Family

The age of smartphone ownership is getting younger and huge pressure is placed on children, and thus their parents, to have a smartphone. The National Sleep Foundation has consistently demonstrated that having technology in your bedroom and/or using technology as a sleep aid, can interfere with the quality of sleep, the duration of sleep and daytime alertness. Dr Maureen Griffin discusses her top tips for ensuring that smartphones are not eating into our children's sleep time.

As days start getting shorter and shorter, and our routines fill up with school runs and activities, it can be hard to keep up healthy habits – especially with trick or treating and Halloween parties getting in the way. Try some of these delicious and healthy Halloween-inspired recipes with your Super Troopers for some spooky snacks they won’t be able to resist!

If you find it difficult to come up with ways to get your kids eating healthily at home, don’t worry – we teamed up with Siobhan Berry of Mummycooks to put together some great simple recipe ideas for nutritious treats your kids won’t be able to get enough of!

Super Troopers with laya healthcare is the first ever health homework programme in Ireland. It encourages children and their families to become more active and learn about healthy lifestyles. Laya Healthcare got involved in the programme because we wanted to instil healthy habits in children of a young age, with a view to developing positive habits for life.

The term ‘Social Media Anxiety Disorder (SMAD)’ has been popping up in discussions on the negative effects of social media for several years. I often meet parents who tell me social media has made their child “less social” and “more anxious” about real-life events. So, is SMAD a real thing? And if so how can we cope with it?

A part of the new GDPR is the establishment of a ‘digital age of consent’ -an age at which children can ‘sign up to/join’ an online service which collects, uses and processes their personal data, without the need of parental consent. In this blog, Forensic Psychologist Dr Maureen Griffin talks about the Digital Age of Consent, setting up social media accounts and how to talk to your kids about online safety.

Mindfulness is all about becoming aware of your senses and how they are affected by the world around you. This is extra useful for children, because it can help them learn how to deal with complicated feelings they don’t quite understand yet, and help them regulate their emotions and calm themselves down. Try some of these activities with your little ones to learn how everyone can apply them in their daily lives.

Active School Week, from April 23^rd - 27^th is taking place in all primary schools across the country. We have some suggestions for how you can get involved, and have fun!

Now that it’s March, Easter is right around the corner and you’re now probably fretting about the amount of chocolate your tots will manage to get their hands on over the holiday.  If that’s the case, why not have a read through some of our suggestions below for alternative Easter activities and treats.