Parenting - Preschool - Irish Examiner

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PARENTING - PRESCHOOL

A collection of the articles on parenting during the preschool years. Enjoy.

<p>Linda Murray with her daughter Ellie and their cat Fifi at home in Monasterevin, Co. Kildare. Photo: Alf Harvey.</p>

parenting

Parenting is hard – and harder when you’re sick

Being a parent with a chronic illness is challenging, but accepting your limitations and being open about the condition can help

3156119_1_org_Julie_Jay_Circle_headshot

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

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Joanna Fortune: How do I help my little girl adjust to a new sibling?

sad crying little girl hugging mother, parenting

parenting

Trudy Meehan on how her book is helping kids bereaved by suicide to understand ‘why?’

3156119_1_org_Julie_Jay_Circle_headshot

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

Tots to teens: Spooktacular family events and a stinky goose's story

parenting

Tots to teens: Spooktacular family events and a stinky goose's story

Tots to Teens: A healthy Halloween alternative and a spooktacular screening

Tots to Teens: A healthy Halloween alternative and a spooktacular screening

Irish fruit growers Keelings have teamed up with dietitian Orla Walsh to create spooky snack ideas for families to tuck into this Halloween

Tue, 14 Oct, 2025

First aid, twisted leg.

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

A catalogue of recent calamities has left me feeling like I am a card-carrying member of the Royal College of Surgeons

Tue, 07 Oct, 2025

Father and daughter fight, generation gap concept

Joanna Fortune: My children have been caught up in family row with grandparents

My mum usually picks up my two children from school once a week, but says she won't do so until I apologise for my behaviour. I'm hurt that she has taken sides and is using childcare as a form of leverage.

Tue, 07 Oct, 2025

Tots to teens: Nature art competition — and Great Space Week events to check out

Tots to teens: Nature art competition — and Great Space Week events to check out

And stickers come to life with 3D animation thanks to Irish company HoloToyz

Tue, 07 Oct, 2025

girl wearing white t-shirt holding paper card bubble with question mark isolated over orange background

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

As I feel myself needing to phone a friend more and more when it comes to general knowledge questions, I can't be the only one who feels a bit of a silly goose since becoming a parent?

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Tots to Teens: Shannon Bear takes off to raise funds

Tots to Teens: Shannon Bear takes off to raise funds

"Throughout 2025, the Shannon Airport Group is partnering with Clare Crusaders and Little Blue Heroes, organisations that support children with additional needs and families of children undergoing long-term medical care."

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Tots to teens: Snow time like now to book Santa

Tots to teens: Snow time like now to book Santa

Taking place on selected dates from November 22 to December 23, this immersive Christmas experience will transform the market into a winter wonderland.

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

Count Dracula wearing black and red cape. Cute cartoon vampire character with fangs. Happy Halloween. Flat design. Violet backgr

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

A clip of Molly-Mae Hague’s and Tommy Fury’s daughter talking about her love of biting has gone viral, but the reality is biting is totally normal for toddlers

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

Adorable caucasian girl playing with telephone toy sitting on floor at kindergarten

Joanna Fortune: My four-year-old doesn't want to share her toys

Her only-child status may be more ‘correlation over causation’ when it comes to her struggles. Many solo-children can turn-take and share, and many sibling-children will struggle just as you describe.

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

Tots to Teens: Have a field day with this model-farm toy

Tots to Teens: Have a field day with this model-farm toy

"The toy was inspired by a request from Roscommon man Padraic Cuddy’s young son, Tommy, who wanted a field for his animals to graze, and his father obliged by building a realistic toy field, complete with hedging and a wooden gate."

Tue, 09 Sep, 2025

Healthy Homemade Milk Babyccino

Julie Jay: I'd prefer to stay at home but someone has to pay for our babyccino lifestyle

Despite having a childminder sent from the childminding gods, my youngest has been kicking up such a fuss in the mornings you'd swear I was delivering him to a gulag

Tue, 09 Sep, 2025

Tots to Teens: Healthy lunches, Harvest Festival, and a Belfast fairytale

Tots to Teens: Healthy lunches, Harvest Festival, and a Belfast fairytale

A Belfast Fairytale by Mel Carroll is a fun-filled picture book for young children. It retells the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff in a Belfast setting

Tue, 02 Sep, 2025

Reading is Fun!

Preschool: How to help your child navigate a brave new world

"Pre-school asks a lot of children, says Teresa Heeney, CEO of Early Childhood Ireland. “It’s a very significant transition that involves adjusting to a new physical environment, different routines, new children, and new group dynamics."

Tue, 19 Aug, 2025

Tots to Teens: All the fun of circus at a Cork fort

Tots to Teens: All the fun of circus at a Cork fort

"All sorts of circus performers will provide the entertainment, including aerial acrobats, dancing Disco Dragons, and stilt walkers. Cork’s 96FM will be on hand to provide the music."

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

Tots to Teens: Cork on a Fork Festival is a recipe for a good time

Tots to Teens: Cork on a Fork Festival is a recipe for a good time

"...hands-on cooking classes will teach children how to make pizza, pasta, and sweet treats, like carrot cake balls, apple doughnuts, and smoothies..."

Tue, 12 Aug, 2025

Mother comforting her crying little girl. Parenthood, family, support concept

Joanna Fortune: A trial visit to playschool didn't go well, I'm dreading the real thing in September

My three-year-old daughter is very attached to me. She's an only child, and we do almost everything together. She got distressed when I attempted to leave her at playschool in June, so I stayed with her. What would you advise?

Tue, 12 Aug, 2025

Loving mother hugging, comforting little daughter, enjoying tender moment

Joanna Fortune: How do I reassure my clingy child that I'm going to come back every time?

She now has a meltdown nearly every time I attempt to leave her behind with her dad or babysitter

Tue, 29 Jul, 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

Photo of baby boy sleeping together with teddy bear.

Sleep experts' top tips on getting pre-schoolers to bed each night

Get to know your young child’s delaying tactics, and put in place habits and routines that foster a good night’s rest

Sun, 27 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

Having so much fun under the sun

Joanna Fortune: I'm worried about my parents-in-law going on holiday with us — what should I do?

Arrange a big family day out and perhaps an evening or two when you and your partner can spend quality time together, connecting, sightseeing, or relaxing

Tue, 15 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

Two miniature houses in red and green

Joanna Fortune: How can I prepare my children to meet their dad's new partner?

"Co-parenting in a connected and collaborative way isn’t easy, but it is the greatest gift you will give your children."

Tue, 08 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

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