‘being a mum is not what i expected’

Novelist Amanda Smyth and her partner were aligned on never wanting children, until, at 40, she felt a deep and non-negotiable desire to reverse that decision. She explains how she navigated the path that took her in a new direction

Gentle parenting: a gag-worthy term right up there with ‘sustainable luxury’, and often ridiculed by those of our parents’ generation. And yet here I am. I have never once let my son, Jasper, now 20 m

Bex Band came late to the outdoor life. Now she’s a professional adventurer, author, founder of non-profit community Love Her Wild, and mother to two mini-adventurers. Here, she talks about her own introduction to the outdoors – and why having children shouldn’t bar you from a life of adventure

As I push my pram, my baby sleeping, it takes me a moment to realise that someone is talking to me. Another mum, on the way to the same baby class, is asking how I am, and I stammer as I push my phone

People laugh about the lack of intimacy that seeps into a relationship once children come along, but according to recent research, it’s not just a joke. A survey carried out by sex toy brand Lovehoney

‘Nobody should apologise for not having children’