Joseph Kelly's blog
The bedtime shuffle
JOSEPH KELLY Our bedtime routine has turned into a bit of a farce lately. Every night we go through the same charade of getting the girls bathed and dressed for bed. Putting kids to bed is one of those exercises that seems to get harder the more you practice it. A lot like golf, only far less fun.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Your child's momentoes - do you cherish or chuck?
JOSEPH KELLY To bin or to bind? How do you manage the unending influx of irreplaceable artwork generated by your kids?
Joseph Kelly's blog
Do you judge your kid's friends by their names?
JOSEPH KELLY 2 Judge, or Not 2 Judge . . . Is it wrong to judge a child based on their name? What do you think of “unique” names and “creative” spelling?
Joseph Kelly's blog
Do you go on dates by yourself?
JOSEPH KELLY Every second Tuesday one of us stays with the kids while the other goes to the movies. And it is one of the greatest sanity savers I could ever think of.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Who brings kids on holidays?
JOSEPH KELLY I have discovered the flaw in the whole holiday caper – everyone wants to relax. Except of course for the kids, who are keen to party like its 1999.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Entire family together for christmas - Disaster or delight?
JOSEPH KELLY At last count that makes 41 for Christmas dinner.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Pregnant women - hot or not?
JOSEPH KELLY Call it the pregnancy "glow", but it seemed as though Susie had tapped into the essence of life.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Weekend with Barnaby
JOSEPH KELLY Last weekend I was running at break-neck speed from late Friday right through to late Sunday. And all because of a stuffed toy bear.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Are 'Bratz' evil? Do you allow them in your home?
JOSEPH KELLY When Maisie was born and I became a father for the first time, I had one of those hand-on-heart moments where I swore to myself that I would protect my family from all adversity for as long as I lived.
Joseph Kelly's blog
The unreliable tooth fairy
JOSEPH KELLY I’ve started noticing lately that the older I get the more idealised my childhood becomes. One thing I remember (or at least I think I remember) is that with just twenty cents I could go down to the corner store and buy just about everything in the shop with the possible exception of the freehold title.
Joseph Kelly's blog
Mummy tattoos: would you get your child's name tattooed?
JOSEPH KELLY Occasionally, in my young and wild days, I’d wake up the morning after the night before and find I’d done something silly. Who of us hasn’t? But one day I discovered I’d had the word “Susie” tattooed on my chest.
Joseph Kelly's blog
The flight from hell
JOSEPH KELLY Back in the early 1980s, my mum took six of her eight children with her on a trip to Ireland. Thanks to an accidental overdose of sleeping pills administered to me by my sister Paulette, I can’t remember much about the flight.
Read more of Joseph Kelly's blogs...
A tourist on the birth canal Know-it-all parenting Is parenting uncool? Poor Dad's hair raising experience Babies Are Boring! Kids in the cafe When is the best time for baby number 3? Can Pets and Kids Mix? Are girls better than boys? Party time - are siblings invited? Kids in the nude? Are two mums better than one? The name game: A world of pain?The school drop-off
Playground Politics - A Necessary Evil?
Is the politics of the playground a necessary evil that parents learn to negotiate or is it an invention of socially awkward dads who would prefer to hide behind trees?
Kinder surprise
There’s an old saying that you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. Very wise words indeed, however I suggest an amendment: you can choose your friends unless fate and your children choose them for you.
