Only new mums get post natal depression, right? Wrong.Not long after the birth of his first child in 2004, Mark Williams was having suicidal thoughts. While his wife was suffering with severe post-natal depression, Mark was also in the midst of a similar mental health crisis… which had all stemmed from becoming a parent.Now a men's mental health activist and author of new book Daddy Blues, Mark joins Steve and Rich to tell his story, reveal how quite normal dad questions and issues can spiral in...
Sep 20, 2018•32 min
You probably remember Tim Vincent as the guy who presented Blue Peter back in the 1990s.What you might NOT know about Tim Vincent is that a) he is now a famous host of big TV shows in America like Access Hollywood, b) he regularly interviews the world's biggest stars and c)… he is about to become a dad for the first time.At the age of 45.And he's having twins.And he and his partner have been together for less than a year.Yikes.Given all that, Steve and Rich invited Tim onto the podcast to discus...
Sep 14, 2018•37 min
Why is that when kids see a dad character in the media, he is invariably an incompetent buffoon?Steve and Rich are joined by James Millar - author of new book 'Dads Don't Babysit' - to discuss why most dads don't feel fairly represented by the fathers they see on TV… with Peppa Pig's daddy being among the worst offenders.The guys also discuss the pressures that mean many fathers who want to be more involved with raising their kids often cannot do so, and what we can all do to ensure dads of the ...
Sep 06, 2018•42 min
Fear not, regular listeners - Steve and Rich have not abandoned you. The guys have both been away for a few weeks, doing that thing which is simultaneously beautifully relaxing and massively stressful: going on holiday with your young children.Now back in the studio, they compare notes on their respective trips to France. The discussion includes a whole load of tips for dads about to embark on holidays with toddlers/babies, some suggestions of what NOT to do… and sees the guys stumble upon what ...
Aug 23, 2018•21 min
How would you cope if simply going to work meant you didn't get to see your kids for seven months? While we would all rather be with our families than be at work (well, most of the time), for men in certain jobs, paying the bills means being away from home for huge lengths of time. In this episode, Steve and Rich talk to Mike Fyans, a petty officer in the Royal Navy, about exactly that. When his eldest son was still a baby, Mike went to sea - meaning he didn't see his infant son for SEVEN MONTHS...
Jul 24, 2018•34 min
Ever watched your kid playing by themselves and thought, 'I should be a good dad and join in'?Steve and Rich have - but it turns out you would often be doing more for your child by leaving them to play alone.In this episode, the guys are joined by Dr William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, two American parenting experts who have co-written a new book called The Thriving Child.In the book, Bill and Ned explain why today's kids are now the most anxious generation of children ever, and reveal how their ha...
Jul 19, 2018•40 min
The acclaimed author and father of two chats to Steve and Rich about the stresses and strains of the modern world and how that makes parenting tougher than ever.Matt - who talks about his own struggles with anxiety in his new book, Notes On A Nervous Planet - discusses how our reliance on technology and the internet can cause parental anxiety. He also reveals why his two children are homeschooled and explains the many misconceptions people have about homeschooling. For information regarding your...
Jul 02, 2018•41 min
It's stressful, exhausting and mind-bendingly surreal… but it's also one of the most amazing, important experiences you will ever have.So, why is it that until just a few decades ago, it was widely accepted that most men would NOT be at the birth of their child?Steve and Rich share their (very different) experiences of watching their kids being born and remind themselves - and hopefully a few of you - why being there to welcome your kid into the world is something no man should miss. For informa...
Jun 25, 2018•33 min
The creator of Charlie & Lola and current Children's Laureate explains how you can give the best gift to your kid: imagination.Steve and Rich pop into Lauren Child's kitchen to discuss the importance of stimulating your little one's creativity, the difficulty of writing children's books in the modern publishing world and what dads can do to set an imaginative example to their offspring. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Jun 18, 2018•44 min
Every dad knows his life changes dramatically when he becomes a father. But did you know your body undergoes a series of irreversible physical changes when your baby is born?Dr Anna Machin - an evolutionary anthropologist at Oxford University - has spent 10 years working with new dads to gain a unique scientific insight into what it is to be a father in the modern world. Her new book 'The Life Of Dad', the result of that decade of research, shows how it's not just new mums who undergo physiologi...
Jun 12, 2018•41 min
Is your child turning into a dictator? Are you struggling to cope with your little one's bad behaviour without losing your marbles?Join the club.Steve and Rich are joined by the Government's former child behaviour czar Charlie Taylor - author of Divas and Dictators: The Secrets To Having A Much Better Behaved Child - to figure out the best way of handling a naughty or angry kid… and discover what makes children behave poorly in the first place. For information regarding your data privacy, visit ...
Jun 04, 2018•43 min
Journalist and father of two Stu Heritage joins Rich and Steve to discuss the age old question: are we all destined to turn into our dads? And does that mean we will end up raising our children in the same way they raised us?The guys chat about how the very concept of being a father has changed for this current generation of dads, while realising the key lessons they learned from their own fathers. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choi...
May 30, 2018•42 min
Have you ever given your kid a hit of Calpol to help them settle down? If you're like the vast majority of parents in Britain, the chances are you have a bottle of baby paracetamol in the bathroom cabinet which has come in very handy on a few rough nights.On one of those rough nights with a sick baby, you might also have found yourself wondering if your little one could be allergic to cow's milk.In this podcast, Dr Chris van Tulleken - whose new show The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs in on BBC1 on We...
May 21, 2018•50 min
Anna Williamson - TV presenter, radio host, podcast star and best-selling author - joins Rich and Steve to discuss the anxiety that comes with being a parent.Anna has suffered with anxiety for many years, but as she tells the guys, becoming pregnant and then having her baby took it to a new level. The conversation quickly turns to what causes the often crippling anxiety that comes with not only being a new mum… but a new dad too. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/priva...
May 14, 2018•47 min
Muslins. Reflux. Nipple shields. Isofix.There are plenty of words, phrases and objects which are a key part of every first time dad's life - despite the fact that they had no idea what most of them even were before they became a parent.Rich and Steve take a look at some of the ones that still don't quite make sense to them now... For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 07, 2018•39 min
The broadcaster and model joins Rich and Steve to discuss everything she has learned from being the mother of two boys.The guys talk about the challenge of getting nutrition and vitamins into your kids, Mel's experiences of bringing up an autistic child and what Mel believes makes a good father.It turns out dads really, REALLY need to get off the phone - and buy a diary. That will make sense once you've listened… For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more abo...
Apr 30, 2018•40 min
One of the First Time Dads is now a Second Time Dad!Steve is currently getting used to life with two kids, after his daughter Iris was born. In this special episode, Steve speaks to Rich from the (relative) sanctuary of his house, one week into paternity leave.The guys discuss how the birth of baby no2 is both very similar and very different to the first one, and chat about the many different challenges - and delights - of being a dad of two. For information regarding your data privacy, visit ac...
Apr 23, 2018•38 min
Rich and Steve take a trip to the House of Commons, to meet Jo Swinson - the politician who brought shared parental leave to Britain in 2015.Now Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo's role in the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government meant she was the driving force behind the introduction of the policy.So, three years on, what exactly ARE the benefits of shared parental leave to fathers (and mothers)? Why haven't more men taken up the opportunity? And is the idea of a genuinely shared ...
Apr 13, 2018•42 min
With Steve little more than a week away from the due date for his second child, this episode sees our co-host become a special guest - as Rich grills his co-presenter on how he feels about the imminent arrival of his daughter. Turns out it's difficult to know exactly how to feel when you're about to be thrown back into the madness of newborn babies. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 05, 2018•33 min
Award-winning children's author and illustrator Rob Biddulph joins Steve and Rich to explain what he has learned about talking to kids through his books. The guys also discuss what makes a great kids' book, the joy of reading to your child… and the very strong feelings Bono from U2 has on this subject. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 27, 2018•47 min
Have you ever wondered how much damage you might be doing to your child if you shout in front of them?Have you every worried that, by getting angry in front of your little one, you have psychologically scarred them in some way?You are not alone.Rich and Steve have asked themselves those questions on many occasions - so they invited clinical psychologist Dr Lucy Maddox onto the podcast to give them some answers.Lucy, author of Blueprint: How Our Childhood Makes Us Who We Are, reveals the often fa...
Mar 23, 2018•43 min
Pablo Fernandez and his husband Mike adopted their son Charlie when he was six years old. Pablo joins Rich and Steve to talk about being a gay father. He explains the challenges and the rewards of adoption, the added scrutiny which comes with being gay parents and leads our hosts to the realisation that parenting is parenting… whatever your situation. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 12, 2018•43 min
TV presenter Julia Bradbury went through FIVE rounds of IVF treatment before having her twin girls at the age of 43. But what does that ACTUALLY mean?Injections, miscarriages, strained relationships… and that's just for starters.Julia joins Rich and Steve to explain what her and her husband went through during the all-encompassing, life-altering emotional rollercoaster of fertility treatment. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Feb 26, 2018•39 min
It's one of every young father's worst nightmares: losing the mother of your child.Mark Duffy lost his wife Nicola to cancer last year and has been writing a blog - thewidoweddaddydiaries.com - about raising his daughter Grace while dealing with his grief.So, when the worst happens and mummy dies, what does life for a now one-parent family look like? How do you continue to function? And how does your relationship with your child change?In this podcast, Mark tries to answer all those questions, w...
Feb 19, 2018•46 min
You know how we all struggle to get our kids to sleep? Turns out it's because we've all been doing it wrong.Both exhausted thanks to their children refusing to go down at night, Steve and Rich invited Sarah Ockwell-Smith - renowned parenting author and mother of four - onto the podcast to discuss her extensive scientific research into the art of getting babies to sleep.After a long chat about lighting, sound, sociology, evolution, physics and everything in between, both Steve and Rich are still ...
Feb 12, 2018•54 min
Fresh from having her second child, the TV presenter tells Steve and Rich about going anonymous in online forums, what a mum needs from her husband second time around and why she doesn't want to be an over protective parent. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 05, 2018•28 min
Clare Pooley thought she was a normal, successful mother of three… until she realised the pressures of parenthood had taken her alcohol intake to dangerous new levels. Ten bottles of wine a week, to be precise. Now teetotal and author of the critically acclaimed 'The Sober Diaries', Clare joins Rich and Steve to discuss how and why having a baby can make any mum or dad turn to a bottle of their own… For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad cho...
Jan 29, 2018•38 min
You're settling into life as a dad. Your little guy or girl is starting to get used to you and your partner. You are beginning to feel like you might just about be getting the hang of this parenting business. And then, BAM! Suddenly it's time to send him or her to nursery… and you're back to being entirely clueless.Join Rich and Steve as they discuss/rant about the horrors and pressures of finding the right nursery for your child - and explain why the whole process can quickly make you feel like...
Jan 22, 2018•38 min
The Tiger Who Came To Tea, the much loved children's classic, was first published 50 years ago.Judith Kerr, the 94 year-old who wrote and illustrated the book back in 1968, tells Steve and Rich how she has seen the nature of childhood change and develop over the years… and recounts her remarkable story about fleeing Nazi Germany in 1933. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 15, 2018•43 min
TV star Tim Lovejoy - father to twin 15 year-old girls and a four year-old daughter - joins Steve and Rich to talk about how paranoia has crept into parenting… and about the struggle to find equality for both mum and dad For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 08, 2018•43 min
