This latest episode of my podcast about embracing imperfection is all about the journey of self-acceptance in fatherhood. I am really excited to be having a conversation with Mark Gee, who is a counsellor, a mental health first aid instructor, a Rites of Passage leader and an online Circle Work Facilitator. He is a father and supports other fathers through his 6 week online Dad's Journey Workshops.

In this conversation Mark shares his journey from tradesman to men's mental health specialist and counsellor. He shares how he has supported himself and other fathers to be more vulnerable and self-connected and to move from being isolated in parenting and instead find new powerful ways to role model what it is to be a man supporting himself and his family. Mark shares some of the most common struggles for fathers and describes some way that fathers can learn self-compassion, self-acceptance, presence and repair after rupture. We talk about unconditional love and cultivating resilience. Mark shares the relief and power that comes from connecting with other fathers in groups, to share and be vulnerable together.

To learn more about Mark's work or to sign up for his next 6 week workshop which starts on the 9th October 2025, please visit www.markgee.com.au or follow him on Instragram at markgeewellbeing.

To learn more about The Aware Parenting Retreat, please visit https://awareparenting.com.au/aware-parenting-retreat/

Welcome back to another episode and the next instalment in my series on embracing our imperfection in Aware Parenting, in conversation this time with Rebecca Sheikh who is a level 2 Aware Parenting Instructor and the regional coordinator for the UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In this episode we talk about how parenting invites us to tend to the hurt places within us from our childhoods and how adversity in childhood shapes who we are. We talk about how normal it is for parents to need support and Rebecca shares some of the ways that she has found most effective in her own healing. She shares some resources and processes for parents to support themselves in parenting and her own journey of learning to embrace imperfection. She ends with a poem that she finds particularly touching called Everything is Beautiful by Mark Nepo.

To learn more about Rebecca and her offerings please visit www.flourishingchildhood.com/

To get support with this or any other aspect of aware parenting, I invite you to get in touch [email protected]

Welcome back to another episode and the next instalment in my series on embracing our imperfection in Aware Parenting, in conversation this time with Katie Fusco who is an Aware Parenting Instructor and a specialist perinatal and infant mental health practitioner in the UK.

In this episode Katie shares with beautiful vulnerability her journey with embracing imperfection following a profoundly difficult and traumatic birth and post-partum period. She shares how she has moved from an internal dialogue that was scathing and excrutiatingly harsh, full of guilt and self-judgment, to an inner voice of compassion and care. We talk about the devastating impact of the rewards and praise she experienced in the education system in setting up perfectionistic pressure on herself. We talk about the huge benefit of finding support to be in the discomfort of our deeply painful but sacred feelings in order to be able to embrace our imperfection and re-find compassion for ourselves. Katie shares some of the hardest moments in her parenting and how she has found compassion and acceptance of herself.

To learn more about Katie, she will be sharing on Instragram at thecryingclinic.

To learn more about the Exploring Motherhood & Aware Parenting Community with Danni Willow and myself, please visit https://awareparenting.com.au/community-sign-up/

To get support with this or any other aspect of aware parenting, I invite you to get in touch [email protected]

In this episode, Danni Willow joins me for a beautiful conversation about trust in parenting. We talk about how trust is such a central aspect of Aware Parenting and why it is hard for many of us to trust. We discuss what we need in order to cultivate trust and share the effect on our children and who they grow up to be of us getting support to be more trusting of them and of ourselves. We share the importance of connection and community with others in order to be able to come back to trusting the unfolding of our motherhood journey.

If you want to learn more about the Exploring Motherhood and Aware Parenting Community, where we explore this in depth, please visit https://awareparenting.com.au/parenting-coaching/community/ The doors for the next year of this community are open now and will close on 22nd September 2025.

It was such a pleasure to invite Lael Stone back onto the podcast, this time to talk about her new book Own Your Story. Lael shared her journey coming to write this book about supporting adults to explore their imprints, understand where they have come from and then make shifts and changes to free themselves from limiting beliefs and heal past wounds.

In this conversation Lael talks about some of the common imprints, including perfectionism and how to bring ourselves more acceptance and compassion. We talk about trust, self-care, boundaries and anger and much more. Lael shares lots of wisdom on how to support ourselves in day to day life in the challenges of parenting to find more compassion and healing.

Own Your Story is available in all bookshops in Australia. If you not in Australia and want to buy this book, please visit https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781761269424/own-your-story--lael-stone--2025--9781761269424 The Audiobook version will be available at the end of August 2025.

Welcome back to another episode and the next instalment in my series on embracing our imperfection in Aware Parenting, in conversation this time with Belinda Isbister. Belinda is an Aware Parenting Instructor from Western Australia with 2 boys aged 5 and 2.

In this episode Belinda shares more of her journey with Aware Parenting and with embracing imperfection in her parenting. She shares some of the ways that she brings herself compassion and we talk about the parallel journey of learning to offer ourselves unconditional love and acceptance, whilst offering that to our children too. She shares some examples of difficult times in her parenting journey and how she has come back to compassion, connection and trust.

To learn more about Belinda please follow her on Instagram at belinda_marie_parenting.

To get support with this or any other aspect of aware parenting, I invite you to get in touch [email protected]

In this episode I talk with Kanika Vasudeva , who is a parenting coach, energy healer and Akashic Records reader from the Art of Life Center. She supports parents to explore the record of their soul's journey across lifetimes and to heal. She blends spiritual tools with grounded support to help parents feel more whole themselves, and raise empowered children.

Please note that Kanika is not an Aware Parenting Instructor. Aware parenting does not incorporate or endorse any particular spiritual beliefs, so today's conversation extends beyond aware parenting. In this episode we talk about pregnancy loss and grief so I invite you to check in with yourself to see if you want to listen if this has been part of your story too.

Kanika shares her awakening into conscious parenting and emotional healing that began after the stillbirth of her daughter at 31 weeks pregnant. She shares her experience with Akashic records and how she sees that exploring past lives and ancestral trauma can support parents through parenting, loss and healing. We talk about parenting as a spiritual practice and how we can support our children to stay connected to their unique soul and inherent wisdom by doing our own healing work. We talk about self-compassion, self care and embracing imperfection. Kanika shares some simple but powerful practices we can use to support ourselves in moments of stress and overwhelm.

To learn more about Kanika's work please visit her website www.artoflifecentre.com and follow her on Instragram at kanikaenergycoach.

If you want help with embracing imperfection or any other aspect of Aware Parenting, I invite you to get in touch with me [email protected]

Welcome back to the Aware Parenting Stories podcast. In today's episode I’m thrilled to be joined once again by Dr. Aletha Solter, the founder of Aware Parenting, to talk about her inspiring and thought-provoking new book, Raising Joyful Lifelong Learners. Her latest book explores how we can best nurture children's intrinsic love of learning through connection, emotional safety, trust and play.

Dr Solter explores some of the main misunderstandings in our education systems about learning that are ineffective, stressful and harmful for children and shares how children learn, what motivates children to learn and how we can evaluate children's learning in ways that are not stressful for children. She shares some of the ways that school can be stressful and traumatic for children, and how stress and trauma affect children's behaviour and learning. We talk about the role of play in both learning and healing from stress and trauma and she shares ways to support children to heal. She shares why punishments and rewards have a detrimental impact on learning and what to do instead of praise and criticism. We discuss some of the ways that our own trauma is often triggered in parenting and how to support ourselves to heal so we are better able to support our children. She clarifies the aware parenting perspective on the term neurodiversity and explains some of the possible causes of behaviours that often lead to a diagnosis of ADHD. We talk about her 12 Principles of Learning and how we can trust our children in learning and support them to love learning throughout their life.

I highly recommend this book for parents, educators and anyone who cares about children and their future. I truly hope it helps inspire a shift in how we approach education and learning, so that parents, schools, education policy makers and those who choose to homeschool can all better meet the emotional and developmental needs of children, and truly support their natural joy, curiousity and love of learning.

To learn more about Aletha Solter and Aware Parenting, please visit www.awareparenting.com

If you would like support with this or any other aspect of Aware Parenting, I invite you to get in touch [email protected]

Welcome back to another episode and the next instalment in my series on embracing our imperfection in Aware Parenting. I really enjoyed this second conversation with Linde lambrechts, was on episode 49. She is an Aware Parenting instrutor, psychologist and psychotherapist with 2 boys and lives in Belgium .

In this episode Linde shares more of her journey with Aware Parenting, learning to create a life of connection and meeting needs in her family. We discuss some of the causes of our tendency to strive for perfection in our culture. Linde shares her own journey of learning to embrace imperfection in herself and in her children. She shares some painful moments in her parenting and how she support herself back to connection and compassion. We discuss the difference between Aware Parenting in theory and how we are able to practise it.

To learn more about Linde, please visit her website www.lindelambrechts.be and follow her on Instagram at lovinglimits.

To get support with this or any other aspect of aware parenting, I invite you to get in touch [email protected]

Welcome back to another episode in the series about embracing imperfection in Aware Parenting. In this episode I talk with Helena Mooney who is an Aware Parenting Instructor and a Hand in Hand Instructor with 2 children.

She share her journey with learning to embrace her imperfection in parenting and learning to accept her children's imperfection too. We talk about self-criticism and learning a more compassionate inner dialogue. Helena shares the power of receiving her own listening and honouring her own feelings to be able to come back to acceptance, compassion and trust. We talk about the difference between Aware Parenting in theory and how we put it into practice.

To learn more about Helena and her work, please visit www.helenamooney.com and follow her on social media at helenamooney_parentingwithplay. Her podcast is Parenting with Play.

If you would like support with this or any other aspect of Aware Parenting, please contact me at [email protected]