Category Archives: Parenting

How to empower children against bullying and strengthen emotional resilience

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Published: alustforlife.com
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

I remember looking into the mirror at my reflection next to her in the school toilets. She was small, thin-built, and pretty. Somebody all the kids hung around with. Standing next to her, I felt so big by comparison, overweight and spotty, definitely not pretty and definitely not popular. It didn’t help that I felt vulnerable at the time, lacking in self-belief, in “no man’s land”. I was 9 and we had moved from another country (another continent!). I felt like a fish out of water, a big one at that…

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Infant mental health: A critical window of opportunity for future wellbeing and mental health

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Published: alustforlife.com
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

“Mental health issues are the great epidemic of this generation” were the impassioned words of musician and mental health campaigner Niall Breslin (Bressie) as he addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children last week. “Agonising suicide rates, disturbingly high anxiety and depression rates, self-harm, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder… young people are being exposed to too much… we simply cannot ignore this anymore”..

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Why parental self-care is essential for children’s emotional wellbeing

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Published: alustforlife.com
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

Parenting is a complete rollercoaster ride from conception to forever. Nothing can match up to creating a human being and witnessing their emerging personalities as they develop into proper little people learning about the world for the first time. Nothing compares to their little arms hugging you tightly for dear life.

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Baby Blues vs. Postnatal Depression: How to spot the difference and 10 things that will help

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Published: alustforlife.com
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

I still have visions of me wheeling my trolley around the postnatal ward, looking in at my most precious baby girl, tears of joy and sadness streaming down my face. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I hold it together? The most amazing thing had just happened to me. The very thing I had been hoping for all of my life, to become a mother, and I just felt so overwhelmed, not in control of my emotions and petrified of the massive responsibility that lay ahead.

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Validation of children’s feelings promotes positive mental health

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Published: alustforlife.com
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

Dignity was the theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day on 10th October 2015. Dignity is defined as “the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect”. FOR ME DIGNITY MEANS acknowledgement and validation of feelings, no matter how difficult or intense they may be, and no matter what age the person is. Without validation, dignity simply cannot thrive.

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What to do if your child is being bullied – Clare FM

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Clare FM’s Morning Focus radio show hosted by Gavin Grace

Play drives children's development. Prioritizing "play time" with your child holds huge benefits for them in terms of them learning about their feelings, and improving their social, emotional, motor and brain development. I also discuss the importance of unstructured time and "letting your kids' brains turn to mush" given our modern busy lives, which will help them to really process all they have learnt...

The importance of play – Clare FM

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Clare FM’s Morning Focus radio show

Play drives children's development. Prioritizing "play time" with your child holds huge benefits for them in terms of them learning about their feelings, and improving their social, emotional, motor and brain development. I also discuss the importance of unstructured time and "letting your kids' brains turn to mush" given our modern busy lives, which will help them to really process all they have learnt...

The importance of play in child Development – Clare FM

How to help children manage their emotions – Clare FM

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Clare FM’s Morning Focus radio show hosted by Gavin Grace

For me there is nothing more validating than someone taking the time to really listen and to acknowledge my feelings. As a parent you have the power to improve your children's emotional health by doing just that, which was the topic for my parenting slot on Clare FM this week.

Managing children’s behaviour – Clare FM

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Clare FM’s Morning Focus radio show hosted by Gavin Grace

Managing children's behaviour is a perfect opportunity to help your children with their feelings and here's why ... Also my views on positive parenting and the "naughty" step, star charts and how to stop your kids fighting over that Xbox!!!

Building children’s self esteem – Clare FM

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Clare FM’s Morning Focus radio show hosted by Gavin Grace

Who influences your child's self-esteem and what practical steps can you take to help as a parent? Also my answers relating to a withdrawn little boy who has just started school, a girl who is too scared to sleep in her own room, and tips on encouraging a not very talkative 4 year old....

Pre-school plan is a leap into unknown if issues unresolved

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Published: Irish Independent
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

'No way am I holding my child back from starting school!" was a recent response from a parent when I suggested that perhaps her child, who had just turned four, could benefit from another year in pre-school before starting primary school, due to the child's young age and speech difficulties.

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How your own self-care benefits your kids – Parenting Self-Care Series – Article 2

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Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

Following my recent introduction to the Parental Self-Care series “Put your own oxygen mask on first!”, in this article I will begin with a little personal anecdote to drive home the message that replenishing your “emotional fuel” after it has been depleted is actually an essential parenting skill that your children need you to have in your important role as their “emotional regulator”.

Today was one of the craziest parenting days I have had with my toddler divas. The first, aged 4, had an almighty crying attack in a play centre when I took a piece of blu tack away from her which she had been dearly attached to for the previous 24 hours. I explained that she may lose it during play, only for another child to potentially choke on it, but no good. The crying went on and on and on...

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“Put your own oxygen mask on first!” – Introduction to parental self-care series

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Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

“Put your own oxygen mask on first” – Something about that concept always resonated with me on my travels as a child and even today... I asked myself why on earth would a parent put their own mask on before tending to their most precious children? Well it really is starting to make sense to me now, and I cannot fully attribute it to my years of psychology experience working with children and parents... Rather it is my personal experience of being a mother to two young children, aged 4 and 2, which have really brought the message home to me!

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Infant mental health is crucial

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Published: Irish Independent
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

The strong emphasis placed on infant mental health by Dr Paul D'Alton (June 26) was a very welcome step for those working in the area, given how significant this period (zero to three years) is "in laying the psychological foundation for later life". I sincerely hope that where the Government may have missed out in their recent "Connecting for Life" Suicide Prevention Strategy, that they do not neglect the importance of infant and perinatal mental health in their upcoming National Maternity Strategy.

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Strengthening your child-parent bond through dedicated play time

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Published: familyfrieldlyhq.ie
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

You may not realise it but your child is your biggest fan. They adore you, they look up to you, and what they wouldn’t do to spend some quality time with you! Because “toys are children’s words and play is their language”, it makes total sense that kids are most likely to respond to us as parents if we speak to them in their language, which is play.

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The importance of playgrounds in child development

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Published: rollercoaster.ie
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

Being a child prepares you to become an adult with all life’s joys and challenges, and what better way to learn as a child than to be given the chance to play freely? One of my best memories of being a child was of running around the fields outside our house in Cork with my siblings in tow, the real excitement at finding new treasure troves, making up games, and the palpable fear we felt, like when we had to climb a high fence or run away from a scary bull!

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