The Juggling Act

Living in a country surrounded by water, with backyard pools, lakes, rivers and dams everywhere, it's so important that our kids learn to swim. But sometimes it can become a chore if your child really hates the water. Sarah and Mel talk about whether you should push it, or give them a break and maybe teach them yourself when they're ready.

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This week, Sarah and Mel talk about how quickly girls seem to be losing their innocence before they become aware of their body and how they look to other people. We are joined by a travel expert to find out how to holiday with a large family and still enjoy it. Author and social researcher Maggie Hamilton joins us to talk about whether we’re raising our children to live isolated lives. Lisa Wipfli stops by for a chat to share her tips on getting out the door and to school on time without losing your mind. And Sarah asks about an issue many parents face – car sickness.

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Car sickness in children can make it very tough to go anywhere, especially right now when road trips are really are our only option! For some parents, even short trips can be a nightmare with kids. So how do you handle it? Sarah and Mel share their experiences in today's ep.

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The kids have been back at school for a couple of weeks now and we are slowly getting used to making lunchboxes again (god how boring is it, and washing all the bits is the pits!). But it can still be super stressful to get the kids out the door, especially with many companies transitioning back into the office. We are joined on the pod today by Lisa Wipfli who shares three kids with Nova Sydney brekkie host Wipa. She shares her tips on getting ready and out the door in the morning, and opens up about the stress of giving birth at the start of the pandemic, just as Wipa and his brekkie team were being tested for Covid.

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Living through a pandemic this past year has taught us all easily we can get by without seeing anyone. Literally, everything we want or need is available on our smartphones. But that also means we’re missing out on social interactions, and for some people, that could mean loneliness slowly creeping into their lives. So what does that mean for our children, growing up with all this technology and less face to face time? We’re joined today by acclaimed social researcher Maggie Hamilton who has a new book out called When We Become Strangers, to talk about whether we’re raising out children to lead isolated lives.

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Mel is one of four and knowing what she knows now about travelling with kids, she's not sure why they ever went on holidays! Mum-of-six, yup, SIX, Rebecca Mason, was working for her family’s travel agency Mr Chocolate’s Travel when Covid hit and everything came to a screeching halt. So she took her travel experience and wrote a book - especially for large families - called The Expert’s Guide to Large Family Travel. Rebecca us to share her wisdom and tips to travelling with a large family - and having fun.

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When we're younger we're so blissfully unaware. We haven't started noticing our looks, or what other people think of us. We have this beautiful innocence, and then slowly it's moulded out of us. We become self-conscious, that little voice in our head starts chiming in with negative comments and we become more aware of other people's judgement. And it seems to be happening younger and younger. Mel and Sarah talk about why this is happening and what we can do about it.

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This week, we meet Sam Bloom, the incredible mum behind the new Naomi Watts film Penguin Bloom. We chat with a mum who still suffers from anxiety and grief three years after nearly losing her twins. Blogger Victoria Vanstone reveals how to say goodbye to the people pleaser in you and how she finally put down the wine glass for good. And Sarah opens up about how to handle her toddler telling lies!

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Porky pies, fibs, tall tales. When kids reach the stage where they start telling lies, it can be funny but also embarrassing. So how should you handle a lying child? Sarah and Mel share their experiences, with plenty of laughs along the way (mostly at their expense).

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We've all seen the mummy wine time memes and had a LOL. But what happens when that stress release gets out of control and you can't get up and parent the next day? Originally from the UK, mum-of-three Victoria Vanstone been writing about motherhood and her sobriety journey for the past couple of years, and she joins us to share her story.

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