Asian motherhood abroad comes with unique pressures — cultural expectations, career demands, identity shifts, and the quiet work of belonging.

In this episode of the DAM Parenting Podcast, we’re joined by the founder of Second Steep, a community created for Asian working mothers navigating the intersections of career, culture, and care — often without a map and without enough support.

Together, we explore:

• What makes Asian immigrant motherhood distinct
  

• Letting go of cultural expectations while staying rooted
  

• Interracial marriages and identity negotiation
  

• Raising multilingual, culturally grounded children
  

• How to introduce culture ethically in diverse cities like Amsterdam
  

• The power of community spaces that don’t require explanation
  

We also talk about Lunar New Year, upcoming community dinners in Amsterdam and Eindhoven, and resources for raising children with cultural pride and emotional safety.

A gentle, affirming conversation for Asian mums, immigrant parents, and anyone raising children abroad.

Children’s mental health is often talked about only when something is “wrong.” But what if mental health isn’t a problem to fix — and instead something we’re supporting every single day through relationships, routines, and emotional safety?

In this episode of DAM Parenting, resident child psychologist Dr Faye Poole offers a grounded, evidence-based perspective on children’s mental health — without fear-mongering, labels, or generic advice.

We explore:

• What children’s mental health actually means

• How emotional wellbeing affects learning, relationships, and physical health

• Why connection is the strongest protective factor

• What stress does to children’s bodies (and how we buffer it)

• Simple, research-backed ways parents can support emotional wellbeing at home

This episode is especially for parents raising children abroad, navigating systems, transitions, and invisible pressure — and wondering if they’re doing “enough.”

This is not about perfect parenting. It’s about safe, secure, human parenting.

Listen with presence. Take what helps. Leave the rest.

WHERE TO GET EXTRA HELP 

For parents needing additional support, these are appropriate first steps:

• Huisarts (GP) – always the first point of contact; can refer to specialist services

• OKT (Ouder- en Kindteam) – parenting support, emotional wellbeing, development concerns

• CJG (Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin) – preventive child and family support

• School Zorgcoördinator / IB’er – for school-based concerns

• Youth Health Care (JGZ) – monitoring development, wellbeing, family support for children (0-18), with services often divided by region. General contact is usually via phone or email for appointments and questions, operating Monday-Friday, 8:30-17:00.

If a child is in immediate emotional distress, parents should always contact their Huisarts (GP) or emergency services.

Head lice. Nits. Luizen.

If your child has ever come home scratching their head, this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, Eva shares a very real parenting story , breaks down the facts about how lice actually spread, and tackles the shame and silence that often surround infestations.

You’ll learn:

• How head lice really spread (and what doesn’t cause them)
  

• Why hygiene has nothing to do with it
  

• Why lice are common in schools and even high schools
  

• What treatments actually work (and what doesn’t)
  

• How community responsibility helps stop outbreaks
  

Humorous, factual, supportive—and stigma-free. Because lice are common. Parenting shame shouldn’t be.

Starting school in a new language is not just a cognitive challenge — it’s an emotional one.

In this episode of the DAM Parenting Podcast, Eva is joined by Mimi from Growing Up Multilingual, residential linguist and emotional language specialist, to explore why emotional vocabulary is one of the most powerful tools for multilingual children starting school.

We unpack:

– Why children starting school in a new language carry both a language load and an emotional load

– The myth that kids “just pick up” emotional language naturally

– What multilingual children actually experience emotionally in the classroom

– Why building emotional vocabulary in the home language is essential

– Practical ways parents can support emotional expression across languages

– The core emotional and needs-based words children benefit from before starting school

– What teachers and schools can do to better support multilingual learners

Whether your child is about to start school, just started, or is already navigating life between languages, this episode will help you understand how emotional language builds safety, belonging, and confidence.

Perfect for international parents, expat families, bilingual households, educators, and anyone raising children between cultures.

Joy isn’t frivolous — it’s sustaining. This episode explores how joy supports resilience, regulation, and emotional wellbeing in parenting.

This episode explores how parents can create more joy and connection in 2026 using simple, research-backed practices. Eva, a psychologist, and founder of The Joy Embassy explains how joy strengthens relationships, protects against burnout, and helps parents feel more present in daily life.

Listeners will learn:

• How joy works in the brain and body

• Why joy supports emotional resilience

• Simple tools to notice, strengthen, and create joy

• How to accept hard emotions without avoiding them

Guest: Eva — The Joy Embassy

Website: thejoyembassy.com

Parenthood changes priorities.

What happens when your life changes — but your work doesn’t?

After becoming a parent, relocating, or stepping back from paid work, many people experience a quiet sense of misalignment. Not burnout exactly. Not a crisis. Just the feeling that what once fit… no longer does.

In this episode of the Dam Parenting Podcast, Eva is joined by Ellen Johnson, founder of Evergreen Coaching & Consulting — a returning guest you may remember from her deeply honest birth story shared late last year.

This conversation builds on last week’s episode with Rachel about regulation. Once the nervous system settles, clarity often follows. And that’s where we begin.

Together, we explore:

• How to recognise when your work no longer aligns with your values

• Why big life transitions (parenthood, burnout, relocation) often trigger career questions

• How to redefine success after children — without pressure to “start over”

• What it looks like to re-enter work intentionally after a pause

• How to stay aligned as your values and life stages continue to evolve

Ellen supports people through transitions with a rare combination of insight and calm. One client described her as having “the patience of your favourite teacher, the trustworthiness of your favourite therapist, and the knowledge of the best supervisor you could ever hope for.”

If you’re:

• Working but feeling quietly misaligned

• Not currently in paid work and wondering what’s next

• Or sensing that something in you wants more clarity — not urgency

This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what matters now.

Listen with intention — and come back to it when you have space to really sit with the questions.

Head over to Instagram to find out visual support queues Ellen created just for you.

Find Ellen and her work at evergreen-cc.com

Welcome to Dam Parenting in 2026.

Here's a brief overview of who we are, what we do and what you can expect from us.

Parenting abroad comes with an invisible stress load — new systems, cultural differences, mental load, and the constant feeling of needing to keep up. For many international parents, this shows up as chronic overwhelm, anxiety, and a sense of losing themselves along the way.

In this episode of DAM Parenting, therapist Rachel Forster joins us to talk about what stress and anxiety really look like in parents — especially those raising children far from their home country.

This is not about fixing yourself or adding more to your to-do list. It’s about calming the nervous system, reducing overwhelm, and gently reconnecting with who you are beneath the roles of parent, planner, and problem-solver.

You’ll hear about:

• Why parenting abroad increases stress and mental load
  

• How anxiety shows up in high-functioning parents
  

• Simple, body-based nervous system tools you can use in daily life
  

• How to reconnect with your authentic self without pressure or guilt
  

This episode includes a short, guided regulation reset you can try while listening — even if you’re exhausted, overstimulated, or short on time.

Guest: Rachel Forster, Therapist

Learn more: rachaelforstertherapy.com

January 6th marks Nollaig na mBan — Women’s Christmas — a traditional Irish day that honours women’s unseen work and the need for rest after the intensity of Christmas.

In this short DAM Parenting episode, Eva shares why January was never meant to be about productivity, motivation, or “starting fresh” — especially for mothers carrying the mental load of family life.

This episode explores:

• What Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas) really is

• Why winter is a season of pause, not pressure

• The invisible labour women carry — especially at Christmas

• A gentler way to enter the new year as a parent

Whether you’re an expat, immigrant parent, or raising children far from home, this episode is an invitation to slow down — without guilt.

Listen now for a moment of reflection, recognition, and rest.

If this episode resonates, share it with another mother — or claim your own Nollaig na mBan today.

First off - please excuse the quality! I only got to record this after arriving back from holidays, unpacked, dinner, and kid put in bed! And fireworks - oh man i didn't realise you could hear them on the mic- so it was a quick record and hope for the best!

For the rest - thanks for being here in 2025 (and maybe 2024 and 2023!) and I hope you will be sticking around in 2026 for so much more to come - new voices, new topics and hopefully a less last minute podcast!