“Ireland is better than the US but not as good as Scandinavia,” I said to the public policy student who was sitting beside me, “I’d say we fall somewhere in the middle.” We were at “Families and Work: A Chance for Change“, a seminar organised by Start Strong, the National
“Oh my God aren’t we desperate! Women are so hard on themselves and way too hard and judgmental of other women too” This week’s interview is with Helen Plass, owner of mumandbaby.ie a website for mothers-to-be and new mothers. She’s a yoga teacher, runs active birth workshops, hosts webinars, and
“Listen, I was that person who was going to have her baby on Friday night and be propped up at the bar in the pub wearing full make-up and heels on Saturday night. Of course I was going back to work!!!” The weekly interview series is back with Gwen Loughman; a
“I have guilty moments, I think most mothers do. Fathers tend not to, which is interesting; most men I know are pragmatic about it. Work has to be done, bills have to be paid” This week’s Office Mum interview is with Sinéad Crowley; journalist, RTE Arts and Media correspondent and
“I did start off a level above my husband when we were both working in the same company doing similar jobs. While I started off ahead, he moved much, much faster through the career ladder” In this week’s interview, I meet Laura Kenny, a working mother of two living in
“lower your standards! Housework can wait. If everyone is fed
After reading “Here’s why we need to start asking men – how do you do it all?” I started to really think about why we don’t ask men this question, and about all the other questions we are asked as women. Can you picture a man being asked any of
Mothers: what is the solution? With working outside the home I mean, and the attempts to balance. I have never met a mother with whom I haven’t had this conversation – the one about work. All of the below conversations took place over a two week period, just a typical fortnight
The perpetuation of so-called mummy-wars assumes that there is a distinct split between just two types of mothers: those who go out to work in paid employment and those who stay at home with their children. Black and White. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Apparently. And it has reared it’s
So, you need to find a complete stranger to come into your house and be solely responsible for your children while you’re not there. Scary stuff. Looking for a childminder (or nanny to use the more correct term) can be a very daunting challenge. When I was starting to think
Mommy-wars. Or since we’re in Ireland, let’s say Mammy-wars. I can’t stand the term, but it’s the widely-used name for the phenomenon of mothers judging mothers on every element of parenting, originally coined to refer to mothers working outside the home versus stay-at-home mothers. Newspapers love the SAHM/ mothers working outside the