Home & Family

Each week, sex therapist Emily Power Smith answers your sex-related queries. Image posed by model

'If you want to last longer, you'll just need to have plenty of practice on your own'

Q. How do I last longer?

Why is sex constantly on the agenda?

Q: Why is there so much talk of sex all the time? Sex is the same as it's always been and humans have always managed to do it enough to keep the population growing. It's not that hard to figure out where the bits go and what to do. In my day, you didn't talk about it and you didn't need to. Maybe all this talking about it is what's causing the problems and maybe the problems aren't worth talking about.

New research suggests that although teenagers feel positive about themselves they still lack confidence

Top tips to help your teen be happier

The standard view of a teenager is often grumpy and unhappy with a low opinion of themselves and a lack of confidence.

Pictured is (left to right) Ruth Lappin (22), Chef de Partie at Restaurant Patrick Guilband, Robert Browne (21), currently a medical student in National University of Ireland, Galway, John Fitzmaurice, (26), Head Chef at Moloughney's, Clontarf, Conor Halpenny (20), Chef de Partie, Tankardstown House and Roseanne Meehan - (24), Junior Sous Chef, Knockranny House Hotel on Ireland's iconic Moore Street are the five finalists of Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year 2015.

Women carve up kitchen careers

'I like working with women," says Kieran Glennon, head chef of Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Ireland's only restaurant to boast two Michelin stars.

High Salt dishes will now be marked in restaurants

Food trends: High salt warning go on menus in New York

New York City begins a new era in nutritional warnings this week, when chain restaurants will have to start putting a special symbol on high-salt dishes.

One of Nigella Lawson's bestsellers, 'Simply Nigella'.

A Nigella challenge: Emily Diebold takes an entire day to produce a meal

I've been 'Cooking the Books' for a few months now. I feel I've got so much better at it, I'm ready to take on the Domestic Goddess herself, Nigella Lawson. After all how hard can it be? I think my cheff-ing skills have really improved now I have learned to follow a recipe.

A pale imitation of Christmas pudding

The only time in my life I had ever made a Christmas pudding before this was as part of a very large group effort.

Joanne Byrne with her children Peadar Ó Néill (3) and Róise Ní Néill (4 weeks)

Is it character-building to let a 7-year-old walk home alone?

When mum-of-three Joanne Byrne was growing up, no one expressed concern about the level of freedom and independence her parents gave her.

'I own the oldest house in Dublin...'

For Graham Hickey, discovering Dublin's oldest house was like something out of an Indiana Jones film.

Something fishy going on: mum's cooking again

Last week for 'Cooking The Books', I went for Gizzi Erksine's sophisticated new take on Shepherd's Pie. This week, I decided to go for something a little more family-friendly. I'm not known for my cooking skills and spend as little time as possible in the kitchen, so I wanted a recipe that would impress the family without too much effort.

Recipe - healthy fish and chips

Healthy fish and chips: serves 4

We ask: is it ever okay to smack a child?

The Herald takes to the streets of Dublin to ask: is it ever okay to smack a child?

Mindfulness - How to find calm in a hectic city

It had been an eventful early-morning cycle from my home in Rathmines to the Sanctuary's front door in Stoneybatter. Tousling with bleary-eyed pedestrians, commuters and cyclists who appeared to be in some Hunger Games-style race with each other left me agitated. Deadlines and meetings are looming, plenty of life admin lies ahead for the day, and a to-do list - laundry, buying baby presents, groceries - races like a ticker tape across my mind.

Ask Rosanna: 'I'm so angry my husband forgot our wedding anniversary'

A forgetful husband, a friend acting up in work and a drunk boss making sexual advances

Styling the bump: How to embrace your changing shape when you're pregnant

For many women, being pregnant can mean abandoning all sense of personal style in an attempt to disguise their growing bump. But what's really underneath that need to hide your body?

Ask Rosanna: 'His Dublin accent means my mum thinks he's not good enough for me'

A new boyfriend's strong Dublin accent, a weight problem with a difference and a teen being pressurised into having sex for the first time

Parent Zone: I keep losing my temper with my children - what should I do?

A child's best friend moving away, a two-year-old repeating the alphabet, a cursing child and a short tempered dad

Rosanna Davison pictured at The Candlelight Bar Summer Party at Siam Thai Dundrum Town Centre in aid of The Ispca
Picture:Brian McEvoy
No repro fee for one use

Dear Rosanna: 'My housemate keeps flirting with my boyfriend - what should I do?'

A housemate who is trying it on with a reader's boyfriend, sleeping problems and an adopted person looking for their birth parents

Telling a child about cancer can be very difficult. Picture posed.

Parent Zone: What's the best way to tell my eight-year-old son I have cancer?

Telling a child about cancer and dealing with a child's sickness

Ask Rosanna: 'I went online in my search for love, but men there just want sex'

Are online dating sites only for men looking for sex, wonders one reader?

Simone Kenny and her children Quinn (5 months) and Etienne (2 months) at their Cabra home

Can mum ever be the boss of her pregnancy?

Before my first pregnancy I had a huge fear around childbirth. I think most women do, and with images of exhausted, sweaty women in excruciating pain lying on a hospital bed as our main frame of reference, it's no wonder really.

Imaginary friends can help children with fears and anxiety

The Parent Zone: 'My six-year-old daughter has an imaginary friend. Is this normal?'

Should you be worried if your child has a pretend friend and what to do if a child has 'horrible thoughts'

Halle Berry and her husband Oliver Martinez had children later in life

The Parent Zone: 'I've just turned 40 - do you think I'm too old to have and raise a child?'

Having children later in life and making friends with your partner's ex

My dog's foot was stapled back together when she cut herself on a woodland walk

Sadie is an energetic enthusiastic dog, and she loves her walks. Aisling's husband often takes her to one of her favourite destinations: Knocksink Woods, near Enniskerry. She enjoyed a particularly active run there last week, running around, leaping in and out of the river, up and down the hills and through the undergrowth.

The Green Party

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Al fresco favourites

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Lush grass, river, lake, sea or stream, clear skies and a feast that gives voice to vegetables as much as proteins. Too many picnics focus on the latter at the expense of the former. Cold wine is a must (in our household), but some Irish craft beer is a worthy contender. And don't forget the afters, a Victoria sponge with hot coffee.