All the grumpiness of being awoken at 6am is dispelled by a single word: ‘cug’. A ‘cug’, in my two-year-old’s nomenclature, is something halfway between a cuddle and a hug. So when I’m awoken by a persistent request for a cug, it’s hard not to be touched, however early the hour. However, making regular use…
Temper tantrums are a normal part of human development, writes Rory Fitzgerald There’s bad news about the ‘terrible twos’: researchers now say they can begin well before the age of two, and can go on for a number of years afterwards — if you’re not careful. The symptoms are well-known to all parents…
Dr Andrea Fitzgerald Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe, with approximately 50 per cent of women breastfeeding when they leave hospital, compared to, for example, 99pc in Norway and 84pc in Britain. On the whole, Irish mums also stop breastfeeding far earlier than their European counterparts. Research is yet to…
In any chemist or health food section you will find a phenomenal array of vitamin and dietary supplements. Many of these can be quite expensive. So, are they of any real benefit? Since Victorian times, there has always been a ready market for ‘cure alls’. Research has shown that many of these dietary supplements are…
Keeping a healthy,balanced diet is actually fairly simple, writes Rory Fitzgerald We are what we eat. That can be a curse or a blessing — depending on what you eat. The greatest health problem facing us in Ireland today is not the lack of food, but a surfeit of it. In a race…
Minister of State, Roisin Shortall, suggested recently that parents who allow their teenage children to drink at home may be contributing to substance abuse among young people. In an interview with Conor Pope of The Irish Times, the minister said that while parents might be well meaning in their attempts to encourage a positive…
Family activities Anne O’Connell This year, people have been slower to begin a bird-feeding routine because of the relatively mild weather. Watching birds’ antics through the window in cold weather can be wonderfully entertaining for children. All you need is a simple feeding station. Robins and blackbirds find it difficult to hang on to…
Health Matters Dr Andrea Fitzgerald These days, almost everyone owns a mobile phone. It is increasingly common even for young children to have their own mobile phone. Ever since their advent, there have been public fears about their safety, especially in relation to cancer risk. Concerns about mobile phone health risks are particularly acute…
Dad’s Diary It was a glorious, blue-sky morning just before Christmas. The calm, half-empty train pulled out of London’s Waterloo Station. I had just finished work for the year and the cosy joys of the festive season sparkled ahead. One of the things I was especially looking forward to was taking my two-year-old boy…
Technological advances have had a huge impact on family life, writes Rory Fitzgerald Our children are increasingly wired — in every sense. Children nowadays are intimately familiar with complex technology, often literally before they can walk. My two-year-old can turn on the iPad, punch in the access code, open his favourite Peter Rabbit app,…
Rory Fitzgerald
Maria Byrne