The relationship between parents and non-parents can be full of pain
We live in a world where people who do not have children should be equal to those who do. We have more in common than that which divides us.
We didn’t always feel ‘less’
We’ve made it a goal to end comments like ‘just adopt’, ‘you aren’t doing it right’, ‘have my children, you’ll be grateful you’re not a parent’, and questions like ‘do you have children?’ or assumptions that people are parents.
These are just a few of the comments that we - Michael, Sarah and Berenice - have heard ourselves. We have heard others from our listeners and Community members.
The Full Stop Community CIC aims to provide accessible episodes for those who are childfree (by choice) and colleagues, family and friends of anyone who is childless not by choice.
We welcome parents as listeners and aim to be informative so they can stand alongside us with more knowledge and understanding.
We do not seek to devalue parents, since being childless is hard, and so is being a parent but we will endeavour to represent those who are involuntarily childless at every opportunity.
20% of women and an estimated 25% of men (source: Dr Robin Hadley) are childless not by choice.
The chances are that you will:
work with a childless person
have a family member or friend who is childless
know someone in a business network who is not a parent, not by choice.
You may not know who they are, as it’s comments like those above which can stop people from sharing their stories and can impact mental health.
Almost every solution will have been considered by the person who is not a parent, not by choice. Common myths, often published by the media, can lead people to assume that adoption and IVF are easy and that they are solutions for all when there are many reasons why someone isn’t a parent, as the Full Stop podcast has covered since 2019 and we’re far from through.
The Full Stop podcast is a valuable resource featuring voices discussing the many ways in which life can be challenging for childless people, in a way that meets in the middle so that parents can learn from our guests and Berenice, Michael and Sarah, about new ways of communicating.
All our episodes welcome you, and here are a few that we recommend (with transcripts available or to download).
Let’s meet in the middle
We can provide resources for libraries, surgeries and community places. Please let us know what you’re thinking of, and we’ll be in touch.
You can buy our guides, we think Childless and Work is really helpful at bridging a gap in work places and business networks.
You are welcome to share the Full Stop and follow us on social media.
Leave a review on your listening platform of choice or drop us a message, we love to hear what you’ve gained from our work too.
We are comfortable with speaking in shared spaces that are welcoming and safe for us too - we three are all childless not by choice. Check out our presenters page to find out what we can bring to your event, podcast or group.
You can donate to our work and help us to keep our CIC running and our work free. Funds help us to increase awareness, open up our Community to those who may not afford to be members and keep our podcast free to air.
We welcome volunteers and exchanges of skills where it’s appropriate but our podcast is for childless (and occasionally childfree) people and our Community is exclusively for childless people.