The impact of screens and smart phones on our children is still quite a new phenomenon. We have all been told they are used too often as a behavioural tool or what some people in the industry call, ‘shut-up toys’ Now, researchers at the University of Sussex have found that technology is having a bigger impact on parent-child interaction than […]

10 years ago

Parenting young children is a difficult job – even for royalty. During an official engagement today, the Duchess of Cambridge opened up about the challenges that come with motherhood. On her first public outing of 2017, and just days after her 35th birthday, the mum-of-two chatted with a group of mums at the Anna Freud National […]

10 years ago

Aw, bless. TV presenter, Dawn O’Porter has announced that she is expecting her second child with husband, Chris O’Dowd. She revealed the happy news on her Podcast, Get It On, by telling her listeners:  “Hope your 2017 is going really well. Mine certainly is! I am starting a new novel this week, I’m about to […]

10 years ago

A powerful illustration of people power. Supporters of the Homeless movement, Home Sweet Home (HSH), this afternoon linked arms in solidarity with the residents who have taken over occupation of the Dublin building. They have defied a court order which today refused an application for an extended stay for the residents in Apollo house. The […]

10 years ago

Before I had children I had no idea it was possible to destroy an entire house with a cracker.  I didn’t realise I had to have a degree in engineering to figure out the complexities of the pram, and I certainly didn’t know how my heart would explode with love every time my baby smiled at […]

10 years ago

I always wanted to be a twin – aka instant and lifelong BEST friend. Now new research shows that there is an additional perk to having a twin – and it is not to play tricks and share clothes. A study carried out by the University of Washington found that fraternal and identical twins have […]

10 years ago

It was because of a miracle that he was alive. Or.. perhaps it was because of his car seat. This mum is sharing the picture of her little boy’s car seat after their car hit a patch of black ice and smashed into a tree in the US. Kylee Barrett and her sons – five-year-old Kolton and 2-year-old […]

10 years ago

Nellie is almost two years old, she loves Peppa Pig and bathtime and is a very happy little girl.  But Nellie is also very, very sick – she was diagnosed with SMA type 1 when she was just seven months old. Her dad, Stephen, told us that it came as a huge shock to him […]

10 years ago

The average parent shares 1,500 snaps of their child before they turn five. Is that all? I would have thought the number was much higher (from the zillions of baby pics clogging up my Facebook feed) The study, called Sensible Sharing, found that more than half of the parents questioned claimed they had no concerns […]

10 years ago

What an epic wedding! “I love you wookie, I love you too schnookums.” Courtney Titchmarch decided it would be the best thing EVER if she got a Stormtrooper to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. She was marrying her childhood sweetheart, Graham, in New Zealand last November. She decided to surprise Graham, a […]

10 years ago

France is the latest country to ban corporal punishment in a bid to protect its children. Now 52 countries in the world have decided to ban “any cruel, degrading, or humiliating treatment, including corporal punishment” (such as smacking) Here in Ireland, we banned slapping as a defence last year with the former Minister for Health, […]

10 years ago

Don’t you just love those 14 minutes a week when your house is squeaky clean and your kids are fresh out of the bath? Nothing makes me feel more capable and virtuous than those moments. Except when it comes to Spring Cleaning. I take it so seriously I feel it deserves capitals. Let me stress […]

10 years ago

Gardaí have launched an investigation after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Dublin this afternoon. The attack, at a house in Tallaght, happened just after 3 pm today. The Irish Independent reports that the incident happened at a house in Kilclare Crescent in Jobstown in the Dublin suburb. The boy was rushed to […]

10 years ago

Irish screenwriter and actress, Sharon Horgan, has penned an emotional yet appropriate tribute to Carrie Fisher who died last week. The Star Wars actress played her last role in Horgan’s TV series, Catastrophe and they met for dinner just before she headed back to L.A. Writing in the Guardian, Sharon said she would keep her tribute […]

10 years ago

A 41-year-old man has been arrested after jumping a wall into a nursery school and attacking 11 children with a knife. The shocking incident happened today in the city of Pingxiang, South-West China. Chinese State Television reported that five children have been more, however, none of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening. A statement from the […]

10 years ago

I don’t have time to pamper – my beauty routine is pretty basic; makeup on, makeup off, brush hair, race out the door.  But now I have discovered coconut oil and it is pretty life changing. It is cheap, versatile and can be used to help you lose weight too. Win-win. So why is it […]

10 years ago

By 2020, 1 in 2 of us will be getting cancer in our lifetime. The Irish Cancer Society has launched its powerful new campaign in a bid to halt this dramatic rise. The visuals that accompany the series of ads have been specifically designed to grab attention with the hashtag Iwanttogetcancer The video shows a […]

10 years ago

Whether you agree with the concept or not, there is no denying that Peter Andre didn’t hold back when it came to buying his wife a gift to commemorate the birth of their baby boy. Little Theodore was born via unplanned c-section last November. It is the couple’s second child together. They have a two-year-old daughter, […]

10 years ago

A Garda investigation has been launched after the attack in Drumcondra which happened last night at about 6.15pm. It is believed that a 36-year-old woman was approached by another woman who demanded her handbag as she walked home from work in Dublin 3. During the struggle, the woman was slashed in the neck with a knife. […]

10 years ago

I could spend hundreds of happy hours wiling away the time on Pinterest. The pretty crafts, the pastel nurseries and don’t get me started on the cute snack ideas. Now, the online lifestyle platform has revealed it’s official trend report for 2017. This is what parents have been talking (and pinning) about in the past […]

10 years ago

So here I am visualising cheeseburgers while I swig resentfully from my bottle of water. I’m not sure which part of me is more outraged, my growling stomach or my chocoholic brain. But I have a plan. My handful of Christmas excess has prompted a total rethink my dieting choices. While I’m not monstrously huge, I […]

10 years ago

Every January I spend a fortune on stationery. I buy coloured markers, elaborate calendars and family planners, I print charts and meal planners and sign up for endless ambitious activities. But every year, my disjointed plans and enthusiastic organisation wanes a few weeks in. Each year I vow to find a family health plan that […]

10 years ago

The selfie. Is there anything more annoying in the social media world? Answer: Gym selfies. I don’t care how many kilometres you have run today. I have run from the couch to the fridge at least 10 times but you don’t see me posting it all over Facebook. Turns out, science is also on my […]

10 years ago

George Michael has passed away at the age of 53. A statement from the singer’s publicist confirmed the news last night. “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period.” “The family would ask that their privacy be respected […]

10 years ago

We all try our best. Christmas morning is one huge flurry of toys, boxes, chocolates (and champagne, if we are lucky) For those of us with children, it is a miracle if we make it to visitors, mass or our relations clean, cute and in one piece. As usual, Kate Middleton has shown us how […]

10 years ago

The Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Tindall, has suffered a miscarriage. A royal spokesperson made the sad announcement earlier today. Zara and her husband, former England rugby player, Mike Tindall announced in November that they were expecting their second child. It would have been a little brother or sister for their daughter Mia, who is almost three […]

10 years ago

Their parents had feared the twin boys wouldn’t survive to celebrate Christmas.  Now, in the latest video posted by their mum to Facebook, Anias and Jadon McDonald, snuggle and smile and say “Dada.” Surgeons successfully separated the 16 month old twins in October after they were born with a rare condition known as craniopagus twins. The […]

10 years ago

Seven-year-old Oisín O’Driscoll was laid to rest yesterday. He was found dead with his mum, Sinéad Higgins at their London home earlier this month. At the emotional service at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Bray, Co Wicklow, his dad, Shane O’Driscoll, fought back tears as he paid tribute to the little boy. “Oisín […]

10 years ago

You will have a very merry Christmas with this fantastic festive cocktail.  We discovered it on Howsweeteats.com and realised it might be the only way we have our very own white Christmas. These margaritas are easy-to-make, dreamy and just boozy enough to give your Christmas visitors a warm buzz that will disguise the taste of […]

10 years ago

She started singing when she was just three years old.  And now the voice of Kaylee Rodgers has been heard around the world. Her stunning  version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah has stormed the Internet attracting more than 100,000 views The 10-year-old is a pupil at Killard House in Co Down  – a school for children with special […]

10 years ago

Parents keen to teach through play can rest easy. The Christmas toy offering of 2016 is off the charts in terms of brain teasing tools for your savvy child. Mandarin classes are so five years ago. Now, the smart kids are all about coding, building and strategising toys that will both occupy as well as […]

10 years ago

I am all for unique.  I love quirky and ‘out there’ names that are all kinds of wonderful. Mostly. That is why when Baby Centre released its list of most unusual baby names for the past few months we were massively divided. Compiled by over 340,000 families in the UK, I think you will see […]

10 years ago

“We have a special filing system just for solicitor’s letter alone, you know things are bad” Mary hit rock bottom financially when her husband lost his job during the recession. Because he was self-employed, they had no financial assistance to fall back on. They began struggling to pay bills yet every time she left the […]

10 years ago

If ever there were two things that would be near impossible to improve upon, it would be wine and chocolate. But what if you mixed both? I want to live in that world, I hear you say. Well now you can. You can also live in a world of wine flavoured lip gloss, wine scented […]

10 years ago

Hate to miss a bargain? If you are the type of person who prides themselves on always getting the best deal then read on, fellow reward hunters. I enjoy browsing the brochure offers in the Sunday Papers – you know the ones I mean, the Aldi and Tesco mini magazines with the deals of the week […]

10 years ago

What a year! I can’t remember a more turbulent year. We got Trumped, Cheryl’s belly was scrutinised by the world, Brexit happened, Bob Dylan won the Nobel prize and Pokemon Go took over. We had great fun putting together the best of our articles this year that will make you laugh out loud. Lord knows […]

10 years ago

She touched thousands around the world with her open and frank musings about life as a mum with terminal cancer. Blogger and author, Julia Watson, died this week after her 3 year battle with bowel cancer. The mother of four daughters was diagnosed in 2013 and wrote a book called: Breakfast, School Run, Chemo which documented in […]

10 years ago

She is one of the most beautiful women in the world. Yet Candice Swanepoel says she has been “made feel the need to cover up and somewhat shy to feed my baby in a public place” The 28 year old South African beauty shared a sweet snap of herself feeding her young son Anaca on […]

10 years ago

What a Christmas present! Lucy Kennedy has announced the safe arrival of baby Jessica last night. The host of The Six O’Clock Show on TV3 made the announcement on her Twitter account last night and revealed the name of her second girl. “Baby Jessica Governey has arrived safely. My heart is bursting! We’re all totally […]

10 years ago

“What has taken months for the Government has been achieved in 24 hours” This is just one of the hundreds of responses to Glen Hansard’s appearance on the Late Late Show last night. The singer was speaking to presenter, Ryan Tubridy, about the Home Sweet Home movement. It’s a group which has taken over the […]

10 years ago

Who doesn’t love a good spoon of Nutella straight out of the jar? Let’s be honest, this nectar from Heaven solves most problems in life. But would we smear it on our hair in the name of beauty? Beauty blogger, Huda Kattan, has shared a short video of a blonde woman doing just that. She is […]

10 years ago

We vowed to continue going to our favourite brunch place even after we had kids.  How easy is this we would say as we high-fived as our first daughter slept in the pram and we scoffed our eggs Benedict smugly. Cut to a few years (and two kids) later and the idea of delirious toddlers […]

10 years ago

It is a moment we have imagined in our heads for months, nay, years. The first little words out of your baby’s mouth are special, emotional, or in the case of Ryan Reynolds’s daughter, very very particular. The Deadpool actor picked up a Critics Choice Award in Santa Monica this week and decided to dedicate […]

10 years ago

Holding your baby in your arms when they are born is one of the most precious moments of your life. We all strive to maintain that strong bond from infancy to adulthood. And it all begins with a touch. The very primal gesture of holding your baby close skin to skin can send messages to […]

10 years ago

As someone who has been pregnant every Christmas for three years, I can sympathise with your ‘what the hell will I wear’ dilemma as the festive party season kicks off. But on the plus size (sorry) you will have the perfect excuse to swamp your turkey belly with swathes of pretty fabric and every excuse […]

10 years ago

Gasp! I would NEVER change my precious baby on the floor! Except you totally would, especially after a major blowout when you are out and about. And I’m not talking virgin mojitos. I made my partner do all the changes when my baby was first born. After all, if I was putting the liquid in, […]

10 years ago

Anyone who has been pregnant will agree that growing an entire human seems a whole lot longer than 9 months. In the third trimester, time seems to move in special pregnancy slow motion where each day gestating is equal to about 5 days in real time. But have you ever wondered why pregnancy is 9 […]

10 years ago

Ah, Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year… said no mother ever.  Of course, there are those two minutes thirty seconds of unbridled joy on Christmas morning seeing their happy little faces, but apart from that, meh. Each year we book the panto, a visit to Santa, Christmas carols, ice-skating in a bid […]

10 years ago

She’s the bottle flipping, punk life grandma with fluffy white hair and a devious smile. But Ross Smith’s hip-hop loving grandmother has shot to popularity with over 1.5 million Facebook fans and over half a million Instagram follows. The duo are captured shopping for kicks, lip-synching to badass choons and generally having all the craic. […]

10 years ago

The Internet blue or gold dress colour debacle made me want to gouge my eyes out with a spoon. A similar white handbag caused mass confusion although I’m not entirely sure why because it was OBVIOUSLY WHITE. Just because the Daily Mail called it an ‘optical illusion’ we fell about debating over what we saw. […]

10 years ago