Stella O Malley

27 results

The pandemic has caused anxiety disorder incidence rates to rise 26%, a global study found. Photograph: iStock
How do I spot if my child has an anxiety disorder?

If we were living in an age of anxiety before the global Covid-19 pandemic, we’re surely emerging into an age of super anxiety now. In an analysis of(...)

Shy children are the ‘leg grabbers’ – ‘they have the social skills, they are well able to play and engage with others but they need that little bit longer lead-in time than other kids do’. Photograph: iStock
Why it’s best not to say ‘don’t be shy’ to your quiet child

Writer Susan Cain found it mystifying as a child why certain adults were so intent on organising children into big group activities – “let’s all get t(...)

It’s natural to want to protect your children from distress, but sometimes we step in too quickly.
How to talk to another parent about their problematic child

Raising concerns about a child’s behaviour to a parent can feel awkward or even scary. It’s important to keep perspective and remain calm. So your c(...)

One submission will say ‘what some children describe as “bullying” can be more accurately described as robust banter’. File photograph: Getty
Ombudsman fields over 400 grievances about school bullying

More than 400 complaints about bullying in schools have been made to the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman since 2018, with the issue making up almos(...)

Psychotherapist Stella O’Malley thinks teenagers and those in their early 20s have been treated very callously by the public during this lockdown.
The controlling parent is having a good Covid

Everybody, regardless of age, has had a lot less autonomy over their lives during the past year with pandemic restrictions. “This year has been a ver(...)

Eileen Keane Haly at home in Clogheen, Cork, with her daughters Megan and Erin. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision
Trading adolescents’ autonomy for safety is an exchange that needs balance

Eileen Keane Haly still remembers how nervous she was about letting the eldest of her four daughters, Megan, out to her first disco. But when her youn(...)

While children are very good adjusters, the new norm is temporary and the old norm will return and we will have to readjust children back.
Confinement and your kids: tips to turn negativity positive

Here are seven tips from experts on how to support children through the continuing crisis, in the hope that they will be able to look back on this as (...)

Younger children need the reassurance of a calm environment in times of stress. Photograph: iStock
Could children benefit from the ‘great pause’?

Rising anxiety levels and decreasing resilience among children has been a hot topic among professionals in recent years, with over-scheduled lives and(...)

Geraldine and Devin as a baby: ‘Devin was two weeks old when I realised my behaviour, my mood, my attitude and the frightening attacks were more than simply being overwhelmed with a newborn and a pre-schooler.’
The Irish Times shortlisted for mental health media awards

The Irish Times has been shortlisted in three categories for the 2019 Headline Mental Health Media Awards. The awards – which were established more t(...)

What should you do if you suspect your child is picking on others? Photograph: iStock/Getty
Help: I think my child is a bully

We hear a lot of concern about children in school being bullied but, for every victim, there is a bully. On occasion, an encounter with the parent of (...)

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