Miriam O’Callaghan says she understands that having eight children is a source of fascination for people. And where once she might have been bothered by the double standards (i.e. how male broadcasters don’t seem to be defined by their parental status), she is now as happy to talk about her brood as she is about her TV career. The current affairs presenter has just released her memoir “Miriam: life, work, everything” and she delves into all of the above in this enthralling conversation with Jen Hogan. Miriam reveals she had secondary infertility after the birth of her first child, and how her last pregnancy almost had a tragic outcome. She also speaks about her blended family and how close she remains to her former stepdaughter. Miriam also explains how a period of disordered eating in her teens motivated her to build up her daughters’ confidence before they entered the tricky teen years. And she speaks about the devastating loss of her sister Anne, who she closely shared her early years of mothering with.

Presented by Jen Hogan. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Brought to you in association with Avonmore Super Milk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Séamas O'Reilly is an award-winning writer who shot to fame for his story of accidentally serving drinks to former president Mary McAleese while high on ketamine. He went on to pen his memoir "Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?" which netted him an Irish Book Award, and a place in the Irish annals of meme fame; after rugby icon and TV presenter, Tommy Bowe, was inadvertently light-hearted about his "ten siblings!" Séamas speaks to host Jen Hogan about the tragedy of losing his mum at the age of five, how it influences his own parenting now that he has a little boy and girl, and what it's like when your London-born son roots for the English football team.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Black Paddy wants to teach his children self-acceptance; to love their bodies and their skin colour. The comedian and social media star is best known for his viral videos which gently poke fun at the culture shock of moving to Ireland from Africa. But he won't be including his children in his antics, preferring that they grow up with a 'strong mind' before they're ever exposed to the opinions of others online. In this conversation with host, Jen Hogan, he discusses the impact of losing his father at a young age, his period of homelessness and substance abuse and how he was happy for fatherhood to take him out of the fast lane. This episode contains strong language.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author, broadcaster and chairman of The Communications Clinic, Terry Prone, may live a quiet life now but she's faced the kind of challenges you could expect to see in a Netflix drama. From an against-all-odds love story (she met her husband Tom Savage while he was still a priest), living on the breadline, raising their son Anton Savage while they worked, to surviving a catastrophic car accident that dashed her hopes of having more children. In this episode, the communications expert speaks to host Jen Hogan about parenting in a patriarchal Ireland, how the family coped in the difficult years after her accident and why she now regrets compromising including Anton in her 'publicity act' when he was a child.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ivan Yates is known for his controversial views on all manner of issues, and parenting is no different. The broadcaster admits the number of nappies he has changed in his time are in single digits and that 'learned helplessness' served him well. But Yates shares a more thoughtful side to him in this conversation with Jen Hogan. He speaks about how a lack of emotional warmth in his own childhood influenced how we would parent his own children, how he was determined they would be in no doubt how much he loves them and how is outspoken beliefs are not always well received by his sons and daughter.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria Smurfit believes to get by in life, "you need kindness, comedy and grit." The Hollywood actor, writer and producer has three children and tells them they must lead with kindness, find the funny in every situation and be prepared to work hard. She tells host Jen Hogan about the huge challenges that have come her way on her parenting journey including; her eldest daughter Evie's bid to save her sight, an attempted gun attack on her school in LA, moving countries after the break up of her marriage and dealing with crippling postpartum depression following the birth of her third child. In this episode, she also discusses her latest role in the 'Rivals' - the TV adaptation of the 1980s Jilly Cooper novel - out now on Disney+.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maïa Dunphy had never thought it was the right time to have a baby until, she jokes, her ex-husband told her at nearly 40 "it was time to 'do something' or get off the pot." The writer and TV star speaks to host Jen Hogan about becoming a mum later in life, fearing lone parenthood upon the break-up of her marriage and the conundrum of letting her son Tom make his holy communion, when she herself is an atheist. After losing her mum to cancer two years ago, she urges everyone to participate in family photo opportunities, lamenting that Tom has few pictures with his granny. Though, Dunphy reveals, he has her hilarious cameo appearances on her noughties TV production - Podge and Rodge's 'A Scare at Bedtime' - to look back on.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having a son and a daughter has given comedian, Tony Cantwell, the opportunity to explore some of life’s big questions. Things like, is gender just a social construct? What’s it like raising children when you're neurodivergent? How do you gentle parent? And how much time spent pooing is deemed acceptable in the quest for me-time? Host, Jen Hogan, sits down with Cantwell who created, and stars in, the new RTE comedy series, Good Boy. He discusses the extreme lengths he’ll go to, to avoid needing to change vomit soaked bedsheets, co sleeping, and how scheduling “the ride” becomes a necessary evil when you’re parenting young children. Cantwell is also open about the difficult early months when he wondered if he had male post-partum depression, and what later became a diagnosis of ADHD.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brendan O’Connor is used to being the one who asks the questions on his radio show. But in the very first episode of Conversations with Parents, the tables are turned on the RTÉ broadcaster, as host Jen Hogan queries him on all things parenting and discovers he is suffering with a touch of Imposter Syndrome.

He's the proud father of Anna and Mary and husband to journalist, Sarah Caden. We're not used to seeing such a personal side to O'Connor, who opens up about the realities of raising two teenage girls, his attempts at 'teachable moments' and how parenting a child with Down Syndrome has changed him.

Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conversations with Parents is coming next week and Jen Hogan has some information about her first few guests.

Conversations with Parents is a new podcast from The Irish Times. Host Jen Hogan talks to interesting people about the biggest challenge of their lives: parenthood. What have they learned about how to raise kids and how have they grown themselves from doing it? What are their parenting strategies - or are they making it up as they go along? Episode one is coming on Tuesday, October 8th.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.