Are Kids For Me

09/04/2025

I'm very excited to be speaking at the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy's yearly conference about this topic on Saturday!
The theme is 'The Lived Experience: Enriching Practice through Connection and Reflection' 😀

07/04/2025

Please see the photo for details of very important research into men's experience of childlessness in Ireland and share to anyone who might be interested :)

06/11/2024

I'm sharing another podcast I am involved with here where I was absolutely honoured to speak with Jody Day and Robin Hadley about working with childless and childfree clients in therapy.
We discuss the impact of pronatalism on people who cannot or do not want to have children and reasons they may need the support of therapy e.g. disenfranchised grief, as well as isolation and stigma. We also explore how therapists themselves need to be aware of internalised pronatalism and how this might impact their work with clients.
Available on the usual podcast platforms, Spotify link to episode - https://open.spotify.com/episode/26cotgCLPHTWanskrWO6qC?si=27a89d8c3dad4577

25/09/2024

In the last of the current episodes, I speak with Elizabeth Joy, the creator of the Other Than Motherhood podcast. Elizabeth started this as part of her process of answering the question of whether she wants children or not. We talk about that process and she picks out some key concepts she has found useful from her podcast interviews. These include different ways of relating to regret as well as how this topic can impact friendships and how it can be difficult to communicate about for many reasons.
I hope to be back with some new episodes next year, thanks to everyone for listening. Please check out Elizabeth's podcast for some fascinating discussions on this topic.

11/09/2024

New Podcast Episode - My guest is Jennifer Flint, a woman's empowerment coach and author of the novel 'Wild Egg'. This book tells the story of Holly and her struggle to break the deadlock of ambivalence to decide whether becoming a mother is her wholehearted choice, or simply what she has been programmed to believe. We discuss the book, the process of writing it and what it has been like since its release two years ago. The book also focuses on what happens after Holly makes her decision. We discuss transitions and endings in life, including the grief that can be present even when we make a positive choice. We talk about the importance of allowing ourselves this liminal phase as we adapt to our choice, experimenting with what life might look like.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VTjDJcgkikdXlwnbQ9GnG?si=f8a55483156a46f0

28/08/2024

New Podcast Episode with Caitlin Durante! Caitlin is a writer, comedian and co-host of the amazing Bechdel Cast podcast, which discusses the representation of women in film. Caitlin is proudly childfree. We discuss the process she went through to be sterilised and how important it was for her body and mind to be aligned on this decision. We also explore the topic of regret and what can inform our ideas around that. It was wonderful to speak to Caitlin and I really hope you enjoy this conversation.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6waG3MX2iEqqAJ6DmKbfQg?si=4144a411db3a4ad7

14/08/2024

I am delighted to share a new podcast episode today where I talk to Storyhouse Childless founders and organisers about the event.

This is a weekend of activities and events on the topic of not having children for any reason, taking place in the beautiful Storyhouse Centre in Chester, England on Sept 28 and 29th.

I attended myself last year and found it such a fulfilling and heartwarming weekend of connecting, learning and laughing. Do check out https://www.storyhouse.com/seasons/storyhouse-childless/ for this years line up and to buy very reasonably priced tickets!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6FNJTims3jJD9osqWZ2cMR?si=009aecf94f4f4722

A weekend of events to explore living without children.

01/08/2024

Happy Childfree Day! I'm delighted to celebrate by sharing two new podcast episodes of the 'Are Kids For Me' podcast exploring this topic in an Irish context 😀

29/07/2024

Here are the Irish times for this weekends Childfree Convention sessions -
1.The Childfree Lifecycle 3-6pm
2. Aggressively Childfree 6-7pm
3. Hey Childfree Community:Do Something! 7.15-9pm.

Subscribe on YouTube for updates, chat function and talks 😀

24/07/2024

A great range of speakers taking part in this year's Childfree Convention!

24/07/2024

'Still, whenever I tried to envision what it would be like to bring another human being into this world and become half of the duo meant to raise, protect and love them unconditionally until death did us part, I felt no inkling of interest or excitement to move in that direction. Not once.'

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Flifeandstyle%2Farticle%2F2024%2Fjun%2F08%2Fwhat-i-wanted-to-be-when-i-grew-up-banjo-player-pony-trainer-story-maker-mother-was-not-one-of-them%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1DkGDcWc90dly9n9cwPjLEGOYsunwIe-CgAjAT6A5aFj5A79cFYSXOrGA_aem_0VbZQCGX1H8FD8e4BCjlcw&h=AT2BZcN7lFT_xMSRXwXuf_yYQ1NOCx94xQME56ruL3fDPzJv20IhGhSSFrWAXDqe_mvYJ1WIJ9rLLVsw2NJQiM4W1kp1IQqndak2Og__mh3CTxEgIhIzUJXiGqfe7S9AsQ&s=1

A late-night conversation left me spiralling: did I want to become a mother?

10/05/2024

Delighted to be a guest on the Irish Times Women's podcast to discuss the wonderful new book 'Harpy' by Caroline Magennis, all about the hope and possibility of being childfree with a specific focus on the Irish context, please get your copies now!

Link to podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4409ehAzjyoiZtQNqudZ03?si=KbTHoeqDRZuQ5sR8MxjcPQ