Brendan O’Connor is used to being the one asking questions on his radio show. But in the first episode of The Irish Times’ new podcast, Conversations with Parents, host Jen Horgan turns the tables on the RTÉ broadcaster, quizzing him about all things parenting and revealing that he has some Discovering that you are suffering from imposter syndrome.
We’re not used to seeing such a personal side of O’Connor, the proud father of two teenage daughters Anna and Mary and husband to journalist Sarah Caden, but in conversation O’Connor said: Fatherhood changed him. “I was in a mental corner,” he explains. “I was angry,” he says, explaining that fatherhood is a relief.
O’Connor opened up about the realities of raising a teenage daughter, even admitting that having a daughter instead of a son was a huge relief. In the era of Andrew Tate and Donald Trump, and with so many overtly misogynistic messages on social media, he talks about the tools he is trying to equip his daughters to survive in today’s world.
Speaking of social media, while the nation seems to be debating mobile pouches for middle school students and their €9 million price tag, O’Connor shares her thoughts on teachable moments, social media platforms allowed at home, and phones. I talked about that. And technology inevitably has a negative impact on the young lives of our daughters.
Mr O’Connor’s youngest daughter Mary has Down syndrome, which he explains has shaped Mr O’Connor’s outlook on life. He described her birth as a “defining moment” in his life, adding that her birth was “the end of one life and the beginning of another.” But how exactly did becoming the parent of a child with additional needs change him? And what special lessons he couldn’t wait to teach her? ?
Mr O’Connor believes Ireland will become a more inclusive country by 2024, but he has strong views on whether this will be the case. “As Mary grows older, she becomes less involved in society,” he says, but doesn’t hide his thoughts about Ireland’s educational provision for children with additional needs.
Separately, O’Connor shares her thoughts on Brazil’s Bun Bun Cream, a treasure trove of parenting wisdom, and gives her thoughts on the modern parenting phenomenon.
Listen here or search for “Conversations with Parents” wherever you get your podcasts.
