Author Alison Canavan: Enjoy your kids when they are young

Helen O’Callaghan on the launch of Barnardos Big Toddle, Ireland’s biggest fundraiser for under-fives.

Alison Canavan misses her son’s toddler years. James is six now, but the model and author recalls the times she wished her little boy would grow out of a particular stage.

“Now I look back and think ‘sure, wasn’t it great fun’. My friends have children at that stage, where they’re into everything and getting into trouble. My sister has just had a baby. I’m always saying to mums it’s such a short space of time — though it can feel like eternity — so enjoy it.”