This week on No Parental Guidance, we’re getting an unfiltered look at life on the parenting front line with Lou Beckett.

From hypno-birthing playlists going completely ignored, to the first night at home descending into chaos, Lou shares it all. It’s messy, hilarious, and often painfully relatable.

We also cover the everyday battles: navigating tantrums on trains, surviving homework sessions that make you question modern education, and the small victories that make parenting just about bearable like organising toys (sort of), and sneaking in a few moments of calm.

Beyond the laughs, Lou shares the wisdom of experience: how to stay sane when kids push your buttons, why communication is key with co-parenting, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is take a deep breath and ride it out.

Funny, honest, and deeply validating, this episode is perfect for any parent who’s ever thought, “I can’t believe this is my life right now!”

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No Parental Guidance is the unfiltered parenting podcast that says the quiet parts out loud and makes you feel a lot less alone in the chaos.

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This week we’re joined by the brilliant Lou Beckett. Writer, former teacher, mum of two and author of Lessons from a Default Parent.

And yes… this is a birth story for the ages.

From going 2cm to 10cm in under two hours, to meconium panic and Rob taking his trousers off in the delivery room (no one asked him to), it’s chaotic from start to finish.

But this episode goes way beyond labour.

We talk about what it really means to be the default parent. Not just the mental load, the constant assumption of responsibility. The invisible admin. The tabs open in your brain at all times. The resentment that builds when your partner gets to leave the house and stay the person they’ve always been, while you’re at home wondering where your identity went.

Lou opens up about leaving teaching while battling ulcerative colitis, PCOS and endometriosis, becoming the default parent almost overnight, and the quiet loss of self that can come with it. We get into the baby massage argument that perfectly sums up early motherhood, the Harvard sleep stats that prove mums are running on fumes, and why sometimes you just need your partner to say the words: you’re the most tired.

There’s car naps outside nursery. School gate burping competitions. Accidentally driving into your own house because you’re that exhausted. A debate about bringing back 80s parenting. And the slow, delicious art of fact-checking your husband via his own podcast.

It’s funny, brutally honest and deeply relatable.

If you’ve ever felt like the CEO of your family, booked a baby class you instantly regretted, or wondered how you can love your kids more than anything and still miss your old life… this one’s for you.

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No Parental Guidance is the unfiltered, laugh-out-loud parenting podcast that cuts through impossible standards with honesty, chaos and empathy.

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This week on No Parental Guidance, we’re diving headfirst into the chaotic, hilarious, and often horrifying world of parenting fails.

From explosive diaper disasters to kitchen speaker mishaps, nothing is off-limits.

Listeners share their most unforgettable parenting fails, including: a baby’s first football practice ending in projectile vomit, a husband’s “private moment” blaring through the kitchen speaker, and a mix-up with haemorrhoid cream doubling as toothpaste.

It’s messy, mortifying, and painfully relatable.

We also celebrate the little wins that keep parents sane: mastering drop-and-go birthday parties, sneaking in a coffee break, and even finding a moment to get a bit of work done while the kids are occupied. Because sometimes survival looks like an iPad, a raspberry-white chocolate muffin, and a brief pause from the chaos.

Beyond the fails, there’s honest advice for new parents: everyone’s journey is different, standards can be adjusted, and yes, you really will survive, even if it feels like the Antichrist just came home for a visit.

Funny, honest, and deeply validating, this episode is for anyone who’s ever thought, “how is this still happening?!”

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No Parental Guidance is the unfiltered parenting podcast that says the quiet parts out loud and makes you feel a lot less alone in the chaos.

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This week we’re joined by the brilliant Jordan Banjo. Diversity icon, radio host, two-time jungle campmate and dad of three who is not afraid to overshare.

From panic-laughing at a positive pregnancy test to getting a vasectomy from a man called Dr Acorn, this episode is honest, chaotic and absolutely hilarious.

Jordan takes us back to becoming a dad at 24. No plan. No friends with kids. No clue. He opens up about laughing for 20 minutes when he found out his wife was pregnant, refusing to talk about it for two months, and the guilt he feels now looking back. He talks about reflux, feeling disconnected in those early months, and the pressure to instantly “bond” when actually what he felt first was responsibility… not fireworks.

We get into the reality of juggling a 3am breakfast radio alarm with three young kids. The night wake-ups. The teamwork. The falling asleep at 8.15pm mid-series. The dad guilt when tour dates clash with school runs. The moment he accidentally sighed when his son tried to talk to him and immediately wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

There’s also a terrifying hospital story when his youngest became septic at just a few months old. The instinct his wife had that something wasn’t right. The fear. The viral meningitis diagnosis. And the reminder that sometimes you have to be the “annoying parent” and ask every question.

And yes, we talk about the vasectomy.

The lockdown cancellation.

The honeymoon surprise pregnancy.

The airport test in Doha.

The shrivel. The tape. The swelling. The Spider-Man moment.

Nothing is off limits.

We also hear about doing I’m A Celebrity twice, crumbling the first time, coming back stronger the second, and cutting his honeymoon short while secretly panicking about an early pregnancy scan back home.

It’s funny, raw and refreshingly honest about the bits dads don’t always say out loud.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, guilty, exhausted, terrified you’re doing it wrong, or laughed inappropriately in a life-changing moment… this one’s for you.

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No Parental Guidance is the unfiltered, laugh out loud parenting podcast that cuts through impossible standards with honesty, chaos and empathy.

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This week on No Parental Guidance, things get a little bit spicy as Hannah and Louise invite Ashley James on to help them clap back at some wild comments left on their Instagram.

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This week we’re joined by the brilliant Ashley James. TV presenter, DJ, author of Bimbo, mum of two and a fierce advocate for women rewriting the rules.

From lockdown love stories to parenting reality checks, this episode is packed with honesty, humour and a few very relatable fails.

Ashley takes us back to meeting her partner on Hinge, moving in just before the world shut down, and finding herself pregnant only months into a new relationship. She opens up about becoming a mum when she wasn’t even sure she liked kids and the resentment that crept in when her partner went back to work.

We get into the double standards that follow women everywhere. The labels like nag, ball buster and frigid. The pressure to shrink yourself to be liked. The way dads get praised for changing a nappy while mums carry the mental load without applause. Ashley explains why she refuses to accept mum guilt until there’s a collective term for dad guilt.

The conversation also dives into body image. From her Made in Chelsea days and chasing perfection, to battling adult acne, quitting Photoshop and the Victoria’s Secret show moment that changed everything. It’s a powerful reminder of how deeply women are conditioned to hate their bodies, and what it takes to unlearn that.

Of course, there’s plenty of chaos too.

Pregnancy bloating confessions. Breastfeeding myths that are not true. Postpartum sex realities. Finger puppets during lockdown when you used to be DJing festivals. School detention drama involving a pen running out and an accidental ChatGPT email fail. Playground slide mishaps. WhatsApp group disasters. Sparkly tutu outfits for nursery. The everyday madness of raising small humans.

Ashley shares how she’s parenting differently, raising her children without outdated stereotypes, and learning to be calmer with milestones the second time around. It’s warm, witty and completely unfiltered.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, judged, exhausted, resentful, in love, proud and slightly feral all in the same day, this one is for you.

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No Parental Guidance is the unfiltered, laugh out loud parenting podcast that cuts through impossible standards with honesty, chaos and empathy.

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This week we’re joined by the brilliant Ashley James. TV presenter, DJ, author of Bimbo, mum of two and a fierce advocate for women rewriting the rules.

From lockdown love stories to parenting reality checks, this episode is packed with honesty, humour and a few very relatable fails.

Ashley takes us back to meeting her partner on Hinge, moving in just before the world shut down, and finding herself pregnant only months into a new relationship. She opens up about becoming a mum when she wasn’t even sure she liked kids and the resentment that crept in when her partner went back to work.

We get into the double standards that follow women everywhere. The labels like nag, ball buster and frigid. The pressure to shrink yourself to be liked. The way dads get praised for changing a nappy while mums carry the mental load without applause. Ashley explains why she refuses to accept mum guilt until there’s a collective term for dad guilt.

The conversation also dives into body image. From her Made in Chelsea days and chasing perfection, to battling adult acne, quitting Photoshop and the Victoria’s Secret show moment that changed everything. It’s a powerful reminder of how deeply women are conditioned to hate their bodies, and what it takes to unlearn that.

Of course, there’s plenty of chaos too.

Pregnancy bloating confessions. Breastfeeding myths that are not true. Postpartum sex realities. Finger puppets during lockdown when you used to be DJing festivals. School detention drama involving a pen running out and an accidental ChatGPT email fail. Playground slide mishaps. WhatsApp group disasters. Sparkly tutu outfits for nursery. The everyday madness of raising small humans.

Ashley shares how she’s parenting differently, raising her children without outdated stereotypes, and learning to be calmer with milestones the second time around. It’s warm, witty and completely unfiltered.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, judged, exhausted, resentful, in love, proud and slightly feral all in the same day, this one is for you.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This bonus episode is packed with parenting fails, holiday drama, and the real-life chaos of raising kids while trying to survive your own sanity.
Emily and the team dissect the chaos, the panic, and the heroic improvisation that followed, including dry tissues, emergency wipes, and a toddler completely unbothered by it all.
From there, Emily opens up about her own parenting journey - breastfeeding struggles, formula guilt, pumping in stadiums, and all the messy, emotional, hilarious realities of motherhood. She’s refreshingly honest about feeling like a “failure” when in reality she was doing just fine, and she shares the lessons that helped her survive those early years without losing her mind.
Then it’s onto kids, social media, and Snapchat disasters. From mortifying phone fails to accidental live streams and the awkwardness of trying to film content while wrangling children, Emily spills the funny and stressful moments that parents everywhere will recognise.
The episode also touches on family holidays, sunbed wars, and what it really means to maintain calm while your kids, other guests, and random strangers push every button imaginable.
Warm, witty, and completely unfiltered, this is the kind of parenting therapy session you’ll want to send to every mum or dad who’s surviving the small disasters and big embarrassments of family life.
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No Parental Guidance is the unfiltered, laugh-out-loud parenting podcast that cuts through the impossible standards of Instagram parenting with honesty, chaos, and empathy.

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This week, Hannah and Louise are joined by the queen of organisation herself, Emily Norris, for a deep dive into the "middle bit" of parenting, teenage hygiene, and the reality of raising three boys.

From traumatic birth stories (including a broken tailbone!) to the "sextortion" talk and the chaos of sleep deprivation, nothing is off-limits. We’re also talking about the shift to senior school, the absolute black hole that is a teenage boy's appetite, and why Emily decided to go under the knife for a blepharoplasty.

The episode kicks off with the usual chaos of term time as Hannah tries to find her calm while simultaneously losing every piece of school uniform in the house. The girls swap their most embarrassing sleep-deprivation fails—ranging from Hannah accidentally following a stranger into a bathroom to Louise buying baby gear in a haze she definitely shouldn't have been driving in. We also find out why Louise’s daughter is suddenly speaking Spanish and how an Irish teacher handled Hannah’s French GCSE.

When Emily joins the chairs, she opens up about the shift from vlogging with a toddler to navigating life with teenagers. She shares the emotional journey of her own upbringing in a "shouty" household and how that fuelled her desire to create a secure, stable environment for her three sons, even if that means letting a pet snake into the house to maintain her "cool mum" status. From viral freezer dump bags to the reality of perimenopause and why she’s buying her Christmas cards in January, Emily proves why she is the internet's favourite organised mum.

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This week on No Parental Guidance, Louise and Hannah are joined by the actual icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Pop star, kitchen disco queen, mum of five boys and proof that some people really can spin every plate without launching one directly at the wall.

We obviously have to talk about the Saltburn moment. Sophie reveals how she got an email back in 2022 asking to use her song Murder on the Dance Floor, thought it was lovely, signed it off, and then only found out much later exactly what kind of naked, chaotic, slightly sinister dancing was going to happen to it. The way she describes it is so funny and so alarming, and honestly, once you’ve heard it you can never listen to that track the same way again.

Sophie also gets properly real about the long game of parenting when you’ve got kids spanning nearly 15 years. She’s got one in his early 20s, two teens, and a youngest who’s just turned seven, and the dynamic is fascinating. She talks about the older sibling bond, how brothers tell each other things they will never tell you, and how weirdly emotional it can be watching relationships form in your house that have nothing to do with you.

There’s also a brilliant chat about how parenting trends have changed over the years, from naughty step culture to the era of “I see your anger”, plus the absolute noise of school WhatsApp groups and how everything now arrives at the same level of urgency. One minute it’s an email, the next it’s block capitals, and suddenly you’re spiralling because your mum hasn’t replied and you’re convinced she’s actually dead.

Then we get into identity and work, and Sophie is so refreshing about it. She talks about becoming a mum in her mid 20s and feeling like the world expected her to disappear into nappies and never be seen again. She opens up about how clunky it can feel at first, how the first baby knocked her sideways, and then how she actually found her flow the more kids she had. Including the casual reveal that she once recorded a vocal while feeding a baby, which is either iconic or witchcraft.

Before Sophie joins, Hannah and Louise are in full mum mode too. There’s a very honest rant about how most of parenting is just being asked to locate items from the third shelf down on the left. Plus the classic moment where your kid says “Mummy” and you brace for a crisis, sprint in like someone’s about to lose a limb, and they just want to show you their game score. Which somehow they interpret as you being thrilled, so they keep doing it forever.

Warm, hilarious, surprisingly emotional in places, and full of the kind of chaos that makes you feel less alone, this one is such a good listen.

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