Podcast

Most of us are honest enough to recognise when we are speaking or acting without love – for example when we get angry at the kids when they abandon their chores for the umpteenth time OR get frustrated at a colleague for doing a task without care OR release our tension on a telecom provider (most of us know that one!). But does it really need to be like this? Sometimes we excuse behaviours or reactions that lack love by saying ‘we’re all human’ or ‘no one’s perfect’ and then hope it doesn’t catch up with us later on. It may be true that we are human and will never be perfect but what if our lofty dismissal is the groundwork for underlying judgement and blame in our relationships? And what if we could stop it in an instant simply by removing our need to be ‘right’?

Join Katie and Sam for what’s sure to be an explorative and expansive discussion.

Do you feel like you're hiding behind a submissive or aggressive personality – even if it’s ever so slightly? Is it possible to be honest and forthright without retracting or being overbearing. What’s the harm if we don’t and what comes to life when we do? True expression isn’t tarnished with personality behaviours that have held us back from bringing all of our – quite natural - powerful selves. True power isn’t forceful, nor is it passive or dismissive. True expression and power bring a quality that holds the other equal. It also allows relationships and projects to unfold with greater wisdom and integrity as their foundation. This month Katie and Sam explore what’s getting in the way of living with more true authority as well as how we can start to embrace this more in our every day – both as a parent and in the workplace.

In this podcast, Kiri Stejko from Parents At Work interviews Danielle Robertson from DR Care Solutions about her experience with carers and the importance of planning ahead for the future. With over 2.7 million family and friend carers in Australia it is highly likely that there are people in your life who are providing unpaid care for someone close to them.

Danielle discusses what our practical and realistic options are as well as how we can open up the conversation to reduce stigma in the workplace surrounding people with caring responsibilities.

Back to work baby – #guilt #excitement #overwhelm. How am I going to do this?

The weeks and months have whizzed by in a blur and it’s time to go back to work – you’re likely feeling a wave of emotions; sleep deprived, still possibly breastfeeding or about to swap parental leave with your partner and join the working parent brigade and wondering ‘how am I doing to manage this? What if I can’t do it, what happens if my child doesn’t cope with child care?'.

Emma Walsh, CEO of Parents At Work and Catherine Brooks, Associate Director, Law Squared and Author of “Let’s Make it Work, Baby” will look at the emotional adjustment required when transitioning back and why it’s such a wonderful opportunity to reset what you want and go back with a new approach that’s going to work for you.

We love including you in the conversation! As always, we invite you to send in your questions on this topic and we will do our best to answer them during the podcast.

Sharon Gavioli shares her story of how she turned her caring journey around from one that was draining her physically and mentally to one that is enriching and more productive than ever.

Sharon is a mother of 7, is a registered nurse, adult educator, counsellor and manages a team of 17. She also supports businesses to implement healthcare-related strategies to better serve organisations and their employees.

And so, with this monumental wealth of experience in caring for others she is the perfect person to speak to about just how she does it.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, as Sharon shares.

Feeling guilty - most of us would agree - is a useless and wasteful pastime. It doesn’t achieve anything other than making you (or another) feel pretty awful about yourself. Working parents particularly experience this in the childcare years when dropping them off to a childcare centre on their way to work, rearing it’s deceptive head as a sense of abandonment for the child. Other forms of guilt may come in the way of feeling bad when you take time to do something loving for yourself like picking your kids up when you’re done working rather than using that extra hour of childcare to have a massage. Whilst it is sold as ‘just a part of caring’ what are the real harms of guilt (to both you and others) and how can you call a cease fire on it so it doesn’t squash the joy out of being a parent?

Join complementary wellbeing practitioner Katie Walls and executive work life wellbeing coach Sam Eddy as they explore the minutiae details of guilt . . . in all its deceptive masks.

Have we lost a generation to gaming? How is it changing the brain? How do I encourage my teen to be a discerning gamer?

In this podcast youth advocate, teen expert, and mother of three Lucy Dahill explores the prevalence of gaming in the life of teenagers and how parents can support their teens to engage in gaming in a safe and responsible way.

Lucy discusses cyberbullying through online gaming, setting boundaries with your teenager in relation to gaming, and teaching them skills that can help them become a discerning gamer – which they can also use in other situations in life. She clarifies that this podcast episode does not advise parents on how to ban their teen from engaging in gaming altogether. Lucy states that gaming it is a part of a teen’s life, can be used to self-soothe, is enjoyable, helps to create connections, and that a parent’s responsibility involves equipping their teens with the skills to deal with the negative aspects of gaming.

Toddlers and tantrums seem to go hand in hand and it is part of their normal development, however this does not make it any easier to deal with, especially those shopping centre tantrums. Tantrums can be very scary for you and your toddler so during this podcast parenting educator from Karitane, Sharlene Vlahos, will chat with toddler expert, Sue Morgan, from the Karitane Toddler Clinic about real life, practical strategies to help manage this stage of toddlerhood.

Breaking the glass ceiling for dads – Jon Tindale’s Daddy Day Care experience on taking Extended Parental Leave

What is it really like being a modern dad? Jon Tindale stayed at home with his newborn daughter and decided to write a book about it – Daddy Day Care – in the hope he could inspire other dads to take up the challenge (and joy) of the experience.

But is it really more interesting than being air dropped into Kabul or climbing Kathmandu, as Jon intimated?

“The bond that I nurtured and created spending that amount of time with my daughter – my sidekick – she just kind of became a part of me. . . it sounds a bit mushy but it sometimes feels like you’re falling in love everyday with this little person.”

“It is absolutely relentless from dawn until dusk …. then through the night you’re constantly on . .. the cycle of it is extraordinary. How little time you have is a staggering surprise. The sleep deprivation – that’s the hardest thing.”

“I was surprised. I really did expect to get my leg pulled mercilessly. But there were very, very few comments. Everyone knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. None of the dads I knew had done [extended] parental leave but they’d done enough of parenting that they knew what was involved.”

In his book Jon lays out an hour by hour basis what he experienced. He shares in this interview with Emma Walsh (CEO, Parents At Work) the highs and lows of his experience including singing his lullaby version of Purple Rain plus his revelation about slip-on shoes. He also shares how parental leave impacted his return to work and what it feels like to be an involved father.

In Part 3 of the Shared Care Special we hear from Peter and his experience with sharing the parental leave with his wife Sarah to care for their baby girl, Ruby Rose.

The couple are continuing to progress through their alternating blocks of leave, with Peter about to start his second block of parental leave once Sarah heads back to work. This episode, Peter discusses his preparation for parental leave and his experience with balancing caring for his daughter and keeping up with work through this arrangement.