Information for Parents

 Please see info below from Parenting Expert, John Sharry -

I hope you are all doing well in these challenging times as we continue to live with the Covid-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, many of the sports, cultural activities and family celebrations  that sustain us through the winter can feel under threat. In my recent article in the Irish Times (see below), I look at how we can deal with ‘psychological fatigue’ and motivate ourselves to keep going and to thrive in our changed circumstances.  

I am also happy to announce my new online courses for parents of both 2-9 yr olds and of 10-16 yr olds. I will repeat my 3-night 'Building Resilience and Self-esteem' course as well, as the current one filled up very quickly. I also list some links to articles and parenting Q&As below.

John Sharry
www.solutiontalk.ie
www.facebook.com/SolutionTalk
www.twitter.com/JohnSharryIRL
 

Upcoming Evening Courses
Positive Parenting: Preteens and Teenagers (10-16 yr olds)
Runs over two Wednesday evenings, October 14th and 21st. Topics include:

- getting along with and understanding your pre-teens and teenagers

- setting rules with preteens and teenagers

- dealing with conflict/ positive discipline

- problem-solving with your teenagers

Positive Parenting: 2-9 yr olds
Runs over two Wednesday evenings, November 4th and 11th. Topics include:
- tuning into and understanding your child
- managing behaviour problems
- helping your child learn and behave well
- problem-solving with your children

Building Resilience and Self-Esteem in Your Children and Teenagers
Runs over three Wednesday evenings, November 18th, 25th and December 2nd. Topics include:

- helping children discover and express their talents and passions

- motivating children to learn in a positive way that builds on their strengths

- supporting children learn new skills and to be resilient to challenges

- keeping connected to your children in a supportive way
 

All the courses:
- are delivered online via Zoom by Prof. John Sharry  

- are interactive with plenty of opportunity for Q&A

- are open to two parents in the same household to attend for the same price

- include follow-up notes and resource links that will be emailed after each session 

Places are limited and tend to fill quickly. Further information and bookings here. 

Articles 
Dealing with Covid-19 Psychological Fatigue
You can read my article with tips in yesterdays Irish Times, on their website here.

Helping Your Children Make Good Choices - 6 part series
Children and young people are under increased pressures to become involved in risky and harmful activities such as smoking, drinking, drug taking as well as new internet-related problems such as sexting, pornography or online bullying. Parents are right to be concerned and they have a key role in keeping their children and teenagers safe and teaching them how to make responsible choices in the face of risk. I wrote a six-part series of articles called ‘Pressure Points’ in The Irish Times a few years ago . They describe evidence-based and practical parenting principles on how to positively influence your children and help them grow up into responsible adults. You can read it  on my website here.

Parenting Q&As
We argue over how to manage the kids, I'm alway's bad cop.
How can I help my younger daughter move out of her big sister's shadow?
My nine year old is anxious and a big worrier. How can I help her?
What should we tell our son about his diagnosis of Dyspraxia?
My eight year old is afraid of being kidnapped and won’t sleep alone

If you have a parenting question you would like me to answer via my column in The Irish Times Health, every second Tuesday, please email health@irishtimes.com.

Article Archives
There are hundreds of articles archived on my website, which you can search by category. 
Links to new articles are also posted regularly on my facebook and twitter pages.