Ask Miriam

Dear Miriam: ‘my son’s obsession with his phone is creating endless family rows’

A reader regrets buying her son a phone and asks Miriam's for advice with his compulsive behaviour around technology.

FEATURES 4 November 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘my son’s obsession with his phone is creating endless family rows’

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Dear Miriam: 'I’m in my late 50s and wetting myself. What can I do?

Dear Miriam: 'I’m in my late 50s and wetting myself. What can I do?

ASK MIRIAM 28 October 2026

Dear Miriam: 'I want to leave my abusive husband but fear for my son'

Dear Miriam: 'I want to leave my abusive husband but fear for my son'

ASK MIRIAM 21 October 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘how do I respond to adult daughter’s revelation of sexual abuse?’

Dear Miriam: ‘how do I respond to adult daughter’s revelation of sexual abuse?’

Dear Miriam: ‘how do I respond to adult daughter’s revelation of sexual abuse?’

ASK MIRIAM 14 October 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘my daughter feels low and left behind now her friends are in uni’

Dear Miriam: ‘my daughter feels low and left behind now her friends are in uni’

Dear Miriam: ‘my daughter feels low and left behind now her friends are in uni’

ASK MIRIAM 7 October 2026

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Dear Miriam: 'my husband no longer wants to leave Dublin for the countryside'

Dear Miriam: 'my husband no longer wants to leave Dublin for the countryside'

Miriam advises a reader in Cork to enlist the services of a counsellor to help her and her husband navigate the thorny issue of whether they continue living in the city or relocate to her home village

ASK MIRIAM 30 September 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘my husband won’t get a vasectomy, but I don’t want more kids’

Dear Miriam: ‘my husband won’t get a vasectomy, but I don’t want more kids’

A reader asks Miriam if she is being selfish in asking her husband to get a vasectomy after he promised he would and is now backing out.

ASK MIRIAM 23 September 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘My brothers won’t help care for Mam and I’m at breaking point’

Dear Miriam: ‘My brothers won’t help care for Mam and I’m at breaking point’

A reader asks Miriam if she's being selfish in seeking nursing home care for her mother as she is struggling to cope with her care on top of her own work and family responsibilities.

ASK MIRIAM 16 September 2026

Dear Miriam: anxious son is avoiding school as we wait for public assessment

Dear Miriam: anxious son is avoiding school as we wait for public assessment

A reader in Kildare asks Miriam for help on how to support her son who has started secondary school deal with the anxiety that often leads him to refuse to go to school, as he finds it overwhelming.

ASK MIRIAM 9 September 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘I’m torn between the family business and building my own life’

Dear Miriam: ‘I’m torn between the family business and building my own life’

A reader feels pulled between helping with the family business and creating a life of her own. Miriam says staying silent about her concerns is not the answer.

ASK MIRIAM 2 September 2026

Dear Miriam: 'how do we get our adult son to move out of the family home?'

Dear Miriam: 'how do we get our adult son to move out of the family home?'

A reader from Co Wexford asks for help in dealing with her adult son who refuses to move out of the family home, preferring to enjoy his home comforts at the expense of his parents and siblings.

ASK MIRIAM 26 August 2026

Dear Miriam: ‘I’m tired of hosting my family's holiday every year’

Dear Miriam: ‘I’m tired of hosting my family's holiday every year’

A reader asks Miriam if she's being unreasonable for resenting the annual family invasion of her holiday cottage, where she's expected to do all the work instead of enjoying a break herself.

ASK MIRIAM 19 August 2026

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