Kate Townshend, Freelance Journalist

11/01/2024

A little late now but you can still get hold of this edition of Psychologies magazine with my article on New Year rituals...

A new year is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and embrace the shared ritual of letting hopes for the future take flight, writes kate townshend

08/11/2023

Writing for Readers Digest always makes me feel like a true grown up!

There's nothing like cosying up with a book in the colder months! Kate Townshend explores the perfect books to warm you up at this time of year

18/09/2023

Latest from me. Thank you to all the lovely people who talked to me so honestly for this one.

A surprise pregnancy after struggling to conceive a child – and sometimes after giving up hope of it ever happening – can result in months of fear and anxiety, writes Kate Townshend. She meets other women like her who’ve experienced it too

20/08/2023

Behind a paywall and with a headline that isn't precisely how I'd put it (fun fact: journalists don't pick the headlines, our editors do) but if you can get past those two I'd love to hear thoughts on this one...

When did it become so unfashionable to talk about the great side of parenting?

17/04/2023

I'm in Psychologies this month talking about how sometimes I just want to be by myself! There's an extract here but you'll have to buy the magazine for the full piece!

https://pocketmags.com/psychologies-magazine/may-23/articles/1301821/alone-again

29/01/2023

On strikes and false divisions...

You can’t value education without valuing the teachers

24/12/2022

Christmas musings from me.

I’m done – or trying to be – with the guilt that says the size of my baby’s present pile is a clear indicator of my success or failure as a mother

06/11/2022

Do read beyond the headline, lest you think I've lost my mind!

Politics isn’t just for people who consume PMQs like it’s its own reality TV show

13/10/2022

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/woke-child-diverse-set-toys-1908599

Fun journalism fact... We don't pick the headlines that go with our stories and this isn't quite the one I'd choose. But otherwise hurrah for diversity in children's toys!

Fisher-Price has launched a new range of toys, including characters representing different skin tones, occupations, genders and health conditions. This can only be a good thing

17/08/2022

Nuance is actually big and clever y'know.

We definitely need to stop acting as if parents who leave the house with their children in tow to go to an adult-focused leisure activity should be on some sort of social services watch list

09/06/2022

Frustratingly, this page seems to be losing some of my posts. I'm just going to spam some recent articles below, as it's useful to have them on here!

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/maternity-safety-birth-pregnancy-stigma-b2066626.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/stella-creasy-baby-parliament-motherhood-b1963665.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/paternity-leave-parents-pete-buttigieg-b1948630.html

Being nine months pregnant, I can't wait to share parental duties with my husband

13/05/2022

Latest from me for Independent Voices:

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/breastfeeding-us-formula-milk-crisis-b2078337.html

Breastfeeding is great – but it’s also hard, labour-intensive and just not even possible at all for some people

07/04/2022

More from me on birth choices. Thank you so much to everyone who spoke to me or offered to speak to me for this.

As hospitals in England drop limits on offering caesareans, Kate Townshend reflects on the dated approaches surrounding how women give birth

26/03/2022

Still slowly getting back up to speed with my writing post baby H... and seem to be mostly writing about him!

Here's my latest about my caesarean section. (If I've asked about your experiences- they are for a second article on the same subject!)

https://metro.co.uk/2022/03/26/too-posh-to-push-we-need-to-stop-shaming-women-who-have-c-sections-16278491/

Family and friends tried to encourage me that I could 'do it the natural way' if I really tried.

24/11/2021

Toe back in the water (post Baby Hector) with this little piece for Independent Voices. It feels like a rather appropriate one!

The Labour MP has been reprimanded for bringing her three-month-old baby into the parliamentary chamber. Mothers everywhere won’t be surprised

31/10/2021

Latest for Indy Voices... tell me again how sexism doesn't exist any more.

Being nine months pregnant, I can't wait to share parental duties with my husband

29/10/2021

I'm in the December issue of Psychologies (out now!) talking about identity and why it matters so much. Please do have a read if you buy the magazine, or look out for it next time you're in the hairdressers! Page 36!

"There can even be a certain satisfaction in continuing to be who you are in direct defiance of expectations. I don't actually need anyone to approve my love of fantasy fiction, obsession with the sea or inability to make small talk. When I set their worth, nobody else is able to take that away."

30/09/2021

And now for something vaguely controversial... maybe? Worth saying, I feel this much more strongly with the current version of the Conservative party than with any previous iteration.

I'd love to hear your opinions too... am I being needlessly narrow minded? Could you date across the political divide?

Being a Conservative doesn’t make someone an inherently bad person, but some voting choices do make my life and the lives of people I care about worse. It matters if the person I’m with shares the same broad values

21/09/2021

Latest from me to coincide with World Alzheimer's Day - reflecting on a sad time in my life, (and a good few years ago now) but an experience that definitely contributed to the person I am now.

One of the biggest truths I’ve discovered is that the person is always still in there beneath the disease.

25/08/2021

Latest from me for Indy Voices.

We’ve got to the point where public figures are giving excuses that even a child would dismiss as ridiculous. Why? Because they know they can

23/06/2021

Latest from me...

Fun* journalism fact: we rarely pick the headline ourselves.

*For some value of fun!

I want Britain to be inclusive and tolerant and many other things the song and the day seem to support – but I don’t think we get there by brainwashing children or adults

11/06/2021

Seem to be developing a minor freelancing sideline in the critique of Disney movies...

I am cool with this!

https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a36693838/cruella-twist-disney-mother-problem/

The Baroness might as well be the Evil Queen.