A Parent’s Perspective I’m definitely not the only mother who feels a bit sad and weepy at the prospect of a return to some semblance of pre-Covid normality. It’s not that I don’t relish a return to normal life but I’m really going to miss having my two eldest daughters at home all the time.…

The kids were only back in school a few days before the inevitable message from school came through. A child in one of our kids’ classes had tested positive for Covid. We soon learned that it was not a child in our child’s pod, and so she could continue to go to school if we…

Children’s Corner There are many tests to see how fit and healthy you are, each checking certain parts of your body. One of the indicators of good health is lung volume. Just how much air can your lungs can hold? With the help of a few simple household objects, some scientific know how and a…

“But mummy it is only 8 o’clock. I am not tired yet.” “Tired or not we are back to school soon and you need your sleep.” Many households are the same, trying to return to their old routine after the summer. For many including myself it is a new stepping stone as my youngest is…

August is the new October. A succession of low-pressure systems hit the west coast of Ireland this August, just in time for peak holiday season. We found ourselves needing full winter clothing as we explored the windswept Aran islands or the rain-drenched streets of Galway. Of course there were gaps in the weather, when the…

It is not that easy being a mother Christina Malone While on holiday my four-year-old developed a very bad habit of whinging. If you have children, you might know it can be hard to ignore. My nine-year-old started to develop an attitude that makes you wonder what is going in her little head and my…

A parent’s perspective How many of us have made the mistake of comparing our family and children with some other family down the road or someone else’s children? My own late mother did it, I’ve done it and I’d say most parents have engaged in comparisons at some stage or another. When I was young,…

The summer holidays have again crept up on us. We go through our workaday, busy lives with a vague notion of respite at some distant time, until suddenly you realise that the long-promised date with idleness is next Friday. Then, panic ensues. Getting ready for holidays means work: there’s grass to be cut, bills to…

Children’s Corner The oldest evidence of the use of musical instruments dates back tens of thousand of years ago, with ancient flutes often discovered carved out of bone. Humanity has certainly come a long way since then in terms of technological advances in music and instruments. Now a person just needs a computer to recreate…

Christina Malone Many families all over Ireland have been packing their bags for a staycation. I am one of those and I can’t wait. I finally get to see my family again. One thing that amazed me most when I first came to Ireland (nearly 14 years ago) was the fact that many parish events…