A few weeks after I had my second child, I started exercising and to cut a very long story short, between lifting weights and herself, before I was ready, I ruined my lower back. It’s bad, I won’t lie – I am writing this editorial watching the Tipp and Wexford hurlers (multi-tasking helps with the match anxiety) agilely move around the field and I am jealous of their freedom of movement. In this week’s edition, Maria Moynihan meets with the physiotherapists from The Bump Room. Looking after yourself both during pregnancy and after is important and I wish I had known about this service four years ago. But that’s just the physical, now the emotional.
I rarely get to listen to Liveline, but this week, I flicked into it as I was driving into Dublin city. A young man was telling Joe about the time a particular childcare facility, which hit the headlines last week for all the wrong reasons, left him behind in the park when he was in their care. His mother also spoke and it sent a shiver down my spine as I could completely identify with her panic.
As we walked, we broke up into little groups of adults and children. But as we neared the elephant enclosure, our group united and that is when I noticed that my little woman was not with her Granny anymore
A few years back, we all went to the zoo, lots of cousins, grannies and grandads, parents and a few friends. It was Raine’s birthday and she was having a lovely time toddling along looking at everything. As we walked, we broke up into little groups of adults and children. But as we neared the elephant enclosure, our group united and that is when I noticed that my little woman was not with her Granny anymore. I asked, “Where’s Raine? I thought you had her?”, “I thought you had her?” was the response. I ran. And as I ran, parents knew and started looking around for a child standing on its own. I kept running. Panic, terror, catastrophising growing with each step and there she was, standing by the water – crying. “Mammy,” she said,“I turned around and everyone was gone.” I picked her up (bad back forgotten as happens with massive doses of adrenaline) and carried her back past the parents I had frenziedly run past only moments earlier, and the looks on their faces showed that they identified with my panic.
It flags so many difficulties for parents who place their trust, and their hard-earned cash, in a childcare setting
I think anyone that has children in childcare could similarly identify with the torment and emotional torture visited on the parents whose children were the subjects of the Primetime Investigates in the aforementioned crèche facility. For me, what was most horrendous was that despite the revelations, some parents had to continue to drop their children into this same facility as there are no places elsewhere. It flags so many difficulties for parents who place their trust, and their hard-earned cash, in a childcare setting. I was dropping off my two the following morning after the show and met with the manager at the door.
Similar to agriculture, it can take one bad apple to make life very difficult for a huge group of people
She said she was horrified with what she had seen as if I was now somewhat suspicious of what goes on in our crèche – which I am not, my kids love going in. Similar to agriculture, it can take one bad apple to make life very difficult for a huge group of people who are doing a great job every day.
This week, we launch our Carpool in the Country series. I travelled to Antrim to meet the producers of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better crisp range, Glens of Antrim Potatoes. Read about it here.
Read more
Volunteering the backbone of the country
The pig man’s challenge is often a window to the future
A few weeks after I had my second child, I started exercising and to cut a very long story short, between lifting weights and herself, before I was ready, I ruined my lower back. It’s bad, I won’t lie – I am writing this editorial watching the Tipp and Wexford hurlers (multi-tasking helps with the match anxiety) agilely move around the field and I am jealous of their freedom of movement. In this week’s edition, Maria Moynihan meets with the physiotherapists from The Bump Room. Looking after yourself both during pregnancy and after is important and I wish I had known about this service four years ago. But that’s just the physical, now the emotional.
I rarely get to listen to Liveline, but this week, I flicked into it as I was driving into Dublin city. A young man was telling Joe about the time a particular childcare facility, which hit the headlines last week for all the wrong reasons, left him behind in the park when he was in their care. His mother also spoke and it sent a shiver down my spine as I could completely identify with her panic.
As we walked, we broke up into little groups of adults and children. But as we neared the elephant enclosure, our group united and that is when I noticed that my little woman was not with her Granny anymore
A few years back, we all went to the zoo, lots of cousins, grannies and grandads, parents and a few friends. It was Raine’s birthday and she was having a lovely time toddling along looking at everything. As we walked, we broke up into little groups of adults and children. But as we neared the elephant enclosure, our group united and that is when I noticed that my little woman was not with her Granny anymore. I asked, “Where’s Raine? I thought you had her?”, “I thought you had her?” was the response. I ran. And as I ran, parents knew and started looking around for a child standing on its own. I kept running. Panic, terror, catastrophising growing with each step and there she was, standing by the water – crying. “Mammy,” she said,“I turned around and everyone was gone.” I picked her up (bad back forgotten as happens with massive doses of adrenaline) and carried her back past the parents I had frenziedly run past only moments earlier, and the looks on their faces showed that they identified with my panic.
It flags so many difficulties for parents who place their trust, and their hard-earned cash, in a childcare setting
I think anyone that has children in childcare could similarly identify with the torment and emotional torture visited on the parents whose children were the subjects of the Primetime Investigates in the aforementioned crèche facility. For me, what was most horrendous was that despite the revelations, some parents had to continue to drop their children into this same facility as there are no places elsewhere. It flags so many difficulties for parents who place their trust, and their hard-earned cash, in a childcare setting. I was dropping off my two the following morning after the show and met with the manager at the door.
Similar to agriculture, it can take one bad apple to make life very difficult for a huge group of people
She said she was horrified with what she had seen as if I was now somewhat suspicious of what goes on in our crèche – which I am not, my kids love going in. Similar to agriculture, it can take one bad apple to make life very difficult for a huge group of people who are doing a great job every day.
This week, we launch our Carpool in the Country series. I travelled to Antrim to meet the producers of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better crisp range, Glens of Antrim Potatoes. Read about it here.
Read more
Volunteering the backbone of the country
The pig man’s challenge is often a window to the future
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