A colleague was telling me recently that she’s basically the man in their relationship because she’s working at home from 2-10pm each day, and misses out on bedtime. And her husband is struggling. He never realised how hard it was to go to work and then come home to your other job. It can be tough when your partner doesn’t step up and help share the mental load – especially when you’re both working. So how can you broach the issue? We’re joined now by psychologist Belinda Williams for some advic...
Aug 12, 2020•5 min
In October last year, Jennifer Hawkins gave birth to her first child after a two year fertility battle, stage four endometriosis diagnosis and a heartbreaking miscarriage. Ten months on and they’re understandably smitten. Jen joins us and opens up about how overwhelming it can be as a first-time mum and her biggest hopes for Frankie when she grows up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 11, 2020•16 min
Breastfeeding - an incredible bonding experience if you and your bub can do it, a stressful situation if you can't. It’s just not as easy as you think it’s going to be when you first become a mum but not enough people talk about it. Today we're joined by Charli Robinson, TV presenter and mum of 18-month toddler Kensington and two-week-old newborn Theadora, who gets real about her breastfeeding struggles and why we need to support nursing mums more when returning to work. See omnystudio.com/liste...
Aug 10, 2020•14 min
I was so worried about moving my second child into a room with the older sibling. I thought they'd just muck around and never go to sleep! While that did happen briefly, they now struggle to sleep in a room without the other. I also grew up sharing a room with my sister, so it's all I know. So if you have a choice, are siblings better off in the same room? When is the right time to transition and is there an easy way to go about it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 09, 2020•6 min
This week, we chatted about whether it’s okay to let your child watch a screen while they eat – is it practical or totally wrong? We’re joined by writer Annaliese Dent who tried Kate Middleton’s ‘no shouting’ rule with her kids. Hilarious! Mum of four Sophie –Gwidolin stops by to help us get our fitness journey started, while PR queen and single mum Tory Archbold reveals how she’s helping inspire other working mums. And we talk about how you find the balance between nurturing and discipline with...
Aug 08, 2020•34 min
I've been reading a lot about helping children calm down during a tantrum. Teaching them to name their feelings, letting them know you understand how they feel, then when they're out the other side having a conversation about what they could do differently next time. All sounds great in theory right?! But while I'm piling on the empathy, I'm struggling to teach them to respect boundaries - and me. So how do you find that balance? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 06, 2020•8 min
I take my hat off to any working parent, but I know first-hand the additional pressures you face when you’re flying solo. Tory Archbold is one of those parents. A public relations powerhouse who launched her impressive PR business Torstar, 20 years ago, she’s amassed a seriously impressive client list, including Zara, Topshop and Victoria’s secret, all while raising her daughter on her own. But behind closed doors, she was living in a private hell. She was being stalked and harassed by her ex - ...
Aug 05, 2020•8 min
I’ve been trying to work out more at home, and I did a routine last night by Sophie Guidolin (along with all of her adorable kids) on Body+Soul. Phwoar, that one hurt! Sophie is a fitness entrepreneur, author of 9 recipe books and mum-of-four, including twin girls. That is a LOT of juggling. I caught up with the queen of multi-tasking who reveals the simple way she keeps all the balls in the air. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 04, 2020•9 min
It’s a common issue I hear from other friends with kids, trying to curbing the shouting. Not just us, but the kids yelling at each other as well. The bickering never ends! It’s something writer Annaliese Dent knows all too well. So when she stumbled across the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s strict ‘no shouting’ rule after a particularly shouty moment between her kids, she decided to give it a go. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 03, 2020•8 min
Whether it's the TV, an iPad or your phone, I'm sure we've all let our kids watch a screen during a meal at some stage. But what about when it becomes a nightly habit because you just don't have the energy to battle with them to eat? We know mindless eating isn't great, but is it really that bad? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 02, 2020•5 min
This week, we talked about religion and whether children should be able to find their own faith… we caught up with cybercop Yasmin London to find out whether Tik Tok really is the devil it’s made out to be. Josh Pyke called in to talk about his fears around raising mixed race children in Australia and the beautiful new song he wrote for his boys – You’re My Colour. Author Mim Jenkinson opened up about how to tell if your drinking is out of control… And I’ve got some God Damn potty-mouthed kids o...
Aug 01, 2020•33 min
Around the age of 5, kids become fascinated with potty language (hello, Captain Underpants!) or any word that gets a reaction from us. My kids have somehow become obsessed with the S word and the F word (not that my 5yo even knows what they are), oh and the 'middle finger'. It's so hard to shield them from it. My 8yo comes home from school asking what certain words mean, and I heard a song playing on our home device the other day that had swearing in it. So what should you do if your kids develo...
Jul 30, 2020•6 min
When this whole Covid thing kicked off I was definitely drinking more than usual, like a lot of people. But I’m glad to say that lately I’ve cut right back to two or three nights a week and feel much better for it. I know at one stage I did worry that I was drinking too much, but I never felt like it was out of control. So how do you know if you're drinking just a bit more than usual, or if it’s become something more serious? Well, Mim Jenkinson is a mum-of-two and a small business owner who hid...
Jul 29, 2020•7 min
When singer Josh Pyke and his Vietnamese-Australian wife Sarah had children, it was really important to them that their boys were are aware of both their parents’ cultures, as was bringing music into their lives. He wrote his latest single You’re My Colour for his boys, and oh, heart melt. Josh joins us on the show to chat about how they juggled isolation and his greatest fear for his boys. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 28, 2020•9 min
The number of times I’ve heard friends complain about the kids and their ipads. They’re a damn blessing and a curse. As much as I thought I’d never struggle to stay across technology, it’s incredible how quickly kids pick up on something that we know nothing about – yes Roblox, I’m looking at you… like what even is that game?! And don’t get my started on Tik Tok. Despite the fact that I can’t even work out how to use it, SHOULD we be using it?! We put in a call to mum and former police officer t...
Jul 27, 2020•9 min
Religion, it's a divisive topic. Both Sarah and I grew up going to church and Sunday school with our families, and now that we've got our children, it got us thinking about the role religion will play in their lives. But is it something that we should decide for them now by taking them to church, or should they be allowed to choose their own faith (if at all) when they're older? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 26, 2020•6 min
This week, we talked about the FOGO of heading back to work and whether you can tell off another person’s child. We were also joined by soon to be mumma Jules Robinson who got very candid about the unspoken change of pregnancy (hint, it happens when you laugh or sneeze unexpectedly). We also chatted to mediation guru Luke McLeod for some great tips to help us manage our return to the office anxiety, and an incredible mum who wrote a children’s book about having tough conversations with our kids ...
Jul 25, 2020•33 min
A total stranger offered to tell my son off the other day because I'd spent 15 minutes trying to get him in the car. I agreed, then felt equal parts grateful and awkward! Even though we know it's well-intentioned, it does feel uncomfortable when someone else tells off your child (and vice versa). So is it generally okay? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 23, 2020•6 min
It’s been really interesting to see how kids have responded to all of the major events this year - bushfires, black lives matter and a global pandemic (and that's enough now okay, thanks world.) I’ve let my kids dictate any conversations around these topics and tried to answer in an age-appropriate way, but it can be difficult to know what to say or even if that's the right approach. Mum-of-two from the Gold Coast Alicia Millier faced the same problem earlier in the year, so she decided to do so...
Jul 22, 2020•9 min
Sarah and I went back into the office for the first time last week, and we were both really surprised by the anxiety that came with returning to the real world. Being back around strangers again in an uncontrolled environment, getting public transport and just generally venturing out of our little bubble. I’m not normally an anxious person but this pandemic has – understandably – made it very difficult for a lot of us to stay rational and calm. So I put in a call to mediation and mindfulness tea...
Jul 21, 2020•6 min
The pelvic floor struggle is real people. And I think I’m one of the lucky ones. I had an emergency caesarean and then a planned C-section, so let’s just say things are in slightly better shape than they might have otherwise been! But that doesn’t mean I’m back to my former trampoline jumping days, or sneezing without worrying what the fall out (literally) is going to be. Look I’m getting pretty candid here, but honestly, why aren’t we talking more about things that impact so many women? One mum...
Jul 20, 2020•10 min
Both Sarah and I returned to the office last night and it was very weird. I was too scared to touch anything on the train, if someone coughed they got daggers, there are new signs all over the place and I was surprised by how anxious I felt - especially since I'd actually been looking forward to the social aspect. It's called re-entry syndrome, and it's something a lot of working parents are experiencing right now. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 19, 2020•6 min
I returned to work this week for the first time in four months, and it was totally weird. There was no one in here the first day and I felt like a total leper on the train coming in. Day two was slightly better, but now I’ve got FOMO for my old working from home life (look there’s no pleasing some people). But spare a thought for the people returning from mat leave after an extended period, only to head back to work – from home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 16, 2020•7 min
I remember when I went back to work after my first child and I wondered how on earth I was going to concentrate and actually keep my job. I was so damn tired. I even wore two different black heels to work on my first day. Yup, nailing that return to work. It honestly felt like she had some sort of direct feed into my work calendar because without fail, she would have a nightmare night right before I had a massive day planned at work. What’s with that?! Getting your little one sleeping well when ...
Jul 15, 2020•7 min
I headed back into the office today for the first time in four months, but I have a feeling that it won’t be for long. Melbourne is currently in lockdown and partaking in the joy of home-schooling, and it feels like Sydney won’t be far behind. As we all know, homeschooling has been the worst. It's been impossible to get anything done with kids around. American journalist, Helen Rosner, started a storm on Twitter recently when she shared a perfect, hilarious note, wordlessly handed to her friend ...
Jul 14, 2020•6 min
This week, along with many working parents across the country, I’m feeling a sense of dread about my bank balance. The temporary free childcare lifeline has been yanked from us, with the industry moving back to its expensive former model yesterday. Over the past few months my hours have been temporarily reduced – and I already only work four days because of the cost of care – and that was only just manageable because I wasn’t paying childcare fees. I know the move is a welcome relief for the chi...
Jul 13, 2020•7 min
It has been so lovely to see the kids back at school and around their friends and teachers again as the restrictions around COVID lifted for most of the country. But for thousands of sick Aussie kids, this hasn’t been the case. One mum witnessed this first hand, when her once vibrant ten-year-old son missed school for almost two years with rare blood disorders. She had to watch as he deteriorated through lack of contact with his friends and tutors, when the hospital became his school. So Megan G...
Jul 12, 2020•7 min
As you all know, my little family spent a month down in Victoria with my parents at the start of the first lockdown period to have some support with homeschooling and working from home. Now they’re going through it all over again as a second wave of Covid sweeps through Melbourne. All my family are down there and so many friends, who are all really struggling to process another six weeks in isolation. As I sit here in Sydney, still able to go down to the shops, send my kids to care, and catch up...
Jul 09, 2020•4 min
Sitting at the kitchen table on a dining chair WFH has done shocking things to my neck and shoulders, I believe my massage therapists words on the weekend were, ‘your neck is not good…’ And it turns out ‘tech neck’ is just one of the problems we have to look forward to if we continue to work from home long term. A team of researchers created a fictional character called Susan, who represents what the average desk worker could look like in 25 years if we don’t change the way we’re working from ho...
Jul 08, 2020•6 min
Somedays I just feel like I’m on a treadmill that I can’t get off. Get up, feed small people, try to get ready (lucky bras and make up are off the table right now), get them to school / care, work, try to exercise, try to eat properly, sleep, repeat. My wellbeing usually comes last, and it’s just exhausting. So I reached out to the divine Tiff Hall – founder of online health and fitness program tiffxo for some guidance on how to press the reset button and break this cycle. See omnystudio.com/lis...
Jul 07, 2020•6 min
