#Julie Jay

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50 Irish people on their top tip for happiness in 2023

#Julie Jay

Comedian and parenting columnist

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>"My kids were still a little young this year to fully comprehend the boundary-bending potential of the Celtic New Year. As a result, when the last Friday night came, they pooh-poohed my new costumes and decided to go with the same outfits they had worn last year, devastating their mom, who loves a bit of creativity in the costume department"</p>

parenting

Julie Jay: I'm already quizzing my son about next year’s Halloween outfit

This year, I made up for my son’s insistence on reusing last year’s Halloween costume by getting creative with my own outfit, and by creative, I mean donning a bin bag and a Post-it note

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Julie Jay: Boys are an enigma to me, so how can I be expected to raise good ones?

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Julie Jay: Nothing beats a bop when it comes to letting off steam with your kids

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Julie Jay: Parents, like doctors, should take blood in their stride

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Julie Jay: My IQ has most definitely plummeted since having kids

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Julie Jay: Bambi Fury isn’t the only baby vampire in town

Birthday cake

Julie Jay: When birthday celebrations become a week-long jubilee

We all want to mark these milestones, but even by my Kardashian standards this birthday has gone completely out of control

Tue, 16 Sep, 2025

Coming Home from School

Julie Jay: Forget their first day of school, the second day is the real test of fortitude

Whilst I was all tough talk on the first day of school, the second day was for me, the moment when I seriously considered scooping up my newly initiated junior infant and making a break for it

Tue, 02 Sep, 2025

adorable child playing with tennis racket and ball

Julie Jay: A tennis match is no place for a crying baby who is making a racket

The controversy surrounding a crying baby at the Cinncinati Tennis Open has once again ignited a debate around how far we should go to include parents and children at major sporting events

Tue, 26 Aug, 2025

Kids height chart, ruler to measure growth of child with raccoon, rabbit and bear

Julie Jay: Public nurse check-ups, like NCT tests, will always have me sweating

Despite never having anything less than an entirely pleasant experience with public health nurses over the years, I always fret that I will be outted as the fraud that I am when appointment time approaches

Tue, 19 Aug, 2025

plastic model of a human jaw with white teeth and a brown teddy bear with a wooden toothbrush

Julie Jay: Trips to the dentist can often be a kick in the teeth

"Our new dentist’s reception area is so instantly soothing, I was almost envious of the patients waiting for a root canal. The sparkling floors scream, ‘We don’t reuse toothpicks here,’ while the funny ornaments, depicting old-school dentists, complete with monocles, tell us this dentist also knew how to have fun."

Tue, 12 Aug, 2025

Father and son recycling together in the backyard

Julie Jay: It’s hard to think of anything more harmful to the planet than being a parent

Before having kids, I was all about saving the planet, but now as a parent my eco-warrior approach has become a little more compromised

Tue, 05 Aug, 2025

cute child taking a bath.Little child boy character take a shower. Daily routine. Bathroom interior background. Vector cartoon i

Julie Jay: Four bathrooms, two small boys, and an inflatable bath — what could possibly go wrong?

We have had to endure the absolute carnage of inflatable baths up to this point — and carnage it is. You would be forgiven for thinking we have been subjected to a flash flood, such is the level of saturation

Tue, 29 Jul, 2025

Beach toys

Julie Jay: My stomach sinks at the prospect of fun in the sun

More rain, less pain I say, at least when it comes to entertaining children over these summer months

Tue, 22 Jul, 2025

Children's dependence on electronic products

Julie Jay: Want to finish your dinner when eating out with kids? Screens are often the answer

After attempting everything - colouring, cars, and conversation, I have accepted that the only thing that will get my kids to stay at the table long enough for Mammy to eat her dinner is an iPad

Tue, 15 Jul, 2025

kids play materials on the beach

Julie Jay: I’d choose Bundoran over Benidorm, even on days when rain is biblical

After a lovely week spent on the North West coast, I am not sure we will ever be in need of our passports again

Tue, 08 Jul, 2025

Grandmother playing with her grandson

Julie Jay: Declaring you have ‘no Nannies’ is not the flex celebrities think it is

Celebrities might love to tell us that they do it all on their own, but the reality is nobody can do parenting without help

Tue, 01 Jul, 2025

Broken eggs - accident at kitchen, mess. Legs on background

Julie Jay: The years go fast, but some days I can't help but wish they hurried up a bit

As much as we love our kids, we all have days which have us pushed to the brink of sanity. Today was one of those days

Tue, 17 Jun, 2025

Students Taking Exam in Classroom Setting. Students in uniforms are seated in a classroom, writing answers during an exam, highl

Julie Jay: We must teach children that nothing in life is guaranteed

Junior Cert controversies have reminded me this week how important it is to teach our children resilience, and to model it too

Tue, 10 Jun, 2025

View from behind of a boy and girl run with bucket to ocean

Julie Jay: Give parents a break and let them take children on holiday in term time

If covid taught us anything, it is that learning doesn’t stop and start at the school gate

Tue, 03 Jun, 2025

The father holds the tiny legs of a newborn baby in his palms.

Julie Jay: Can the 'just you wait' brigade please stop raining on our parenting parade?

Because there will, of course, come a time when the baby who leans into you becomes their own person, a person with the power to refuse your request to stop at the chipper on the way, and insist on playing their own music in the car because ‘they’re driving’. Just you wait? I can’t wait, and that’s the real joy of it

Tue, 27 May, 2025

A little boy is watching football on TV at home

Julie Jay: My stubborn determination for my son to play GAA is paying off

Like all sports autobiographies, our football journey has so far been one of dizzying heights and terrifying lows

Tue, 20 May, 2025

Child holding placard with pensive emoticon, question marks doodle

Julie Jay: My preschooler is a walking, talking, information-gathering machine

My four year old’s insatiable curiosity is a reminder that the older that we need to ask more questions, not less

Tue, 13 May, 2025

Julie Jay: Is there ever a good time to have kids?

Julie Jay: Is there ever a good time to have kids?

If we waited for the perfect time to have kids, we’d never have them

Tue, 06 May, 2025

Grandmother is hugging a grandson

Julie Jay: Nana’s visit has relegated me to second place in my children’s eyes

I am the fossil fuel to my mother’s renewable energy source, the sod of turf to her wind turbine, the briquette to her solar panel

Tue, 29 Apr, 2025

Group of people roasting marshmallows over a campfire, holding sticks with marshmallows near bright flames. Hot drinks with mars

Julie Jay: My son is going to camp, but it’s not like an 1980s American movie

Camps are bigger than ever, but bear little resemblance to their American counterpart in that there are fewer grizzly bears and a lot more central heating

Tue, 22 Apr, 2025

Confident about the Answer

Julie Jay: Teaching your little ones the delicate dance between being truthful and being popular

When it comes to keeping friends and not making enemies I have to remind my four-year-old that it is a delicate dance between being truthful and being popular.

Tue, 15 Apr, 2025

Child drawings hanging on the wall, preschool child painting, kids room, Children's creativity, empty space

Julie Jay: Nothing cures sentimentality like being a parent

As a first-time parent, everything was treasured. But the second time around, I have my kids’ art binned at the first opportunity.

Tue, 08 Apr, 2025

Two cute little sisters having fun together with modeling clay at a daycare. Creative kids molding at home. Children play with p

Julie Jay: The science doesn’t lie - girls are easier to raise

They were basically the equivalent of feng-shui, but with less lower back pain from moving couches

Tue, 01 Apr, 2025

What to do if you think your child is being bullied

It is never easy to navigate friendship breakups, especially when it involves your kids

Dealing with your kids falling out with friends is one of the parts of parenting I most dread, because, even now, I haven’t quite learned how to navigate the heartbreak of losing friends just yet

Tue, 25 Mar, 2025

Kids in book character costume. School party.

Julie Jay: Forgetting it was a dress-up day at school left me blinking back the tears

The guilt of feeling your child is somehow on the back foot is a physical weight in our bodies

Tue, 18 Mar, 2025

Geography was not the deciding factor when we were picking a school...

Geography was not the deciding factor when we were picking a school...

When it comes to choosing a school for your kids, all rational thought regarding geographical distance and other practicalities goes out the window

Tue, 11 Mar, 2025

Circular White Chat Bubble With Cut Out Exclamation Point Sitting On Blue Background

Julie Jay: Some new words are more welcome than others

As Number One experiments with some colourful language, I can’t help but feel some things are best left unsaid

Tue, 25 Feb, 2025

Itchy Scalp from Head Lice

Julie Jay: This week my husband’s PTSD was triggered by the return of a tiny comb

Nothing strikes fear in the heart of parents like a note announcing a case of head-lice has been detected

Tue, 18 Feb, 2025

A woman boils water for tea on a small tourist stove with dry fuel in complete darkness during a power and gas outage at home. B

Julie Jay: When it comes to parenting minus electricity, it’s a dim prospect

A day minus electricity is a reminder that parenting without electricity is kind of like giving birth without drugs — possible, but not always preferable

Tue, 11 Feb, 2025

little kid playing hide and seek game;

Julie Jay: When it comes to organised fun of any kind, my eldest plays by his own rules

You haven’t known pain until you have known the pain of trying to play hide and seek with a four year old

Tue, 04 Feb, 2025

One day I'll be tall as you, dad!

Julie Jay: Passing remarks to children can have a lasting effect on their self-esteem

When it comes to praising children, it’s probably best to leave things they can’t change off the list of attributes

Tue, 28 Jan, 2025

Child drawing on a table at home and making a mischief

Julie Jay: Why throw tantrums when you can throw cutlery?

Anything can constitute a toy with a little imagination and a mother so tired she’s willing to give any game that doesn’t involve toxic substances the green light

Tue, 21 Jan, 2025

Serious cute little boy in hardhat and formalwear using digital tablet

Julie Jay: My vigilant little boy could have a future as a health and safety officer

A stickler for the rules, very little gets past my eagle-eyed offspring, and I have the wounded ego to prove it

Tue, 07 Jan, 2025

Close Up Of Feet As Mother Helps Baby Son To Take First Steps At Home

Julie Jay: Being a parent is to be in a constant state of flux

As much as we know change is a good thing, we can’t help but somehow want things to stay the same

Tue, 31 Dec, 2024

Mrs.Clause on a Video Conference Call

Julie Jay: I’ve a niggling suspicion that Mrs Claus does more than bake cookies

To those objecting to the ad’s supppsed ‘wokeness’ please remember that there are very few problems which can’t be solved by a good scrub

Wed, 25 Dec, 2024

Two brothers standing up in the forest and hugging each other. Love children.

Julie Jay: My sons are chalk and cheese, but they love each other all the same

"While Ted, my eldest, has the heart of an Irish poet, JJ is more of the fighting Irish variety"

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Kite template heart for Valentines day. Helpful element for web design and print.

Julie Jay: My mother-in-law was never happier than when indulging her grandkids' every whim

Her funeral in Carrick-on-Shannon was a testament to a life well lived

Tue, 10 Dec, 2024

Tired woman holding her head. Young exhausted mother with baby milk bottles. Vector isolated cartoon illustration.

Julie Jay: As parents of toddlers, now is not our time to thrive, but survive

Having to cancel two work commitments this week was a reminder that nothing cures people-pleasing tendencies like having small children

Tue, 03 Dec, 2024

Julie Jay: Spoiling our children from time to time isn’t a bad thing

Julie Jay: Spoiling our children from time to time isn’t a bad thing

They aren’t small for long, and we might not always be in a position to do it

Tue, 26 Nov, 2024

Modern tired mother and little child after sleepless night. Exhausted woman with baby is sitting with coffee in kitchen. Life of

Julie Jay: One of the hardest aspects of parenting is the lack of alone time

"My 15-month-old has been going through a phase for the guts of eight weeks now, where even setting him down momentarily can lead to cries so piercing only dolphins can hear..."

Tue, 19 Nov, 2024

Happy young mother and father embrace their child with care and love.

Julie Jay: I was never much of a hugger, but now hugs are a big thing in our house

I have often wondered, how many times is too many times to tell my kids I love them

Tue, 12 Nov, 2024

Cute toddler boy watching cartoon movie in the cinema

Julie Jay: Baby-and-parent comedy gigs are a riot

Parent and baby events are fast becoming my dream events to do - mostly because the hecklers can’t speak

Tue, 05 Nov, 2024

Rear View Of Children In Halloween Costumes Going Trick Or Treat. Little Boy Ringing The Doorbell Of The House Decorated For Hal

Halloween is the one time we do the unthinkable - we knock on a neighbour’s door unannounced

Some people may turn off the lights and pretend not to be home, but most will greet the kids with a smile and a few sweets

Tue, 29 Oct, 2024

Young caucasian woman mother changing clothes and diapers to her small five months old baby boy or girl on the back seat of the

Julie Jay: We have all experienced our own '17 diapers' moment

After women started sharing their own moments of perceived parental failure to support a woman vilified for failing to dispose of soiled nappies in her home, I can't help but think it is these moments, not the moments of triumph, which connect us

Tue, 22 Oct, 2024