### Parenting through the Christmas Holidays – A Counsellor’s Perspective As the festive season approaches, the vibrant streets of Valletta and the twinkling lights adorning Mdina evoke a sense of joy and togetherness. Christmas in Malta is not just a time for celebration; it is also a significant period for families, where traditions and values…
### “Boy Wore a Nappy to Stay Online”: Experts Reveal Social Media Dependency in Malta In an era where social media has become an integral part of daily life, the extent of its hold on individuals has reached alarming levels. A recent incident in Malta has sparked a heated debate on the impact of social…
**Mother’s Plea Shakes Malta: ‘Our Baby Only Calms With His Father’ Sparks Soul-Searching Over Domestic Violence** A courtroom in Valletta fell silent last week when a 26-year-old Maltese mother, her lip still split from a punch delivered in front of their toddler, asked Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia to spare her ex-partner prison. “Jien ma nridux ħabs…
# Meta Launches Teen-Only Facebook Profiles as Maltese Parents Ask: “Do 13-Year-Olds Really Need a Timeline?” Sliema mum Claire* still remembers the day her 12-year-old came home from church-school asking when he could open “a proper Facebook” like his cousins in Sicily. “I told him the rule is 13,” she laughs, waving a €3 pastizz…
**When Should Maltese Kids Pick Up Their First Instrument?** *From zaqq parties to ZfinMalta rehearsals, the island’s soundtrack starts early—here’s when to press play on formal lessons.* Ħamrun mother-of-three Claire Pace still laughs at the video: her four-year-old son Luke thumping on a toy kazoo while his nanna belted out *“Viva l-Malti”* at a village…
Watch: Malta’s low fertility is ‘greatest challenge of our time’ – Clyde Caruana By Hot Malta Staff Finance Minister Clyde Caruana pulled no punches on Monday evening when he told a packed Valletta conference that Malta’s collapsing birth-rate is “the greatest challenge of our time—bigger than any budget deficit, bigger than the price of gas.”…
Finnish phone ban brings focus, and chatter, back to school – could Malta ever hang up? Valletta’s grand-parents still talk about the day the first Nokia brick landed in their children’s blazer pockets: suddenly, break-time hopscotch was replaced by snake hunts on grey screens. Fast-forward to 2024 and Finland – the very birthplace of that…
How to survive the dreaded ‘back-to-school apocalypse’ – the Maltese way By Hot Malta staff It starts with a distant rumble of suitcases being dragged across uneven limestone pavements. Then comes the scent of freshly-printed Sliema Mon Amour notebooks mingling with August’s last batch of ħobż biż-żejt. Before you know it, the islands’ traffic arteries…
The Sweet Trap: How Maltese Babies Are Losing Their First Teeth to Night-Time Bottles By Hot Malta Staff | 6 min read Every evening, as the last ferry leaves Valletta’s Grand Harbour and the church bells of Mosta fall silent, thousands of Maltese parents settle their babies with what feels like an innocent comfort: a…
ChatGPT to Get Parental Controls After Teen’s Death – What Malta Needs to Know Valletta, Malta – The news that OpenAI will roll out stricter parental controls for ChatGPT, following the suicide of a 14-year-old in Florida, has landed on our islands with the force of a summer sirocco. In a nation where 92 %…
