The Juggling Act - podcast cover

The Juggling Act

kidspot.com.auwww.kidspot.com.au

Hosted by Kidspot writer and mum-of-two Melissa Wilson, and businesswoman and mum-of-one Jules Robinson, The Juggling Act covers the latest opinions, challenges, expert advice, celebrity interviews, real-life stories plus much more for busy parents. This supportive, informative and totally relatable podcast aims to offer insight and advice for mums and dads to help them navigate their professional and parenting lives, plus the mess in between. 

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Episodes

What I learnt about my son and myself during 8 months of lockdown

Melbourne has been through so much, and for people with a chronic illness, it’s been especially tough. Beloved author, columnist and podcast host Jamila Rizvi was diagnosed with a brain tumour nearly three years ago and to keep her whole family safe, they had to take precautions - including keeping her four-year-old son Rafi home for the past eight months. She was so inspired by discussions she had with him during that time, that she wrote her first book for children – I’m A Hero Too. Jamila joi...

Nov 25, 202011 min

How working mums can ditch the pressure (really)

Our guest today is an author, speaker and mum to three boys, who says that we need to rethink our approach to juggling work life and motherhood. Danielle Dobson’s book Breaking The Gender Code is all about how we can rewrite the code to live our lives on our own terms, and she joins us with some practical strategies on exactly how to do it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 24, 202015 min

Do you like your kids more as they get older?

A mum recently wrote about how she didn't really like her kids until they were seven. And while she was slammed on social media, Sarah and Mel understand what she's trying to get at. For the first five or so years, you're in care mode. Then as they become more self-sufficient and their little personalities come out, you start to enjoy their company more and your relationships changes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 23, 20208 min

Grant Denyer opens up about the moment he knew wife Chezzi was 'the one'

Well, it has been a huge year for Grant and Chezzi Denyer who are pregnant with their third child. Chezzi has been suffering from severe morning sickness AND vertigo - and handling criticism for having a baby at 41. They join us on the pod to talk having kids when you're older, how they hated each other when they first met, and the awesome summer road trip they have planned before the new bub arrives in March (btw their record for the number of wee stops in an hour is EIGHT!). See omnystudio.com...

Nov 22, 202015 min

Weekly Catch-Up

This week, we are joined by the stars of The Crown – Charles and Diana, that’s Emma Corrin & Josh O'Connor to you commoners… they open up about why we're SO obsessed with the royal family. Sarah and I admit that we are drowning in life admin and we just need people to cut parents some slack! Author Brooke Graham has written a fantastic children's book that is helping our kids banish worry (I use this reference all the time to help my kids - genius), while we’ve discovered a brilliant service...

Nov 21, 202044 min

Mum claims you can raise your kids without losing your cool

Today’s guest is a former actress, fitness instructor and TV producer, she’s also the mum of three girls, two in their twenties. Shantelle Bisson has now turned author with her new parenting guidebook - Raising your kids without losing your cool. She joins us to explain this sorcery and why she thinks a 'little pat' is sometimes needed to discipline our kids. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 19, 202012 min

The brilliant service helping mums juggle career and family

Today's guest wanted to find a way to give women in senior administrative roles more workforce flexibility. So Lauren Calvert started an executive support service called The Well Suited Group - as a side hustle - and it’s now changing the lives of mums trying to juggle family and career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 18, 20208 min

The children's book helping our kids banish worry

When primary school teacher and mum, Brooke Graham's daughter was 9, she was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night because she felt like she couldn't breathe. Turns out she was having a panic attack, and it was the sign Brooke needed to get her some professional help. She has since gone on to use the techniques they learnt to write a new children’s book called Go Away, Worry Monster!, to help remind our kids that they can send worry packing anytime they like, and take control of their fe...

Nov 17, 20208 min

Parents are drowning in life admin and can you please cut us some slack

Written notes from daycare, newsletters from little athletics, alerts on the school app, emails from work - life admin can be so overwhelming! There is a lot of pressure on parents to be across everything and sometimes it just becomes too much. Sarah and Mel talk about how they're copying and beg people to just cut parents a little bit of slack. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 16, 20207 min

Why Princess Di was so intent on being a hands-on mother

The new season of The Crown is here, and we were lucky enough to catch up with Emma Corrin & Josh O'Connor who play Charles and Di - one of the most famous couples in history - to get their insight on why we’re all so obsessed with the royal family (admit it, I know you are…), why Princess Di was so intent on being a hands-on mother and Emma reveals the reason she is glad Covid hit just after they finished filming. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Nov 15, 202012 min

Weekly Catch-Up

Sometimes being the one who makes the family decisions – and quite often its mum – can be bloody exhausting. Some days it feels like I’ve got decision-making fatigue and it makes me want to take a break from adulating – I don’t want to! Mum and journalist Casey Beros took that feeling one step further and decided to stop making the family decisions for a week, just to see what happened… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 14, 202054 min

Livinia Nixon on the struggle of Melbourne’s lockdown on families

No parent should ever have to outlive their child. The heartbreak is just unimaginable. That's why TV presenter and mum of two boys, Livinia Nixon has partnered with the children's charity Bailey's Day. They're helping raise much-needed funds for the Monash Children’s Hospital’s cancer centre in Melbourne. She opens up about the incredible support that money provides, how much of a struggle the second lockdown has been for Melbourne families, and what fuels the drive to succeed in her career. Se...

Nov 12, 202015 min

'I stopped making family decision for a week. Here's what happened...'

Sometimes being the one who makes the family decisions – and quite often its mum – can be bloody exhausting. What will we eat for dinner? Who will make it? What time will it be? Who will drop the kids to daycare and school? Who will make sure they have something to wear that doesn’t resemble a clown? Will anyone buy a gift for that looming birthday party this weekend? Some days it feels like I’ve got decision-making fatigue and it makes me want to take a break from adulating – I don’t want to! M...

Nov 11, 202012 min

Meet the mum who wrote a best-selling book in lockdown

Some people spent lockdown binging Netflix and eating, others put that time to slightly better use by learning a new skill or actually doing something productive (not that eating and binging TV series is not – I’m so here for that). Today's guest falls into the second category. Casey Gillespie, a Queensland mum of two, decided to use her time to write and publish a children's book inspired by her late mother called Nanna Maureen, and it is now on Amazon’s bestseller list. Oh, and did we mention ...

Nov 10, 20207 min

Alannah Hill on the heartbreak of your child no longer needing you

When I was growing up in country Victoria, heading off on a trip to Melbourne was a really big deal. It was four hours drive away at the time (no major highways) and it was so damn exciting. I loved walking down Chapel St and looking at the shops, we could never afford to buy anything. I’d stare in the windows of Alannah Hill, lusting over the feminine fabrics and colours. I didn’t end up buying one of her designs until I was 30, and I still love it. Well now the iconic designer and single mum o...

Nov 09, 202015 min

Should you force your kids to play sports if they don't want to?

We all know the benefits of sports for kids. Teamwork, coordination, resilience, the list goes on. But for some kids, playing sport is just not their thing. They'd rather curl up with a book, learn an instrument or create a new world on Minecraft. Living in a sporting nation like Australia, there is a huge focus on the sporting culture with swimming and athletic carnivals all throughout schools. So should we make our kids participate if they're really not into it? Or is it good for them to at le...

Nov 08, 20208 min

Weekly Catch Up

This week we talked about what age it’s appropriate to give your child a mobile phone… We caught up with Sue Brierley about the incredible true story behind the Oscar nominated film LION, we discussed why tweens are the new teens and how to manage their moods… Candice Warner opens up about her biggest struggle as a mother, and we’ve got some totally achievable tips to paying off your mortgage faster. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Nov 07, 202043 min

Totally achievable ways to pay off your mortgage faster

We all know that any spare money (ha!) needs to go into paying off our mortgage. But there are some other simple changes we can make to bring that number down faster. Today we're joined by Founder of Money Mode Renae Vercoe who talks us through these totally achievable tips (and they won't take you long). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 05, 20208 min

Candice Warner on her biggest weakness as a mother

Former Ironwoman Candice Warner and her little family were put through the wringer following a ball-tampering incident involving her husband, Australian cricketer David Warner, in 2018. She had to put on a brave face for her three daughters, was slammed on social media, labelled ‘a bad mother’, and suffered a miscarriage after Dave addressed the scandal. She joins us on the pod to tell us why she wanted to show her girls just how tough she is, in the new unscripted show SAS Australia and opens u...

Nov 04, 202010 min

Why tweens are the new teens and how to manage their moods

Earlier in the year we spoke with Steve Biddulph who said that kids these days are mentally a few years ahead of their actual age. And man am I noticing it with my 8yo daughter! It’s why tweens are now the new teens, according to our next guest. Amanda Stokes is an educator, mother to 3 and the Founder of Raising Strong Daughters. Her new book ‘The Tween Mother’s Tool Book: Raising Strong Daughters’ is out now and she joins us with some advice (praise be). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Nov 03, 20208 min

Incredible true story and mother behind the film ‘Lion’

When I watched the totally heartbreaking Oscar-nominated film 'Lion' starring Nicole Kidman four years ago, my daughter was four. As a mum with a child pretty much the same age, my heart shattered into a million pieces as I watched 5-year-old Saroo go missing. I just couldn’t imagine how my child would survive, so tiny and all alone on the streets of India. I also couldn’t imagine not seeing her again. But this story has a happy ending and an incredible woman behind it. Sue Brierley was living i...

Nov 02, 202014 min

What age is it appropriate to give a child a mobile phone?

As adults our mobiles are pretty much attached to our hands, and our kids are watching! It seems kids are getting their own phone younger and younger, but do they really need them? Sarah and Mel talk about what age it's appropriate to give a child a mobile phone and what things you need to take into account. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 01, 20206 min

Weekly Catch Up

This week, we caught up with mum-of-two and filmmaker Tahyna MacManus who opens up about suffering three miscarriages, including one during the making of her doco Misunderstandings of Miscarriage. Psychologist Belinda Williams joins us with some practical tips for making sure you don’t take your bad day in the office home with you. We have a laugh with author of The Treehouse series Andy Griffith about encouraging a love of reading in our kids. Let's talk about sex with mum Siobhan Fitzgerald wh...

Oct 31, 202039 min

Do mums need to stop apologising at work for having children?

Do you ever feel like you're constantly apologising for things? Sorry I was late this morning, sorry I forgot his book week costume, sorry she has packaged food in her lunch box today, sorry I have to leave early because my kid has a temperature...sorry, sorry, SORRY! Mums are some of the most efficient people in the workplace, so why are we constantly apologising for having children? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 29, 20205 min

'I started an erotic fiction website while breastfeeding my second child'

We’re spicing things up on the pod today, meeting a mum who started an erotic fiction website while breastfeeding her second child. Siobhan Fitzgerald started The Good Bits with her friend Carol who she met through her son’s daycare. She joins us to talk about how she got in the mood to start a new business and shares her tips for reigniting the fire (when you're covered in other people's bodily fluids - and not in a good way). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Oct 29, 202010 min

Andy Griffiths reveals the one reason kids love his Treehouse series so much

Today's guest is one of the country’s most loved children’s authors. Andy Griffiths Is the writer of the bestselling Treehouse series which is now in its 10th year! The next book in the series, The 130-Storey Treehouse, has just come out and Andy joins us to talk about his love of all things silly and why kids can't get enough of his books. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 27, 20209 min

How to deal with burnout and shake off a bad day

Burnout for a working mum, is so common. Especially with the year that we’ve had. And it can be hard to transition from work stress into mum mode, without taking it out on your kids. Don't worry, we've got some help! Psychologist Belinda Williams from The Bumpy Road joins us with some practical tips to shaking off a bad day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 26, 20207 min

Tahyna MacManus opens up about the heartbreak of miscarriage

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and one mum who knows that heartbreak all too well is Australian actress and filmmaker Tahyna MacManus (nee Tozzi). She’s attempting to open up a conversation that normalises pregnancy loss with her new documentary 'Misunderstandings of Miscarriage', which follows her on her four-year experience of pregnancy and miscarriage with her husband, Studio 10 host Tristan MacManus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Oct 25, 202011 min

Weekly Catch Up

This week, Sarah asks whether it’s okay to cut your kid’s hair at home… I have strong feelings about this one! In a rare interview about his daughter Ruby, Rove McManus opens up about how she's changed his view of the world and his favourite book character voice (it's not what you'd expect!) The Project host Gorgi Coglan talks about why women can totally juggle family and be driven in their career. We had a very funny poo joke filled chat with former AFL star Dale ‘Daisy’ Thomas, and best-sellin...

Oct 24, 202052 min

Losing your identity as a mother

Today's guest is the internationally bestselling author of 12 books which have sold over 750,000 copies globally. On top of that, Joanne Fedler’s book Things Without A Name has been optioned for the big screen! Super impressive. She has a new book out called Unbecoming - a hilarious but heartbreaking look at what happens to women when their identities have been defined by motherhood and marriage. She opens up about how to find yourself again and experiencing that same loss of identity when your ...

Oct 22, 202011 min
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