Dealing with misbehaviour
More than a few parents have expressed their feelings about their child by saying “I wish I knew what to do about my child’s behaviour.” It would be nice to have a simple solution—like a magic wand—for parents to use when they feel frustrated by their child’s misbehaviour. Unfortunately, the reasons why children misbehave are […]
Learning to love maths!
I hate math. I have always hated math. I manage to do enough to figure out my bank balance and calculate how to cut a recipe in half, but the finer points of advanced math remain beyond my grasp. When it came to the sciences that required some tricky math, I managed to memorize my […]
Increase your self-confidence as a parent
Being a parent is a tremendous responsibility. Parents are expected to feed and clothe tiny, helpless human beings, to teach them to get along in the world, and to encourage them to like themselves and others. These and many other responsibilities often lead parents to question themselves and their abilities. Many times, parents feel they […]
Parenting adolescents with an intellectual disability
Parents Plus is developing a parenting programme for those parenting adolescents with intellectual disabilities. This programme is going to be piloted in Letterkenny by Gina Grant (Donegal Down Syndrome) and Marina Boyle (Child and Adolescent Counsellor). It will run on Wednesday mornings 10:30 – 1 in the offices of Donegal Down Syndrome from Wednesday 9th […]
Sixty-five Roses – a storybook with a difference
A surprise diagnosis and a feeling of being overwhelmed led to two Kildare mums penning a wonderful new book to help families of children born with Cystic Fibrosis. ‘Sixty-Five Roses’ aims to help siblings, relatives and friends better support the person with CF in their lives, while also giving comfort to parents at a very […]
Number Fun!
What’s the number of the day? Here’s a fun way to introduce the idea that numbers stand for a quantity. It can be an introduction to numbers for young children and a practice session for older learners. To start, pick a number for the day. Let’s say it’s three. So, for today, look for the […]
Positive ways to deal with negative behaviour
Here is an interesting piece from the Growing Together newsletter which is distributed by the LifeStart Foundation The opposite of spanking is not nothing Now that I have your attention with that double negative, let’s clarify what I’m talking about. Recently a reader responded to my plea for firm guidance for kids with the comment […]
Being a good parent – nobody ever said it would be easy!
Nobody ever said that parenting would be easy. Being a good parent is even more difficult! Here are five guidelines to help you put into practice some principles of good parenting that you probably already know but for which you may need an occasional reminder: 1. Be consistent in your enforcement of rules. Be certain […]
Keeping Kids Safe Online This Summer!
School is officially out for summer! Here’s hoping that long sunny days lie ahead. No matter what you can be sure that technology will play a part in everyone’s summer. So, here are some tips for what you can do to ensure that your child stays safe over the summer holidays, while they are spending […]
Kids and technology – the challenge of balance!
Zeeko is an organisation committed to supporting children’s online wellbeing. Here is a great piece from them about having a balanced approach to online activity. Barnardo’s UK recently released a Report called ‘Left to their own Devices’ which explored the use of social media by Barnardo’s youngest clients. Their insights indicate some children start looking at social media as […]