Parentline NI - Your Guide to Parenting

As we fast approach the one year anniversary of the first COVID-19 lockdown, it is no wonder that many parents are concerned about the future mental health impact of the ongoing pandemic on our children and young people.

So, what can we do, as parents, to help safeguard our children against mental health risks? 

How do we talk to our children about topics like anxiety, depression or even suicide? 

And where do we turn to, if we need extra help?

For some answers to all of these questions and more, our host, Roger Gowdy, recently chatted to Professor Siobhan O’Neill, Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland.

Don't forget you can call our free confidential helpline at Parentline NI, on 0808 8020 400, if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.

In this episode, we dive in to all things "books and reading". 

We are encouraged as parents to read to our children from day 1, but just why is it so important? Is the benefit of reading purely academic or is there another side to it that perhaps far outweighs this?

How do we encourage our children to continue to read as they grow and develop into teens and young adults?
Lucy Lewis from BookTrust joins our host Roger Gowdy to shed some light on these and other questions.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this episode - Lucy Lewis, Carolyn Gowdy, Ciaran Traynor, and our fabulous readers, Finn Gowdy, Taliah Bittle and Caleb Bittle.

For further information on BookTrust go to www.booktrust.org.uk.

Don't forget you can call our free confidential helpline at Parentline NI to chat about any parenting issue on 0808 8020 400.

In this episode we talked to Sarah Wright from Advice Space all about money management - a hot topic for January (and let's face it, the rest of the year too!).

If you have concerns about money, listen to find out how to maximise your income, reduce your outgoings and find ways to get immediate help with your finances.

You can contact Advice Space on 0300 123 3233 and find more information at www.advicespace.me

Remember to contact Parentline on 0808 8020 400 if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.

Listen to Stevie from Relate NI share information and tips on how to positively communicate with your children about the topic of Relationship and Sexuality Education.  

Engagement with children can be difficult as a parent, these are positive ways to bring up the conversation and talk openly.

We hope you get lots of value from this episode and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to receive our next episode hot off the press!

Remember to contact Parentline on 0808 8020 400 if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.

In this episode we talk all things Christmas with our new Parentline Head of Service, June Onyekwelu.

The festive period can be the "most wonderful time of the year" as the song goes, but for many families it can come with all sorts of challenges. In addition to this, we are still in the grips of a global pandemic which is set to make Christmas 2020 a very strange one indeed.

We talked to June about a host of issues around the topic of parenting at Christmas, including:

• pressures of buying expensive gifts
• financial pressures in general
• importance of self care
• managing separation and contact arrangements at Christmas

...to name a few.

We hope you get lots of value from this episode and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to receive our next episode hot off the press!

Remember to contact Parentline on 0808 8020 400 if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our lives in 2020. Arguably one of the most affected groups in society has been our children and young people whose education has been disrupted in unprecedented ways.

In this episode we speak to Glenda Walsh, Head of Early Years at Stranmillis University College, Belfast about the impact that lockdown had, and continues to have, on children, young people and their parents in Northern Ireland.

We also discussed more generally our approach to Education in Northern Ireland and how parents can help our children strike the right balance between academic achievement and wellbeing.

You can read the report into homeschooling during lockdown mentioned in the podcast here: https://www.stran.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Research-Report-Homeschooling-in-Northern-Ireland-during-the-COVID-19-Crisis.pdf

You can access the Good Childhood Report, also mentioned, here: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/good-childhood

Remember to contact Parentline on 0808 8020 400 if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.

The vast majority of the time, care is provided behind closed doors, in people's homes.  It is often largely invisible too.  We chat to Clare-Ann Magee from Carers NI about what support is available to parent carers and what steps can be taken to help.

 Report Behind Closed Doors can be downloaded here: https://www.carersuk.org/images/News_and_campaigns/Behind_Closed_Doors_2020/Caring_behind_closed_doors_April20_pages_web_final.pdf

Carers NI can be contacted here: https://www.carersuk.org/northernireland

Remember to contact Parentline on 0808 8020 400 if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.

In this episode we sat down (virtually) with Q Radio Presenter and Parentline Ambassador Ibe Sesay.
Ibe and our host Roger Gowdy chatted all things fatherhood in the modern era.

Topics covered, among other were:
- the joys and fears of witnessing the births of our children
- the changing role of being a dad
- where our parenting styles comes from
- the values we want to instil in our kids

The songs that reminded us of our kids were:
Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia: https://youtu.be/s4KZs0mLJiQ
Paul Simon - Father And Daughter: https://youtu.be/COQPSoRFdwg
Barry White - My First My Last My Everything: https://youtu.be/tB54XUhA9_w
CamelPhat & Elderbrook - Cola: https://youtu.be/LcNXG-6SqWA
Phats & Small - Turn Around: https://youtu.be/2kXMcjKhBgU
John Mayer - Daughters: https://youtu.be/rZLbUIa7exE

To find out more about Ibe's radio show go to https://www.goqradio.com/on-air/q-rad...

Remember to contact Parentline on 0808 8020 400 if you need advice, support or guidance on any parenting issue.