"...listen with an open and empathic ear, provide nurture and support, and get her engaged in activities beyond her typical school peer group this summer so she has experiences of entering new groups and developing new connections..."

While we need to understand teenagers’ struggles and the stress they are under, that does not mean that all acting-out behaviours must be tolerated

An accessible new booklet written by four enterprising pupils offers insights and tips on how to negotiate the transition from sixth class to first year

We don’t have the knowledge of the elders in the village to show us how to navigate this new and complex world

Instead of stepping back when our child gets their first smartphone, we need to step in

Start with tight regulations and loosen them as you go - it is far more difficult to roll back from unfettered access.   

Developing good thinking and analysis abilities is a formative skill they need to learn and you can only teach that by getting out of their way 

 To understand self-harm, we need to see it as a signpost to the problem and not the problem itself

Teach your children about money management from an early age, and they will grow up into financially savvy adults 

Do your children get nervous before visiting the doctor or the hospital? If so, tell them to grab their favourite teddies and bring them along to the RCSI’s annual Teddy Bear Hospital

Toxic sibling relationships can be profoundly damaging and many children say it affects their long-term development and self-esteem

Separation anxiety can be defined as a lingering worry or anxiety that something bad will happen to the child (or they believe something bad will happen to their mum or dad) if they leave their parent

We need to give the vaccine yearly because the immune response starts to decrease over time, and the strain of flu changes each year. Most kids don’t mind the nasal flu vaccine, and it’s quick to administer.

"While you can be clear that the same rules that apply to an 11-year-old are not the same for grown-ups, there are ones you can follow, such as the ‘one screen at a time’ rule and not having phones at mealtimes or in your bedroom."

Parents need to role model consistency over intensity - if we accept that change is hard and at times laborious but invest time and be consistent in achieving our goals, our children will pick up on this value system and learn from it

A new year has begun, and many of us have resolved to be better able to deal with parenting challenges in the months ahead. Here's where to turn for support.

It is helpful to keep conversations about bodies factual and use anatomically correct language to avoid confusion or ambivalence

Social media has undoubtedly affected children’s social and emotional development

It's unacceptable for girls and young women to experience touching or groping from males while socialising 

MS Readathon is Ireland’s biggest sponsored reading initiative and it’s celebrating its 35th anniversary this year

Emotional and psychological issues children are experiencing go beyond the scope of the SPHE class  

Just because children have got through the pandemic does not automatically mean they have got over it

Too often we look at our children and lament how much they have changed when the onus is also on us to change

A reader whose son spends lunchtimes in the classroom asks for advice 

There is little to be gained from insisting that neurodivergent students study Irish