Family

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Dr David Coleman: Is a bit of competition good or bad for kids? The answer is actually all down to the parents

Many people suggest that healthy competition is good for children. Proponents of early competitiveness believe that it will prepare children for the cut and thrust of life, which can be competitive. They claim that it teaches children to be resilient and to persevere, as well as helping them to deal with failure and disappointment. It can help children to move out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves and it can help children develop empathy.

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Bill Linnane Opinion It's okay not to get what you want at Christmas… as my kids are going to learn this year

In 1985 Raleigh launched the Vektar cyber bike. With a futuristic design, it had a digital display panel boasting radio, speedometer and a selection of sound effects. To 10-year-old me, it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. This was the future of cycling — a sort of proto eBike, except you did all the work and it just made some noises.

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‘Don’t be so scared and all parents are just winging it’ — Lottie Ryan on everything she wishes she knew before giving birth to her son

As the first grandchild in the sizeable Ryan family, Lottie Ryan’s son Wolf has brought more joy than any of them thought possible.

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Deirdre O’Kane: ‘I wanted him to die. It needed to end. He’d had enough’

When Deirdre O’Kane started taking her first tentative steps in the world of comedy back in the mid-Nineties, you could have counted the number of female comedians in Ireland on one hand.

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Love after 50 – these happy couples prove it’s never too late to find your soulmate

They say love will find you when you least expect it, and what could be more unexpected than falling head over heels later in life?

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Bill Linnane Opinion The only time working from home is not a utopian paradise is when the kids are on midterm break

Is there anything more annoying than an office pest? I’ve been dealing with one recently who keeps coming into my office for a chat, often about random topics like what he is having for lunch or some boring dream he had the night before. I’ve tried to be polite, to handle it in a mannerly fashion, but my patience is wearing thin.

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Dr David Coleman: Vaping amongst teens should be a huge concern for parents

Most parents talk to their children about drinking alcohol, smoking or watching pornography, discussing their family values and setting expectations about their behaviour. However, I wonder how many parents talk about them vaping? Based on the research, I think vaping should be a source of huge concern for parents.

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Alison Curtis: ‘I wanted my daughter’s experience of puberty to be better than mine’

Let’s face it — puberty is a tricky time for most children and families. It is a time when everything is changing, and when it happens can vary for every child. According to the HSE, the average age for girls to start puberty is 11. But it’s normal to begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 13. More important than when is how we frame this time in our children’s lives as it will have a lasting effect on how they view themselves, their bodies (and its changes) and others.

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Myles Dungan: ‘You had to be light and witty on air. And I just wasn’t’

Myles Dungan was only days into his degree in English and History at UCD when he began wondering if he would be able to stick it out.

Volunteering as a Big Brother: ‘A lot of young males need help, time and encouragement from older men’

After I studied economics in UCD, I set up a business with my brother called Pair Mobile, selling and repairing smartphones. We have six stores around the country, and one of the first stores we launched was in Blanchardstown. It was a real driver for the success of the business, so I started to think I’d like to give something back.

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Inside the Dublin Sikh temple serving thousands of free meals: ‘Everyone does everything together in our kitchen’

When the kind man in the blue turban warns you that the food you’re about to eat is spicy, only a fool doesn’t listen. But thankfully on this occasion, it turns out that Charandeep Singh Arora is being over cautious and the food served at Ireland’s only Sikh gurdwara is truly delicious.

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‘I thought Lyra had maybe tripped... then I noticed there was blood and I knew something was seriously wrong’

When Nichola McKee Corner saw the deeply moving new documentary on her sister, Lyra, the celebrated journalist who was shot at a riot in Derry over three years ago, the emotions were bittersweet. “You follow Lyra on a journey and you can feel her vibrancy and her energy and her humour. I was kind of lulled into this false sense of security where I almost felt she was alive again. And then I remember, and I go back to April 2019, and it’s like I lose her all over again.”

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Clocks going back throwing a spanner in works at bedtime? Try these expert tips to get your kids to sleep all night

The clock change last weekend meant we gained an hour and an opportunity for a lie-in.

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The siblings who became surrogates: ‘When I couldn’t carry my baby, my sister offered to give us the gift of life’

After facing “a lot of setbacks” on the road to parenthood, TV stars Brian Dowling and his husband Arthur Gourounlian turned to Brian’s sister Aoife for help in 2019.

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Bill Linnane Opinion There’s a big difference between my generation and teenagers when it comes to alcohol, and that’s no bad thing

How did you get on with Sober October? I think it went pretty well for me.

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Bill Linnane Opinion Having a family is much like running a small business – complete with mountains of paperwork

We love a good laugh in our house. In between the screaming, keening, cursing, sobbing, and howling at the godless sky above, nothing beats a good chuckle.

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Zen, Nova, Prince: The very unusual baby names Irish parents are choosing for their kids

Lyndsey Corcoran (36) always knew she wanted her children to have stand-out names.

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Dr David Coleman: How we can respond to antisocial behaviour in young people

I watched the RTÉ Prime Time segment, last week, about the derelict buildings and antisocial behaviour on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. The apparent lawlessness, occurring daily and openly was shocking. Yet, young men fighting publicly, the sale and consumption of illegal drugs, and public drunkenness can be found everywhere, not just on O’Connell Street. Antisocial behaviour is present across Dublin and in every town and city around the country.

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exclusive Actor. Hellraiser. Father – Richard Harris’ sons on their complicated relationship with Ireland’s most famous leading man

“Right before Dad was taken ill,” Jared Harris says, “we were having a pint across the road from the Savoy Hotel in London. It was a gorgeous summer day and we were sitting outside...”

Charity calls for 24-hour ‘cyber break’ as a quarter of Irish children say they waste a lot of time online

Eighty-seven per cent of Irish children aged eight to 12 are using social media and messaging apps despite being under the required age of 13, new research has revealed.

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Bill Linnane Opinion I’d suffer any weather to watch my son play football, even in Big Coat Season

I am pleased to announce the official start of Big Coat Season. I know many of you have been deluding yourself that it’s still Light Jacket Season, but I’ve seen you out and about soaked to the bone in your squelching trainers and dripping jeans, and you are fooling no one.

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13 things every parent needs to know when their kids grow up and start dating

There’s something no one ever tells you about parenting (or in my case, step-parenting), which you only discover once you think you’re out of the woods. No sooner are you congratulating yourself on having children who can just about function in the world (catch a train, make a bed, iron a shirt), and just when you’re starting to believe that all your hard work might have paid off and the young adults are turning out okay, you stumble upon the giant hole in your plan.

Warm parenting style can help prevent obesity as study shows neglected children are more prone to weight gain

Have you the right parenting style to stop your child becoming obese? New research today reveals that parental warmth is key to a son or daughter having a healthy weight.

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Dr David Coleman: Natural environments are crucial to children's healthy development – so we must protect them

Last weekend saw another meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly. The Citizens’ Assemblies are an opportunity for 100 citizen members to listen to expert, impartial and factual advice about key national issues, which they can then make reports and recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas for further debate by our elected representatives. The meeting over the weekend was in relation to the loss of biodiversity.

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Brighid McLaughlin Opinion The more I see of other couples, the more I like my own company

On Wednesday, I bumped into one of my favourite people in Dalkey, Nick Crawford, who calls himself ‘the world’s smallest estate agent’.

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‘It’s hard to be an opinionated woman in Ireland’– Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn on empathy, ageing and being mouthy

‘I think we were both born porous,” Marian Keyes says.

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I’m going to sell my late mother’s valuable painting but am unsure about compensating my siblings

Question: My mother passed away many years ago and after her death, my siblings and I divided up the furniture and artworks and other special pieces. We all chose pieces we liked or which we had a particular connection to.

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How to have a sustainable Halloween and still have the best treats, costumes and decorations

Forget vampires, zombies and monsters: the scariest thing about Halloween is the horrifying quantities of plastic waste generated each year.

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‘It’s been seven years’: meet the couples who broke up years ago, but are still forced to live under the same roof

“I’ve been living with my ex for nearly seven years and although he sleeps in a converted office, he still keeps his shoes under my bed,” says Meabh* (52) from Dublin.

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Bill Linnane Opinion My wife made me give up ‘the big shop’ and now I’ve become what I despise most — a sensible shopper

I love a big shop. On those rare occasions when there is a sudden rush of cash to my bank account, I like nothing better than to grab what I believe is the largest collection of Bag For Life bags in Ireland and head off to provide for my family. I see myself as the modern-day equivalent of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. They hunted woolly mammoths and discovered fire, I waddle around Lidl in my elasticated jeans trying to remember where they keep the rice cakes. It’s basically the exact same thing.