Conversations with Parents

Sophie Ellis-Bextor wasn’t expecting to have a baby so soon into her relationship with her now husband, but she says there was a part of her that felt really good about it. This was in the early 2000s when it was not the done thing for a female pop star to start a family. 21 years and five boys later she’s managing to juggle family life with a successful singing career, having just released her eighth studio album, Perimenopop. But it hasn't all been smooth sailing. In this episode Sophie speaks about her first-born’s shaky start after a premature birth, raising five boys and embracing the wisdom that comes with getting older.Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.Brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk

Chris Hadfield has a granddaughter in China and, as of earlier this year, another granddaughter here in Ireland. But despite the distance, the retired astronaut says they are very much in each others lives. And after all, "I've been around the world in 90 minutes, it's just a little place," he jokes. In this episode, the world's most famous living astronaut sits down with Jen Hogan to talk about how he's managed to juggle such a successful career with parenting. Chris discusses his own upbringing and how it influenced his parenting, how his best intentions may not always have come to pass, and how his now adult children coped with the pressure of having such a famous dad when they were growing up. Plus he discusses his latest career pivot that that of bestselling author. His new book "Final Orbit" is available now in all good bookshops.Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan,Brought you in association with Avonmore Super Milk

Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin says she and her husband would have had a fourth child, but for her debilitating pregnancies. The scientist and broadcaster says her births went without a hitch, but she was chronically ill with hyperemesis gravidarum on each of her three pregnancies - a complication that causes persistent and extreme vomiting. Her third child, her daughter Doireann, was born at home; something she says she will never forget. Aoibhinn breastfed all three, though she found each experience difficult in their own way. One of her sons was born with a tooth making the process very painful. In this episode, the DCU professor also shares how having children gave her a new perspective on her experience of workplace harassment, and deepened her resolve to advocate for nature restoration. Please note this episode has one or two moments of strong language. Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk.

Ciara Kelly was on in a bar on a sun holiday when she found out she was pregnant. 1999 was a time when Ireland was becoming more liberal, but being an unmarried mum "wasn't without some stigma," and no allowances were made on the gruelling 60-hour shifts that were common for junior doctors then. Though motherhood came early she took to it so well that she ended up having a family of four. In 2017 she swapped her medical career for a full-time job in radio. The primetime slot on Newstalk Breakfast means she often gives her take on the events of the day, sometimes drawing opprobrium on social media. "I saw some of the things being said online and realised some of the comments sticking up for me were my son." In this episode, Ciara speaks to host Jen Hogan about managing the backlash, teaching her kids to brush it off and why respecting their agency is so important to her.Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.Brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk.

Being a hormone doctor wasn’t actually much help when it came to parenting three girls, according to Donal O’Shea. He’s an expert in how hormones affect the body but he admits his wife handled ‘the talk’ when his three daughters were teenagers. However, he goes on to say he will be advising them “if I’m around when they are post-menopausal, that they need to be going on HRT.” O’Shea is a consultant endocrinologist and one of the most recognisable doctors in Ireland, owing to his work and advocacy for people living with obesity. In this episode, he discusses the pressure on parents when it comes to the influence of junk food marketing on their kids, how to handle picky eaters and how they might approach the tricky puberty years. He also draws on his experience of working with gender-questioning teens and how their parents may also need support. We also get to know another side of O'Shea, including how he once wanted to become a priest.Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.Brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk.

Do fathers get a raw deal? Are men complicit in the detrimental effect that having children can have on women’s careers? And what exactly is an afterbirth fridge? In this episode Jen Hogan sits down with renowned political commentator Fintan O’Toole to talk about his arrival into fatherhood at a time of profound social change in Ireland. The pair discuss changing nappies, breastfeeding and why he has little time for liberal triumphalism. He has no regrets about choosing his family over a career in the US, but laments that he smacked his first child at time when it was the norm to do so in Ireland. He talks about sending his children to a minority faith school, and how he disagrees with the “middle-class thing of helping your kids into certain careers.”Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.Brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk.

Conversations with Parents from The Irish Times is coming back with a new season. Last year Jen Hogan spoke to interesting people about the hardest challenge of their lives: raising kids.Season two will feature eight brilliant guests with new parenting stories to tell. So stay tuned, wherever you get your podcasts - or on irishtimes.com.Conversations with Parents from The Irish Times is brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk.

Conversations with Parents from The Irish Times is coming back with a new season. Last year Jen Hogan spoke to interesting people about the hardest challenge of their lives: raising kids. Season two will feature eight brilliant guests with new parenting stories to tell. So stay tuned, wherever you get your podcasts - or on irishtimes.com. Conversations with Parents from The Irish Times is brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk.

Does parenting with the seemingly never-ending juggle of work, home-life, and trying to be everything to everyone, actually get any easier? What about if you have a child struggling with anxiety, where do you begin in the search for meaningful support? Siblings; ready-made friends, or sworn enemies - how do you manage sibling conflict? And does it really matter if parents share pictures of their children online? These are just some of the many questions that came in to us from listeners to our Conversations with Parents podcast. And, in this special episode, Jen Hogan sits down with the podcast’s producer, Aideen Finnegan, to look back over the series, discuss some of the themes and issues that emerged over the course of eight episodes, and answer a selection of your questions.