Tots to Teens: Nourishing little bowls with big hugs

Wicklow-based company creates fresh, preservative-free, ready-made meals for babies and toddlers

Hug in a bowl is a Wicklow-based business that aims to offer parents a convenient way to feed their children nutritiously balanced meals. Using only local, organic, and seasonal ingredients, this food company creates fresh, preservative-free, ready-made meals for babies and toddlers.

These meals are designed to support infant and toddler nutrition and include soft-textured options for babies in the early weaning stage. There are also subscription packages that include a selection of five, 10, or 15 meals designed to meet your child’s feeding needs.

With easy online ordering, home delivery, and options that range from chicken tikka masala to fish pie, beef lasagne, and chickpea curry, Hug in a Bowl makes meal times deliciously stress free.

Prices start from €4.50. Find the full range at huginabowl.ie.

Sushi workshops

The sushi workshops taking place at 11 Cook Street in Cork this weekend offer a fun and tasty way to keep kids busy. Taking place from 12pm to 2pm on Sunday, these hands-on workshops will teach children how to roll and create their own sushi masterpieces.

They cost €35, plus booking fee, and can be booked through eventbrite.ie.

Baby Market

Having a baby can be expensive. From buggies and Moses baskets to car seats, high chairs, and the constant need for new clothes, parenthood can put constant pressure on the bank balance.

The Baby Market helps ease some of this financial pressure. It’s being held at the Heights Hotel in Killarney from 12pm to 2pm on Sunday, and will offer all sorts of pre-loved yet high-quality baby, children’s, and maternity goods for sale.

A range of local baby-related businesses and services will also have stalls at the event.

Tickets for Baby Market Kerry are currently on sale on eventbrite.ie and prices start from €8. Family discounts are also available.

‘A Friend for Tiny Ghost’

A Friend for Tiny Ghost.

Introduce little ones to the magic of reading with a brand new picture book by Meath-based author and illustrator Tatyana Feeney.

A Friend for Tiny Ghost tells the story of a very small ghost who lives all alone in a very big, old house. He longs for a friend but no one can see him. Until one day, a little boy named Sam visits the old house with his class, and somehow, only he can see the ghost.

The pair form a firm friendship. The ghost shows Sam his favourite things in his house. Sam then convinces the ghost to leave the house so he can show him his favourite things outside.

It’s a book about the simple joys of friendship. Published by O’Brien Press, it costs €10.99.

Wooden postcards

Celebrate the birth of a friend or family member’s baby with one of these wooden postcards from the Dublin-based littlepapermill.ie.

Little Paper Mill postcard.

Aisling Howley is a fine art graduate and mum behind this greeting card company based in Skerries. These wooden postcards are among her most distinctive creations. They come in either pink or blue, with the words Leanbh Nua — which translates as ‘new baby’ — printed on sustainable wood. So not only do they function as a greeting card, but they can also be used as a print to keep and display in the baby’s bedroom.

They usually cost €6 but are currently on sale for €3.

Tips for regulation

If you’re looking for tips to help your child regulate their emotions when they are feeling overwhelmed, follow @theparentalpsychologist on Instagram.

Bronagh Fitzpatrick is a Galway-based clinical psychologist whose account specialises in techniques that support the nervous systems of parents and their children. From managing screen time to parenting phrases that help children feel emotionally safe, there are lots of practical tips and tools here.