six years ago. The baby girl, who was born and died on February 11th, 2009, was the first child of Joan and John Mulcair, […]

11 years ago

Getting some pictures of you with your bump is such a beautiful way of remembering this truly unique time in your life. But when it comes to bump-pictures, few have made our collective jaws drop as much as these stunning snaps from Melissa Lee’s Instagram account. Many expectant mums take a little hiatus from fitness […]

11 years ago

Computers and technology has become a vital part of schools and education in the last decade. But our dependency on all things tech is not all good news warns new study. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently conducted a study of education systems in more than 30 countries, and the result surprised […]

11 years ago

A six-week-old baby girl from Wisconsin in the US was just released from hospital having been under intensive care for a week after her mother mistakenly fed her vodka-infused baby formula. According to local news-agencies, the 20-year-old had previously filled a water bottle with plain water, ready to prepare her baby’s next bottle. But later, […]

11 years ago