Parenting | The Irish Times

Family-friendly?: in coming 120th, Dublin’s overall score is 68.06, compared with Helsinki’s 100 and Istanbul’s 1

Dublin ranks 120th out of 150 cities for raising a family

The Irish capital lags behind other European capitals in a survey topped by Helsinki

‘We love having babies. We love our own babies. But the difference between Italy and Ireland is in Ireland we only love our own babies.’

Do Irish people hate babies? Our irritation with them is embedded in our culture

For generations a negative attitude towards babies was not only encouraged but essentially State-sanctioned

Third class pupils at Kildare Town Educate Together National School work on their intercultural play presentation which they will do at a conference in Dublin on January 17th to launch ‘Grow from Seeds’, an intercultural education resource for primary schools. Photograph: Laura Hutton

Don’t refer to them as ‘the ‘Polish child’ or ‘the Chinese child’ – learn their name and use it

Study shows more efforts needed to further integration of children from a non-native Irish background

Third-class pupils at Kildare Town Educate Together National School. Photo: Laura Hutton

Making ‘outsiders’ feel at home is child’s play

‘Grow from Seeds’ school workshops are piloting practical intercultural education for children

Children

Focusing on the shyness can inadvertently make a child think something might be wrong with them. Photograph: iStockphoto

How to encourage your child’s potential . . . from toddler to teen

Saying ‘don’t be shy’ or ‘has the cat got your tongue?’ can increase his anxiety

Teenagers

For teenagers, bereavement can be particularly difficult to come to terms with. Photograph: iStockphoto

Ask the expert: Our daughter is struggling since the death of a classmate

She is struggling to get a proper night’s sleep and is very anxious before going to bed

Toddlers

Sleep training requires a lot of patience and does not yield immediate results. Photograph: Thinkstock

Ask the expert: How do we get a toddler to sleep all night?

If you have a parenting query, send your question to health@irishtimes.com

Babies

Pixie McKenna: ‘In an ideal world, if you can cook something, great. It’s cheaper, it’s more convenient, you can batch-cook and, ultimately, as you go through the stages, you can all eat the same thing, which is really important.’

Pixie McKenna on weaning: ‘I hadn’t a clue’

‘Dr Pixie’s First Foods’ examines weaning and babies’ first food recipes . . . sugar included

Relationships

As one of my boys is 12 and prepubescent, I’m concerned about telling him about his dad before he has established his own sexual identity. Photograph: Thinkstock

Ask the Expert: How do I tell my sons their father is bisexual?

John Sharry helps solve your parenting problems. Send your queries to health@irishtimes.com

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Philip Lynch with his wife Jane and daughter Molly in their home in Tasmania.

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