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Irish Times
6 days ago
- Irish Times
Shadowing a Lion: Dan Sheehan's dad on nerves, thrills and big decisions as he follows his son around Australia
Being a proud parent is a vicarious life mostly spent in the shadows of your offspring. Parents are no different from their children − striving to balance the basket of hope with the bucket of fear. Hoping that the dream of one of their own being selected for the ultimate accolade in rugby might come to pass, versus the constant terror of ever daring to say it out loud, mentioning it in passing or putting travel plans in place before Sky Sports have tortured your soul with a protracted squad announcement. Much like players, parents trot out the cliches to themselves and others: you can only plan and commit funds to the game that is immediately in front of you; to have booked flights, or even to have a mental map of how you might get more time off work than your annual leave, is to tempt the fate of injury and the ensuing cruel and very expensive disappointment of cancelling non-refundable travel plans. As you watch prices for travel and hotels rise you wonder when it might be safe to put the long considered what-if plans − that you were never comfortable having in the first place − into action. Have no doubt that there was a surge in parental bookings the day after the final league game for each of the players in the Lions squad. A trip like this is more complicated than a regular holiday. You need to explain to your better half that yes, it is in fact true that you are both intentionally leaving a potentially warm and pleasant Irish summer to visit the southern hemisphere during their winter. It takes more than one intervention for the penny to drop that we will be gone for a month, it will be cold and wet, we will be moving every three days, there won't be much beach action, and the luggage allowance is 15kg. READ MORE The baggage restrictions mean that there needs to be a selection meeting with the wardrobe. Akin to picking a playing squad there are always a few bankers who were always going to make the trip. Like the Tadhg Furlong -type shoe – may not have seen much action this year, could be a little heavier than one might want, but has a pedigree and history that can be relied upon. Other pieces have quite simply earned the right to travel, such as the Hugo Keenan of shirts, which covers more ground than others might think and is a proven last line of defence against unwanted breakouts. Confirmation of Dan Sheehan's selection for the Lions tour to Australia meant unspoken plans could start to be put into action. Photograph:Every traveller is surprised at the amount of one-cap wonders that were even considered for inclusion in the wider squad of clobber. They have been living for too long now in the back of the wardrobe and will need to be released upon return to the northern hemisphere. That said, a rather fine hat can be considered this tour's bolter. The travel to Australia is a bit of a dog. Not great, but its bark is worse than its bite. The only unplanned-for complication so far has been the impact on the body clock, which can be best described as a time bomb. Maybe it is the excitement and pride of joining a tour where you have some skin in the game that lulls you into feeling that you have beaten the jet lag. The device, however, has been hidden well inside and suddenly out of nowhere on day three it detonates. The catnapping kicks in and the beast needs to be confronted. Staring at the ceiling at 4am shows there is some work to be done yet. Canberra is a planned city that appears to have been located by dropping a pin on a map. It looks and feels like it has been designed and built by AI. Everything is logical and straight-lined. Canberra is also the homeplace of the Hansens. They met up before and after the game against the Brumbies to celebrate Mack representing the Lions. Mack's folks kindly invited some of the travelling Irish parents to join them for a prematch drink at the RUC club. Mack's jerseys, from his time playing with the Brumbies and with Ireland, are framed on the walls. Someone remembered to pack a cuddly toy. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho It was fantastic to see the pride and joy that Mack's achievements give to so many of his friends and family. It is a feeling that is shared across all the families who are lucky enough to have a player in this touring party. We met Mack's brother, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends. Star of the show is Grandmother Hansen, who at 94 is the boss of the lot. How nice for them to have it all come home to them rather than having to travel or watch it from afar. Adelaide feels to be what Canberra can hope to become. It comes across as historical and storied. The people are warm and welcoming. While crossing the street looking for a restaurant we were engaged by a local gentleman. In the space of one minute and 100 metres he gave us a review and recommendation for all the best restaurants in Adelaide. We won't go hungry here. The stadium in Adelaide is fantastic and achieves a beautiful balance between modernity and tradition. It is as close to the centre as the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Supporters flow in and throughout with ease. The stewards and staff are welcoming and helpful. Their Ask Me badges invite conversation and radiate warmth. The old cricket scoreboard dominates the backdrop. You can almost hear the crack of the ball on Don Bradman's bat. Dan Sheehan with parents Barry and Sinead in South Africa last year. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho Much like the playing squad, the team's shadows are slowly assembling. The shadows are an important part of any athlete's team. They are the last line of defence and the first line of support. They know what makes their star shine, or what causes it to slip out of its orbit from time to time. They watch closely, observing lots and speaking little. They look for the small things and note changes that others do not see. Their gaze lingers a little longer than others might after any type of meaningful contact during a game. They observe and decipher signs of stress or concern. They largely live on their nerves and their savings – it's an expensive and rewarding indulgence being a shadow. Some know each other well from years of hovering in the background. There have been lifelong journeys to get to this point. The path has not been straightforward. It is much closer to a rollercoaster than a motorway, all the way from underage rugby through to club and country and now this. What a treat for us all. There was an unofficial orientation day of sorts for the shadows at the Argentina game in Dublin , just as this voyage began. Shadows glanced at other shadows. Introductions were made and some phone numbers exchanged. The overwhelming tone of first conversations among the shadows are of pride and pinch-me-to-ensure-this-is-all-real. Only the very odd shadow ever expected when bringing their little lad to mini rugby that we might end up chasing them as Lions around Australia. Only a few shadows made the warm weather week in Perth. A few more appeared in Sydney, with another few additions in Canberra. Adelaide is serving as something of a rallying point for what will soon be a flotilla. We might need a bigger boat for what lies ahead ...
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- General
- Irish Times
A summer of down time: how can three months with nothing to do be good for teenagers?
More than anything, I hate being bored. I think it stems from some sort of residual childhood trauma, when I might have absent-mindedly mentioned being bored in front of my mother, resulting in the familiar 'Oh you're bored, are you? Well I have plenty for you to do' response. Inevitably this meant doing extremely boring chores, which went no way towards alleviating my boredom. It was a lesson to my siblings and I to say nothing in future, because if there's one thing worse than having nothing to do, it's having dishes or ironing to do. Still doesn't stop me from threatening my own beloved offspring with a similar fate, dare they mention the b word. I try to avoid it at all costs, but it's not always easy. For some bizarre reason, things like meditation apps are suggested to me through social-media algorithms. A quiet mind is a luxury I can't afford. There's far too much overthinking to be done. Plus, aren't those quieter moments in between catastrophising previous conversations intended for working out what's for dinner, how to ease the guilt of working when the kids are off school, and deciding what to write about next week? Boredom saps the energy out of me. Yet, somehow, we've packaged it as a good thing – even beneficial – for our kids. READ MORE I'm not buying it. And I didn't from the off. I once took my newborn daughter to the GP for her two week old check-up and, when asked how she was getting on, mentioned that I was a bit concerned. 'I lie her on the play mat and she gets very restless and upset within a few minutes,' I said. 'I think she's a bit bored, to be honest.' My GP at the time looked at me in mild disbelief. Knowing my daughter, all these years on I still maintain that that was a distinct possibility. It's probably no harm that I changed GP shortly after that. Now we often hear how it's good for kids to be bored, and how overscheduling our children is not a good thing, And I can wholeheartedly get on board with that last bit. Not least because it eases any guilt I might feel about not being able to afford the time or money to overschedule my children, even if I was so inclined. But the bored bit – well that depends on how long it's for. Short enough that children feel inspired to become creative and find positive ways to escape that boredom, ideally in our minds discovering the joy of free play. That's the goal. But long enough to become demotivated or disconnected, well that's a whole other situation. And one we seem content to leave our teens navigate, without much thought. A Unicef report, published earlier this year, revealed Irish teens to be in the bottom half in the developed world for wellbeing. A statistic often overlooked in favour of the more positive ones around academic achievement and third-level progression. But, ultimately, is the most important thing, to all parents, not that their children are happy? [ I'm paying €757 to keep my child busy for 3.6 hours a day. Summer childcare maths doesn't add up Opens in new window ] And although overall wellbeing is far more complex than being bored over the summer holidays, the fact that we have no real structure to support our teens over the three months (3½, if you have a transition year student) shows how little thought is given to them. Much like with the school closures during the pandemic that affected our teens so severely. If you're a teenager under 18, summer jobs can be hard to come by. So, what are teenagers up to this summer? While some lucky teens had secured a few hours work on farms or in summer camps, for many parents, the lack of something to do, was a source of concern and frustration. 'Sleeping a ridiculous amount', 'very little', 'feck-all', '[on the] phone', 'playing Fifa', 'staying in bed most of the day', 'a lot of Xbox', came the replies from parents describing how their teens' summer was playing out. And it's easy to see how. With youth clubs largely a thing of the past, summer camps geared mostly towards children of primary school age, employers less keen on hiring younger teens, and groups of teenagers 'hanging out' viewed with suspicion, the appeal of bed or a retreat to the online world is somewhat understandable. Which raises the question: is three months of very little to do, and few places for teens to gather with their friends and peers, really good for teenagers? Summer camps and childcare may be the focus of many primary school parents' summer juggle concerns at the moment. But it's time we brought teens in on the conversation too. Because boredom is no fun.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Before the bump: Can pre-pregnancy planning affect child development?
Anticipating the conception of a child can be accompanied by a lot of uncertainty about how to plan for pregnancy and parenthood. But relatively few people are aware that the things they do months or years before conceiving can influence the development of their future children. The preconception period is often overlooked by prospective parents, but is crucial as it sets the foundation for healthy pregnancies and, ultimately, thriving children. Optimizing the physical and mental health of both parents during this time can help create an environment that gives their offspring the best possible start in life. While it's well known that exposure to adverse physical or psychological conditions during pregnancy can powerfully affect child development, emerging evidence suggests that factors occurring before conception can also have lasting effects on offspring. As professors of child development and perinatal psychiatry, our work is aimed at identifying which preconception factors have the potential to influence offspring outcomes, and how to intervene to reduce their effects to give all children the best chance to succeed and thrive. The period of pregnancy planning represents a critical opportunity for future parents to optimize the lives of their children. While some physical and mental health factors shift over time, others are relatively stable. Regardless, enhancing physical and psychological health months or even weeks before conception may have powerful positive effects on offspring. For example, public health authorities recommend that women of childbearing age take a folic acid supplement, as this can prevent neural tube defects and enhance the long-term verbal and social skills of offspring. Maintaining a healthy diet (for example, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein) and a healthy weight before pregnancy is also associated with a lower risk of behavioural problems, improved motor and communication skills and better academic achievement. Ultimately, optimizing one's physical health has many benefits for parents and their children and paves the way for improving their mental health as well. Even though planning a pregnancy may be stressful for some, optimizing one's mental health has benefits not only for parents, but also for their future children. For example, children whose mothers experience a worsening of depression from preconception to postpartum were less able to control their behaviour and attention. Furthermore, high levels of stress in mothers pre-conceptually are linked to more negative emotionality and impulsivity in children. As a result, increasing the focus of public health efforts on the mental health of parents could be crucial to enhancing child development as well. Even though the health of mothers and birthing parents can have an important impact on the development of future offspring, healthy partners can also help promote positive long-term outcomes in children. For example, paternal mental health problems present prior to pregnancy increase the risk of pre-term delivery, which is linked to a higher likelihood of behavioural problems and academic difficulties in children later in life. Partners can also provide support and motivation to improve and/or maintain the healthy habits of mothers and birthing parents, which can help optimize offspring development. A number of practical steps can be taken by parents when planning a pregnancy to help enhance child development. Eating a healthy diet and engaging in regular exercise can improve your physical health. Optimizing mental health through exercise, nurturing relationships, building social networks, managing stress and seeking counselling and other help when needed can promote well-being during this important time. Research aimed at understanding the long-term effects of preconception conditions on later child development is still relatively new. Our work is attempting to expand this knowledge base by developing a cohort study that begins in the preconception phase and follows parents throughout pregnancy and into the postpartum period. So far, more than 500 women across Canada have joined the study, and we are continuing to enrol new participants until the end of August 2025. Please note that the web page is in French, but English speakers are welcome to join the study. However, since all research materials are in French, participants must be able to understand written French to take part in the study. Our work will examine how parents' mental health evolves across the perinatal period. This study is intended to help us understand the transition to parenthood and how factors present before conception can influence children's development. The pregnancy planning period is a time when parents can make positive changes in their lives that can benefit their health and the development of their future children. Investing in the physical and mental health of both parents is critical for preparing them to welcome a healthy child and can benefit both their family and society. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organisation bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Sabrina Faleschini, Université Laval and Ryan Van Lieshout, McMaster University Read more: What to expect when you're expecting: How will your sex life change during pregnancy and postpartum? Planning for a baby? Why both men and women should consider quitting alcohol before and during pregnancy Returning to exercise postpartum: Supporting women's physical activity after the birth of a child Sabrina Faleschini receives funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture. Ryan Van Lieshout does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Medscape
22-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Maternal Preeclampsia Tied to Kidney Disease Risk in Kids
Children exposed to maternal preeclampsia and born at term (37 weeks or more) were 26% more likely to develop kidney disease in the first year of life than those not exposed. They also faced notably high risks for chronic, unspecified, and diabetic kidney diseases as they grew older, particularly at or after 25 years of age. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a nationwide register-based cohort study to examine the association between maternal preeclampsia and the risk for kidney disease in their offspring. They analysed data of 2,288,589 offsprings born in Denmark between 1978 and 2017, of whom 63,191 (17.7% preterm) were exposed to maternal preeclampsia; mothers of the included offsprings were required to have pregnancy durations of more than 20 weeks. Information on maternal preeclampsia was identified from the National Patient Register; offsprings were categorised on the basis of their gestational age at birth as early preterm (< 34 weeks), late preterm (34-36 weeks), and term (≥ 37 weeks). Offsprings were considered to have kidney disease if they were registered with any of the following diagnoses: Acute or chronic kidney disease, glomerular and proteinuric disease, diabetic kidney disease, unspecified kidney disease, or kidney disease due to external causes. The median follow-up duration of this cohort was 18.8 years. TAKEAWAY: During the follow-up period, 37,782 individuals developed kidney disease, including 1150 who were exposed to maternal preeclampsia. O ffsprings exposed to maternal preeclampsia had a higher risk of developing overall kidney disease within the first year of life, irrespective of gestational age at delivery (hazard ratio [HR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.05-1.90 for preterm birth and HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.09-1.46 for term birth), than those not exposed to maternal preeclampsia and born at term. In offsprings born at term, exposure to maternal preeclampsia was strongly associated with increased risks for chronic kidney disease, unspecified kidney disease, and diabetic kidney disease (HR range, 1.36-2.85) at or after the age of 25 years. Exposure to preeclampsia with preterm delivery was not linked to higher rates of kidney disease in offsprings beyond the first year of life. IN PRACTICE: "In adolescents and young adults presenting with signs and symptoms of kidney dysfunction, a history of maternal preeclampsia may warrant an upweighting of kidney disease in the differential diagnosis, despite the patient's youth," the authors wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Ida Lihme, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. It was published online on May 16, 2025, in Kidney International . LIMITATIONS: Relatively few individuals were exposed to preterm preeclampsia and developed kidney disease, which may have yielded unstable results in some subanalyses and made it difficult to assess associations with early and late preterm preeclampsia separately. In analyses of individual kidney disease subtypes, evidence for associations with preterm preeclampsia was often lacking, likely due to a lack of statistical power. DISCLOSURES: Two authors reported receiving grants from various sources, including the US National Institutes of Health, Danish Council for Independent Research, and Novo Nordisk Foundation.
