When will I become a real grown up?

I am going to be 40 in a few months and I’m just wondering, when will I become a real life grown up?
I’m getting older for sure but is it just me that feels like I’m still not quite like all the others and am yet to reach womanhood?

In this post I talk about feeling like an imposter adult, what it means to be a woman and how society has created an idealised version of womanhood which is not realistic.

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Fathers matter too: The patriarchy’s devaluation of dads

As a strong feminist could spend many an hour ranting and raving about all the BS women have to go through as the result of living in a society structured, constructed, managed and maintained by men at the top, but you know what is also a feminst issue? 
The devaluation of fathers!

The role of a father is just as important and the narrative that men can just work and it has no impact on their children is false and damaging. 
It robs our children of that precious time, it robs fathers of value and worth beyond rough and tumble and money earners, and it perpetuates the gender roles within families. 

In this post I talk about how in order for us to really have equality in the workplace we need to stop devaluing the role of fathers in the home.

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Frustrating facts about living with littles

Having kids is the most magical thing, they bring so much joy and happiness, it is also the hardest thing, they bring so much stress and frustration.

After a whole summer holidays ending with 10 days of isolation, this house has become a real pressure pot, and kids really know how to push you to the brink of despair.

Zero personal space, constant noise and mess. Sound familiar?
This is the reality of day to day life living with little ones.

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Miscarriage: The loss behind closed doors

Like most things connected to women and women’s bodies, society has served to keep us uninformed and feeling unable to talk about it openly.
Miscarriage is not a secret burden to carry.
In silence we only serve to perpetuate the expectation that the grief of miscarriage should occur behind closed doors.
In this post I discuss the experience of miscarriage, the NHS services journey and what we need to do in society to support people in their grief.

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Easy ways you can reduce waste and single use plastics

With so many alternatives on the market and more awareness of the impact of single use plastics on our planet, we are all trying to find ways we can incorporate more eco friendly practices into our homes. But it doesn’t have to mean major lifestyle changes.
In this post I outline some swaps you can make in your life from the very easy through to the more committed, to significantly reduce single use plastics in your home.

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Motherhood & Feminism: Quitting Your Job to be a ‘Stay at home Mum’

I wanted to have a family, a career and to be financially independent. 
By putting my career on hold to look after my children am I reinforcing the stereotype of the mother and not furthering the pursuit for women’s equality in the workplace following childbirth?  
By not working am I dependent on my male counterpart and not sending the right message to my children about women’s roles? 
Feminism is about empowering women to make informed choices about their own lives but as a ‘stay at home mum’ I feel most judged  and unsupported by other women and mums.

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“But what do you do all day?” Stay at home parents do not owe you an explanation

What is it about being a stay at home mum or parent that gets to people?
Since I chose to quit my job to be home full time I am constantly questioned about when I intend to return to work and the inevitable “what do you do all day?”.
In this post I discuss why stay at home parents, and mothers in particular are undervalued this way and why we do not owe people an explanation.

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I’m a mum not a maid

What is the role of the stay at home parent? Is it to nurture and care for our children or is the unspoken expectation that your role is to do it all?
In this post I discuss the difference between what we expect from a paid childcare provider and what we expect from stay at home mums (or fathers) and whether society needs to rethink how it values the role of parents at home.

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New Year, Same you: Resolutions, diet Culture and never being enough

New year. A time where we are bombarded by advertising for new holidays and gym memberships.
The articles pushing new fad diets, self improvement and the focus on the new year and a new you.
The pressure to make resolutions and to declare to all what pursuit you will make to be better, look better and do better.

In this post I discuss the damage of diet culture and the constant strive to change. And how its only now, at 40, that I feel able to say “I am enough as I am”.

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Please stop growing up

Is it normal to grieve your children growing up and mourn each stage as it passes?
As exciting as it is to watch them grow it can also be emotional saying goodbye to each part of their development. From the baby, to the toddler, starting school and moving into adolescence.
In this post I discuss the emotions of missing your child in each part of their life and the sadness of thinking ahead to ‘the lasts’.

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