Legal Are cohabiting couples being let down by the law when a relationship ends? As cases increase, difficulties over proof of relationship status and no fixed rule for financial claims are raising questions over whether the existing legislation provides sufficient protections to unmarried couples
Design for Life: Should I cut ties with my verbally abusive dad?This week, psychotherapist and author Siobhán Murray advises an adult child feeling rage over having to visit their irascible father
Design For Life: Should I tell my children about their parentage? This week, clinical psychologist Dr Malie Coyne advises a reader with one biological child and one adopted child who is unsure whether to tell them about it just yet
Pregancy and Covid: The loneliness of the labour wardThe exclusion of partners and families from maternity services during the pandemic has led to increasing distress for pregnant women. Will the government’s new roadmap, to be announced this week, finally address their concerns?
Holly Shortall: The modern family has room for everyone – including pets The definition of family is far broader than two adults plus children, I realise, as I pander to the demands of Wanda, our much loved and very spoilt rescue dog
Childcare costs: a creche course in financial stressAs more people begin to return to the workplace, the old familiar nightmare of exorbitant childcare costs is starting to rear its head again – but some parents are taking a stand
Kathleen MacMahon: From feeding my babies to making meatballs for my nephew, food is my favourite love languageWatching kids make and eat food is one of the most fulfilling pleasures of life – and a privilege we should all be lucky enough to enjoy
Design for Life: Why is our teenage son always arguing with us?This week, clinical hypnotherapist Fiona Brennan advises a couple on how to talk to their hostile 16-year-old son
Family history: A missing father, a faraway war and a presidential connectionWhen Washington native Jim Nailon embarked on a DNA technology-assisted quest to find the identity of his father, an unlikely chain of events led to him having lunch with President Michael D Higgins
A singular journey: why more women are going it aloneA growing number of women are electing to become single mothers by choice, forgoing the traditional nuclear family route. What are the motives behind their decision, and how do they overcome the challenges posed as a result?
Design for Life: My husband’s son has moved back into our houseThis week, a reader asks Dr Malie Coyne for advice about an adult son who has moved back into the family home during Covid and whose behaviour is making her uncomfortable
Naoise Dolan: ‘I’m told I’m stubborn, but I’ll be six feet under before I admit it‘In an essay for the Business Post Magazine, the author recognises her mother in herself, remembers her grandmother and calls for a minute’s silence for all stubborn people
