This week Nicola and Di chat with the talented and inspiring Mel Wilson. Mel is a journalist, voice-over artist, podcast host and author of the new book, Parenting in Progress, which is full of stories and tips from all kinds of celebrities and experts - as Mel puts it, it’s imperfect advice for the biggest role of your life. Whether you’re a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, or none of the above, there’s something in this chat for everyone.

In this conversation, we hear how Mel juggled her career as a podcast host and voice-over artist with being a single parent to 2 young kids and still managed to write this book in the spare moments she could find on the sidelines of a soccer game, in the back of a taxi, or on a plane - she made every minute count. 

We talk about parenting these days - how no one really knows what they’re doing, everyone’s just trying to figure it out, but the pressure to be perfect has increased so much that it’s created these new ways of parenting, such as helicopter parents and snowplough parents. We talk about how much parenting has changed over the decades and Di also shares some funny stories of her own parenting mishaps. 

Mel opens up about the challenges of being a single parent, what it was like trying to survive, make a living and raise her kids in Sydney, and how her own parents stepped in to help in really practical ways - you’ll want to listen in to hear what her dad did, because it might make you cry. 

Mel talks about what dating is like after divorce, and her own Over The Back Fence love story - it’s such a goodie! 

Mel also shares some of the wonderful stories from people like Amanda Keller, Turia Pitt, Taryn Brumfitt, Sarah Harris and Sam Wood, who are just some of the incredible people she interviewed for her book. 

This was such a funny and down-to-earth conversation about what it’s really like to parent and juggle it all and we loved having Mel in the studio with us. We hope you love it too.  

Follow Mel on IG here 

Buy Mel’s book Parenting In Progress here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.