Children will be aware of tensions between parents but "it’s better not to have rancorous and fractious conflict in front of them because they’ll be upset by it".
The problem with children checking their phones at 2.00 a.m. is they “go to bed buzzing and can’t get to sleep”. The next day they are completely exhausted, not performing their best at school and so their confidence is knocked. “It’s a whole cycle.”
Exposure to porn, cyberbullying and accessing unreliable information are key concerns for parents.
Pope appeals to separated parents not to allow children to bear the weight of the separation and be used as 'hostages against the other spouse'.
Carole M. Eipers's book is designed to help parents and teachers to be aware of how they can best share their faith with their children.
Ralph F. Ranieri looks at how families can recover their equilibrium after it has been lost through conflict. He sees the parable of the Prodigal Son as a template for reconciliation within family life.
Carmel Wynne believes we should not underestimate the difficulties of parenting and the strain it can put on a relationship – hence the need for learning appropriate skills and for a solid family support system.
Carmel Wynne argues that we do children no favours when we try to protect them from the reality of death; we should, rather, prepare them in advance, in a manner appropriate to their age, for each of the events surrounding the death of someone they know.
Neil writes: “It amazes me how so many people in the modern world seem to be so anti-family. When I was young it was simply taken for granted that there was no better place for children to grow up than in a happy family. What has happened? Bernard McGuckian SJ [...]
There isn’t a family or an individual living that hasn’t had its own “earthquake” or “can of worms”. “Can you recover?” asks Jesuit priest and psychotherapist, Paul Andrews. The answer, he sees, is in the Gospel parables – the lost coin, the lost sheep, the prodigal son – and in [...]
In a world where religion is given a bad press, Sarah Johnson provides a practical ‘toolkit’ for parents who want to give their children a happy and healthy childhood where God is honoured. She shows how faith brings perspective to life and provides a sane and viable alternative to atheistic [...]
Carmel Wynne challenges the notion that parents must be perfect and argues that mothers, especially, must look after themselves, after their own physical and emotional needs – for the good of the whole family.
“Our prisons are not working” was the title of an article written for Reality magazine in 2001. And, it seems, little has changed since then. Fr Tony O’Riordan SJ is a visiting chaplain to a number of prisons in Dublin and is also Director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith [...]
Jean Elliot looks back with great joy on her many years of parenting.
Nancy Donoghue reflects on the blessings beyond the tragedies in her life as a mother, particularly the tragedy of losing her eight-year-old daughter.
For Eileen and Brian Foley, their daughter Catherine has been a blessing and a joy, in spite of her severe health problems.
Helen Doherty learns that to be a good mother one doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough.
Ralph F. Ranieri explains how excessive shyness can cause children severe emotional pain. Once you understand the causes, you can take steps to resolve the problem.
Dale Francis offers some dos and don’ts for parents who experience the pain of seeing their adult children leave the church, sometimes to join another church or religious group.
