The Motherkind Podcast

“It’s how you were parented that lays the foundation – it sets the blueprint for your own parenting.”

This is a short moment from a much bigger conversation on Motherkind. But it tends to stop people in their tracks.

In this clip, Harriet and Zoe talk about something so many of us don’t fully look at until we become parents ourselves – the relationship we had with our own parents, and how that quietly shapes the way we show up with our children.

Harriet shares what it can be like to grow up in an enmeshed relationship, where you’re very close, but boundaries are blurred, where you might have been the best friend, the emotional support, the one who grew up a little too quickly. And how becoming a mum can suddenly shine a light on things you once told yourself were “fine”.

She shares a question she now asks her clients – and it’s a powerful one: Would you want your child to have the childhood you had?

This clip gently explores some of the early signs that something might feel off – struggling to say no, feeling guilty for wanting things differently, having your boundaries minimised or dismissed. And how confusing that can be, especially when you rely on your parent for support or childcare.

If this resonates, please know you’re not alone. And you’re not ungrateful. And you’re not making it up.

This is just one small part of a much bigger, compassionate conversation about awareness, autonomy, and breaking cycles – without blame, and with a lot of kindness.

If you liked this moment, listen to the full episode: Generational trauma expert: How to break unhealthy patterns and become the parent you wish you'd had - with Harriet Shearsmith

Remember to subscribe to Motherkind — it helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Ready to feel like yourself again? Download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

Follow Zoe on Instagram 

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:

Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If the word “selfish” makes you uncomfortable… this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Zoe is joined by Suzy Reading for a deeply reassuring exploration of what mothers truly need – and why self-care alone is often insufficient.

Together, they talk about how so many women have been conditioned to put themselves last, why resting, saying no or asking for help can feel so hard, and how unmet needs often show up as guilt, resentment or snapping at the people we love most.

Suzy shares the thinking behind her new book How to Be Selfish, gently reframing “selfishness” as self-advocacy – and offers simple, practical ways to reconnect with yourself, calm your nervous system and let yourself matter too.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

Why self-care alone isn’t enough – and how learning to receive care changes everything

How motherhood and conditioning pull us away from our own needs (and why that matters)

Why guilt, resentment and “shouty mum” moments are signals, not failures

Simple, compassionate ways to reconnect with yourself and remember that you matter too 💛

This is a compassionate, validating listen for any mother who feels stretched thin, disconnected from herself, or quietly carrying too much.

Remember to subscribe to Motherkind — it helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and  download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

If you liked this episode, listen to this next: 100s of self-care practices tested and the ones that work with The Self Care Club

Connect with Zoe:

Follow Zoe on Instagram 

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:

Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’ve ever felt the pull to do something different with your career and then immediately talked yourself out of it with it’s too risky, I need a safe job, or this isn’t the season – this short episode is for you.

In this powerful Motherkind Moment, from Zoe’s conversation with Debbie Wosskow OBE, they talk honestly about risk, motherhood, and why so many women feel stuck at the edge of change. Debbie shares the reality of building a business with young children, why most women start later than we think, and a simple, compassionate way to meet fear and self-doubt without letting them stop you – reminding us that you don’t need certainty to begin.

In this Moment, you’ll hear:

Why feeling scared is a natural part of change – not a sign you’re doing it wrong

How motherhood reshapes your relationship with risk and can actually strengthen your confidence

A simple mindset shift to manage fear and start before you feel ready

If you’re in the early stages of motherhood and quietly wondering whether there might be another way of working for you, this is your reminder that you’re not behind, you’re not failing, and you don’t need to have it all figured out.

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is take the first small step.

If you liked this moment, listen to the full episode: Work Series: How to Finally Find Your Self-Belief and Just Start, with Debbie Wosskow

Remember to subscribe to Motherkind — it helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Ready to feel like yourself again? Download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

Follow Zoe on Instagram 

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:

Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If your body feels tired, foggy or unfamiliar, this conversation might change how you see yourself.

January can feel like a strange in-between.

The world is telling us to reset, optimise, and transform. But our bodies are often saying something much quieter: I’m tired. I need care. I need kindness.

In this episode, Zoe sits down with Dr Mindy Pelz for a conversation that feels less like “health advice” and more like a deep exhale.

Together, they explore what’s really going on for mothers beneath the brain fog, the overwhelm, the resentment, the stubborn changes in our bodies – and why so many of us feel like we’re failing, when actually our bodies are doing exactly what they were designed to do.

Dr Mindy gently reframes stress, hormones and fatigue, helping us understand why women’s bodies respond so differently to pressure, why putting ourselves last comes at a cost, and why self-care isn’t something to squeeze in once everything else is done.

They also talk about fasting – not as a rule or restriction, but as a way of working with the female body rather than against it – and how it can support clarity, calm and energy when done with care and context.

And perhaps most powerfully, this conversation reclaims perimenopause and menopause as something rarely spoken about in this way: not an ending, but a powerful rewiring. A time when the brain begins to let go of people-pleasing, external validation and over-functioning – and moves us towards leadership, confidence and deep self-trust.

This episode is an invitation to step into the year differently.To stop fixing yourself.To start listening to yourself.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Why stress underpins so much of how mothers feel in their bodies and minds

How women’s bodies and brains are uniquely wired through motherhood and midlife

What self-care, fasting and strength really look like when done with compassion

Why midlife can be a powerful return to clarity, confidence and self-trust 💛

If you’re entering this year feeling depleted, uncertain or disconnected from yourself, this conversation is a reminder that you don’t need to become someone new.

You might just need to come back to yourself.

Remember to subscribe to Motherkind — it helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and  download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

If you liked this episode, listen to this next: MOMENT | Why prioritising yourself IS caring for your children, with Emmy Brunner

Connect with Zoe:

Follow Zoe on Instagram 

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:

Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Motherhood doesn’t just change your routine – it can completely unravel who you thought you were.

In this episode, Zoe is joined by Estelle Bingham to talk about the inner reality of becoming a mother – the identity shift, the loneliness, and the moment you realise the old version of you no longer fits. They explore why the early months can feel so disorientating, why so many mothers hit a point of exhaustion and self-doubt around six months in, and why this isn’t failure – it’s transition.

Estelle shares how motherhood brought her to the “ground zero” of herself, surfacing unmet needs and old patterns, and why this cracking open is often an invitation rather than a problem to fix. 

At the heart of our conversation is a powerful reminder: compassion isn’t optional in motherhood. It’s what stops shame from taking over and allows us to show up for our children with steadiness and care.

If you’ve ever thought, Why does this feel so hard? or What’s happened to me? This episode will help you understand what’s really going on.

In this Moment, you’ll hear:

Why motherhood can feel like an identity earthquake – lonely, disorientating, and nothing like you expected

How your child can surface your own unmet needs, and why that discomfort is a sign of growth, not failure

Why compassion, not perfection, is the skill that keeps shame and burnout at bay

If you liked this moment, listen to the full episode: You’re Not Lost, You’ve Just Forgotten Who You Are with Estelle Bingham

Remember to subscribe to Motherkind — it helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Community growing.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and  download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

Follow Zoe on Instagram 

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:

Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices