Honey You're Ruining Our Kid GoLoud

Jarlath did it. He ran another London Marathon. This time raising much needed funds for the brilliant Kidney Care UK. Even though his knee decided to give him trouble from 3km in, he never gave up. Kept going and finished like the champ he is. Myself and Mikey are so proud of him. Yesterday was so full of all the emotions. The wonderful Sonia O’Sullivan sorted us out with finish line seats. The view, the atmosphere, the hospitality and the people were absolutely amazing. 
While travelling to london I’ve been reading the most amazing book, "Anxious Children in an Anxious World".
Massive shout out to the incredible Dr Mary O Kane who has taken the time to write a book that will help all of us be better parents. We absolutely recommend this book, so informative and such an easy, relaxing read. 
Question 1. 
This week an exhausted mum gets in touch about her 5 year olds continuous soiling in their pants. She has tried everything and feels like she is certain her little one is doing this from attention. For the reaction she gets every time and because of FOMO when playing with her friends or at family events? 
Is there anything left to try?? Tina goes for her most strict approach, one she only uses when shit gets real. Listen in to see what you think. 
Question 2- 
Parent alienation is such a tough subject and one we are really only beginning to fully understand. Last week a mom got in touch looking for help this week she is back with more detail. 
Question 3- 
How do you help your child become a gracious winner. Is it possible to tame the competitive spirit while also nurturing a natural desire to win. If post game tantrums are ruining your families fun times is it possible to retrain your child’s behaviour and make family game night a calm event again? 
Huge thank you to all our listeners who donated to Jars marathon charity. We are so grateful. Thank you as always tor listening to our show and helping it grow. We absolutely love making it. Emails always welcome, pop them over to honeyyouareruiningourkid@gmail.com. 

Tina has three coping strategies for three parents trying to get on top of their little angels’ persistent behaviour. With 20 years in education, special needs and severe behaviour schools, she has seen it all. However gentle parenting seems to be getting bad wrap. Is it for you? Is it a misused term? Where are people going wrong with it? We think it’s just generally misunderstood. 
Question 1- 
What do you do when your six year old son is still pooping in their pants. When your head is melted and you’ve exhausted every toilet training trick in the book, is there any hope? Jarlath and Tina assess the options available.
The excellent Dr David Coleman has sparked a discussion about kids and their right to defend themselves if being bullied. This is of course an every day worry for parents and kids alike. How do you deliver the permission for your child to hold strong though? When your words carry such weight, you need to tread carefully with your delivery. 
Question 2- 
This week a dad gets in touch concerned with what he sees as his daughter’s imminent weight gain. He is looking for ways to educate her so that she does not develop an eating issue. Currently she has no issue and exercises regularly. We get the feeling it’s dad who needs to reflect on his relationship with food. Maybe if we as parents are worried about the food our kids are eating in the home, we should stop bringing those snack foods into the house.
Question 3. 
When they are small we break our backs establishing the perfect bedtime routine only to let it slide away as they grow up. But we all need a bedtime routine. So how to we re establish one? This week a mum gets in touch because her 9 year old daughter thinks her 9pm bedtime is too early! In this episode we try and help this mom reintroduce an age appropriate bedtime routine so that she can have some well earned ‘me’ time at the end of her very busy days. 
Thank you so much for subscribing, listening in and sharing our podcast. We love you guys. If you want to hear more and support our podcast please pop over and become a Patron by clicking on this link. https://www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad

Is your husband trying to turn the kids against you? Is your kid in a toxic friendship and needs your help to get out of it? Does your kid have an unhealthy obsession with your new partner? Yes? No? What the hell? Either way today's HYROK episode is a scandalously good listen with Tina on form answering some of the toughest questions we have ever received.
Question 1- 
A single mum gets in touch wondering how she can best protect her children while coping with her ex husband’s negative behaviour towards her. 
Parental alienation is thankfully a recognised crime now. Are there enough supports out there when it happens at a very early age and hard to pin point what’s actually happening. Who can you ask for help? How do you survive and maintain your mental health. Moms tend to only care about the welfare of their children but sometimes putting yourself first really matters too. 
Question 2
Friendship issues are a daily worry for most kids. A lot of the time it is agonising to observe as a parent. What is the best approach? Shut down the friendship? Go to the parent? Or get the school involved? An incredibly hard one to navigate but arming our children to stand up for themselves and to be happy in their own company is equally important. 
Question 3
What do you do if your child think he’s in love with your new partner? For this listener the crush might have developed into an infatuation and their child's entire behaviour is changing. How do you get them back on track? How do you curb their new obsession while teaching them boundaries and respect? This week a stressed out dad gets in touch with this exact problem.
Easter break is in the books. Maybe you got a rest. Maybe your kids ran you ragged and their return to school is your first chance to breathe out. According to the recently published Aldi Mammies and Daddies Report into the lives of Irish parents the later is probably the case if your're the Mammy. Jarlath was invited onto Jen Hogan's "Mamia And Me" podcast panel to discuss the findings to see if they match up to what we are seeing here on Honey! You're Ruining Our Kid. Along with our 3 brilliant questions from the listeners, this week we dive into those findings and the disproportionate impact parenting has on women rather than men. How important is it for us to change the old school views that form the seed of these problems. Shout out to the amazing little toddler who brought the entertainment on the day of the live recording. She won the room.  You can listen to the episode very soon here.
There's a big extra chunk over on www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad - why not come over and join us in a few clicks. It's how we support the show and it's the place where you can here "what happened next" when the listeners apply Tina's advice.

This parenting lark isn’t getting any easier this week we have a host of questions from our lovely listeners. Ranging from hair problems to potty mouths. There's a heap of great recommendations and big laughs in this fantastic episode.
Question 1-
A single dad gets in touch looking for advice on how best to care for his little girl's hair. Luckily we have the best solution for this particular question. Braid Maidens! An online or in person braiding tutorial to suit all parents including the ones who have never brushed long here before. It's allrun and created by the lovely Annis. Her success rate is 100 percent. https://www.braidmaidens.com/
Question 2- 
How do you clear your name if your reputation in your home is "Evil Step Dad"? Can the relationship with your step kids be saved if they’ve already decided their new dad is a big ogre. Does the problem stop with you or them? Who needs to take action? Can it be fixed? 
Question 3- 
For whatever reason when children curse we find it adorable. Obviously a potty mouth toddler isn't ideal but who can you stop the habit before it's too late. Is it ever too late?
Are you in a situation with your kids? Drop us an email honeyyouareruiningourkid@gmail.com
Every week the extended cut of our episode is available on www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad - this week we hear from a Dad who is simply not enjoying fatherhood. That sense that being parent is not what was advertised can leave you feeling very low. You are not alone if you're feeling this way.

Welcome back to another episode of Honey You’re Ruining Our kid. Slightly delayed episode this week but totally worth the wait. We have a new segment as Jarlath starts this week's episode with some of the weirdest shit of the week. From being Papped to children on planes to saving a kid from drowning - this episode is great craic and has heaps of helpful information regardless of what relationship you have with the kids in your life.
Question 1- 
If you have a kid who is struggling with anxiety don't worry an all too common problem for our children these days. A wonderfully generous mother has gotten in touch with a portfolio of help for us all. How do we help our kids push through? Should we make our kids push through? Are we actually building resilience by forcing our kids to take part or are we adding to the problem. All of us are flying blind when it comes to equipping our children for this modern world so it’s so incredibly helpful when parents come together to pool their resources. 
Question 2-
Bed wetting is everyone’s nightmare problem. Nothing makes a morning more stressful than additional showers, more laundry and mattresses hanging out windows in an effort to get them dry for round 2, later that night. How can we help our kids get through the night without having an accident? I believe a consistent plan is key, but how can an already very tired parent push through with a consistent plan? Is the return of some sleep motivation enough? 
Question 3- 
Everybody poops but goodness is it stressful when your kid starts refusing to. Holding onto their poos is a very common early childhood problem. How can we help our kids navigate this uncomfortable phase.  When they are teeney tiny we absolutely encourage you to bring them to the GP. Is there anything else that can help?
Thank you for tuning in to this weeks episode of Honey You’re Ruining Our kid. Pop on over to Patreon for the extra bits. www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad to join up in a few clicks - help us continue the podcast and get bonus episodes on American and fitness.

Email us anytime at honeyyouareruiningourkid@gmail.com. 

Our links mentioned in podcast. 

https://www.katieodonoghueart.com/work

https://www.ispcc.ie/helping-your-child-cope-with-anxiety-ispcc-with-author-katie-odonoghue/

https://www.ispcc.ie/how-space-from-anxiety-can-help-children-teens-and-parents/

Kids can be very mean - even tiny little ones! What do you do when you find out your kid is being isolated by her "new best friend". Flying into a fit of rage is one option but Tina has a few other approaches that won't land you in front of a Judge. Today on HYROK a lot of the conversation is around confidence and how to build it in a child. Don't let anyone tell you that self-belief is organic or just in their DNA. It is a learned behaviour and a quality we can help grow in the younglings! Having a fungal infection sure won't help. One Mom gets in touch with a very tricky skin situation. As a very sweaty man, Jarlath knows the pants this kid should be wearing and as a child behaviour expert with 20 years of experience in the business, Tina knows what steps to take to help this kid through this.
Over in the extended cut on www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad you can hear Tina's ultimate life hack for parents with kids that won't sleep. Come on over and join us. Come see Jarlath live on tour - his new show is all about growing up and coping with the world. www.jigser.com/gigs is where you can find all his tour dates. Move fast they are all selling out - he's added two more dates at Dublin's 3Olympia!