Becoming a parent can be a mixture of big feelings - both joy and sorrow. It can also be physically demanding attending to a newborn's needs. Sharlene Vlahos is the Director of Education at Karitane, a non-profit organisation supporting parents raising children. Sharlene gives us her top tips on transitioning to parenthood.

Additional resources if you're struggling:

PANDA
COPE
The Gidget Foundation

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Kerri Sackville is on a mission. The author and journalist wants women everywhere to know that allowing some mess and clutter might just be the secret to a happy life. Her latest book is called The Lifechanging Magic of a Little Bit of Mess. Kerri talks about why no self-respecting parent should have a white lounge, and the joy of collecting (and keeping) little cows.

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Jess Moore ended up travelling halfway around the world in order to have a baby, but along the way she went through over ten rounds of IVF and attempted to use eggs from a friend. After several years and a lot of heartache she finally fell pregnant with her little boy at 45 years of age. Jess talks about her experience, including how she was able to keep going after so many set backs.

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Having twins can feel daunting, but if you get the right advice on how to prepare, it can make life a lot easier when you bring your babies home. Mothercraft nurse Chris Minogue has spent many hours with the parents of twins, helping them make sure their home is set up for the arrival of twins. She explains how you can set up where your babies sleep and the best way to feed twins.

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Do you want to be more present with your children? Less reactive, more responsive to where they are at as kids? Conscious parenting is a movement that encourages parents to understand their past so they can parent in the present moment. It means understanding your own patterns and behaviours and how they impact your child. Dr Shefali is a clinical psychologist and author of The Conscious Parent, Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children. Dr Shefali explains the difference conscious parenting can make in a child's life and how to do it well.

Dr Shefali is in Australia for a limited time. If you're keen to catch her live check out her event dates here.

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Should toddlers be able to recognise numbers and letters? Do we, as parents, need to be teaching them these skills before they enter preschool or kindergarten? Dr Laura Jana is a paediatrician and the author of The Toddler Brain. She gives us some insight into what the toddler brain is capable of and how we might help them acquire new skills.

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For many years parents have been told we are our kids' first teacher, but Kyle and John Hattie say this is misleading. Their book 10 Steps to Develop Great Learners outlines how we can foster curiosity in our kids and a love of learning. Kyle talks about exactly what it is our kids need from us as they enter into the world of education, and how it's probably very different to what you thought it was.

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Gina Rushton is a journalist and millennial who experienced a medical emergency that forced her to confront her decision not to have kids. This lead her to research everything from the impact of climate change to the distribution of domestic labour - all to try and work out whether she could definitively decide never to have children. The result is her book The Most Important Job in the World. Gina talks about the kinds of conversations she's having with her friends and why the feminism she grew up with doesn't serve mothers.

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Needing to find some calm amongst the chaos of parenting? Perhaps you're trying to be a good leader in your home during uncertain times. Mindfulness might just be the key to your sanity. Dr Elise Bialylew is the founder of Mindful in May. She's also a mum of two young girls. Elise explains why she can't live without her mindful practice and how you can incorporate it into your life in just 10 minutes every day.

The books Elise mentions in this interview include:

The Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland
The Happiness Plan by Elise Bialylew

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What would make your life easier? How about a year of shared paid parental leave and universal access to early education and childcare and out-of-school care? This would mean that you could share the first year with your new baby with your partner and that child care would be like primary school; almost free and easily accessible. Georgie Dent is the Executive Director of The Parenthood. She's lobbying for these changes and believes that this election is the time that we could change the way we raise kids in Australia.

Mentioned in this interview:

The Parenthood on Instagram - get up-to-date information about how the parties are going with policies that are pro-families
Kindi Care - find out which party will make the biggest difference to your childcare payments
Thrive by Five - a lobby group trying to get universal access to childcare

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