Black Paddy: ‘I want to teach my children self-acceptance and to love the colour of their skin’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
‘The hardest thing about being a parent is being unavailable to my kids because I have to work so hard to feed and clothe them’
Our recent article on the topic of regretting parenthood sparked numerous responses. Below, we share a selection of the views we received
‘I shared a secret I shouldn’t have and was racked with guilt’
Donna Marie O’Donovan is head of philanthropy at Unicef Ireland and a member of the Dublin Theatre Festival board
Terry Prone on allowing son Anton Savage to be in her publicity as a child: ‘I think it was the wrong thing to do’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
‘Be an adult’ we tell our older teenagers but the Irish school system treats them like children
Our 18- and 19-year-olds, who can legally drink and vote, sit in school uniforms, call other adults ‘sir’ and ‘miss’ and must ask permission to use the toilet
Dr Brian Pennie: ‘I lost 15 years to heroin addiction but I wouldn’t take them back if I’d lose the happiness I have today’
Dr Brian Pennie is a neuroscientist, author, resilience specialist and former heroin addict
Ivan Yates: ‘The lack of affection from my parents’ generation was a huge mistake’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan
Averil Power: ‘I had two babies who died in pregnancy. I think about them all the time’
Irish Cancer Society head on having 10 siblings from three different families, rebelling against her parents and loving a good debate
Victoria Smurfit: ‘Postpartum depression had me manically sobbing in the middle of Ranelagh’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan: In this episode Hollywood actor Victoria Smurfit talks about how her children are coping with their mother’s steamy role in Rivals
‘There are times I regret having kids. They’re adults, and it’s now that I’m regretting it, which seems strange’
Parenting Taboos: Regretting parenthood, or wishing you hadn’t had some of your children, is a deeply guarded secret for some parents
Some ideas for parents that may make the week a little less ghastly for all
Jen Hogan: Halloween and midterm are coming but don’t be afraid, because there’s plenty that you and the kids might enjoy, from a haunted trail in north Dublin to a ninja course in Galway and a book with ghost stories from every county
Maïa Dunphy: ‘I was terrified of becoming a single parent. Now I am one’
Conversations with Parents podcast with Jen Hogan: The writer and TV star on having a one child, needing her mum and à la carte Catholicism
‘I went to a CrossFit session on her due date’: Julie-Ann Russell on pregnancy as an elite athlete
Parenting in My Shoes: Working and training, the Republic of Ireland and Galway United player suffers from the dreaded parental guilt
Roddy Collins: ‘My biggest regret is telling Johnny Giles when I was 18 to stuff the international team’
The former professional football and manager on his friendship with Vinny Jones, his love for Achill Island, and what happens when you die
Having a favourite child: ‘Unfortunately, it impacts on them, but they do it all to themselves’
Parenting taboos: If parents are aware they have a favourite child, there are things they can do to address the situation