The Motherkind Podcast

Have you ever felt like you’re trying so hard to be a good mum… but somehow it still never feels like enough?

In this Moment, Zoe talks about good girl conditioning – the deeply ingrained beliefs many of us carry into motherhood without realising it. The need to be agreeable, to keep the peace, to over-give, and to measure our worth by how much we do.

When these patterns come into motherhood, they don’t disappear – they intensify. Suddenly, we’re not just trying to be a good girl, we’re trying to be a perfect mum. And that can leave us exhausted, resentful, and disconnected from ourselves.

This episode is about recognising that there is nothing wrong with you. These are learned behaviours – and they can be unlearned.

In this Moment, we explore:

What good girl conditioning is – and how it shows up in motherhood

Why people-pleasing and perfectionism lead to burnout, not fulfilment

How meeting your own needs and setting boundaries creates real confidence

If you’ve ever felt burnt out from trying to be everything to everyone, this one’s for you.

If you liked this moment, listen to the full episode: Breaking Free From Perfectionism and People-Pleasing

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

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 confidence feels like something you’ve lost since becoming a mum, this episode is for you.

If you’ve been moving through motherhood feeling lower in confidence than you ever expected – second-guessing yourself, feeling like you’re “just surviving”, or wondering where you went, press play on this one.

In this episode, Zoe is joined by confidence coach and founder of PepTalkHer, Dior Bediako, for a conversation that completely reframes what confidence actually is, especially in early motherhood.

Dior shares why confidence isn’t about feeling fearless or having it all together, but about being willing to feel doubt, fear and insecurity… and still showing up. Zoe and Dior talk about how much motherhood asks of us internally, why survival is not a failure, and how the relationship you have with yourself quietly shapes your confidence, your choices and the example you’re setting for your children.

This conversation is grounding, expansive and deeply reassuring, a reminder that you are not behind, broken or failing. You are becoming.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

Why confidence often dips in early motherhood – and why that’s completely normal

A powerful redefinition of confidence that allows fear and self-doubt to exist

How tiny, compassionate actions can rebuild self-belief when life feels overwhelming

Why the way you speak to yourself matters more than doing motherhood “perfectly”

If you’ve been hard on yourself lately, if your inner critic has been loud, or if you need permission to meet yourself with more kindness, this episode is for you.

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: Work Series: If you're feeling low in confidence, listen to this - with Lauren Currie

 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

“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