Welcome back to another episode of Honey You’re Ruining Our Kid. It’s presidential election week in Ireland and the toys are being thrown out of the pram. Things are getting down right dIrty and it feels hard to explain or understand the impact this may have on our kids. All they are seeing is people taking swipes at each other on the news. How do we explain political behaviour to our children and then expect them not to replicate it. 

Question 1- 

When you’re a working mum trying to juggle your job and childcare you can just feel like the worry of timetabling your whole life is never ending. So when your kids become teenagers you finally have a chance to give them independence and trust them with the responsibility of minding themselves at home while you are still at work. What do you do though when they step up that expectation and want to invite some friends over while you’re not there. Can you trust them in the house alone with their buddies? Is 14 years of age too early for them to be able to handle these freedoms?  

Question 2- 

Is there anything cuter than a chatty six year old girl. When you know your child to be a social butterfly at home or when around family it can be hard to understand that she is in fact the opposite at school. Should you be worried if your teacher approaches you with worries about her language skills when you know she has them. Or should you be worried about why your child is choosing to be selectively mute while at school. 

Question 3- 

Exhausted moms raising teenagers is never a good mix. We are led to believe that the early years are the toughest parenting years and then you get to meet your teen. Navigating your child through their teenage years is a mammoth task made even harder if they are unhappy and acting out. How do you reach your child? What can you do to help your child through their inner turmoil? How do you speak to them and get them to understand that they can’t take their moods and frustrations out on you or their extended family? Is there hope? Is there a way of turning it all around or do you just have to ride the teenage dirt bag wave until it reaches a calmer shore. 

Thank you for listening in to another episode of Honey You’re Ruining Our Kid. We wish everyone a very happy Halloween. We will be back after the mid term break so there is plenty of time to get your parenting questions into us, simply email us in honeyyouareruiningourkid@gmail.com. 

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