The Parent Pod

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion around PTSD, mental health, trauma, and suicide.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Kym for a really honest conversation about what it’s like to love, support, and parent alongside someone living with PTSD. We talk about how trauma can shape family life, relationships, emotional safety, and parenting, and what it means to hold your own wellbeing while supporting someone you care about.

If you are parenting in the middle of stress, trauma, or mental health challenges, this episode will help you feel less alone.

• What PTSD can look like in day-to-day family life
• How trauma can impact relationships, parenting, and emotional connection
• Ways to support children when PTSD is part of the family story
• Why partners and caregivers need support too
• What resilience, honesty, and connection can look like in hard seasons

For resources to help you:

https://www.code9ptsd.org.au/

https://www.code9ptsd.org.au/code-9-ptsd-kids-book-first-responders

mydadmyhero.com.au

** Content warning: This episode includes discussion of PTSD, mental health and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. **

In this episode of The Parent Pod, Rachel Russell speaks with Mark Thomas, Victoria Police officer, co-founder of The Code 9 Foundation, and father of two, about parenting while living with PTSD, anxiety and depression.

Mark shares his personal mental health journey, from psychological injury and diagnosis to recovery, and how trauma shaped his experience as a parent. Together, we explore how PTSD can impact relationships with children, the importance of connection, and what kids really need from parents navigating their own struggles.

This conversation offers insight, hope and practical reflection for parents living with trauma, reminding us that growth, healing and strong family relationships are possible.

To contact Mark:

facebook.com/sgtmarkthomas

Instagram.com/sgtmarkthomas

linkedin.com/in/sgtmarkthomas

https://www.code9ptsd.org.au

Why do parents react in ways they don’t want to? In this episode, Rachel Russell explores how the nervous system and early patterns shape our parenting reactions, and what parents can do to build awareness, interrupt old patterns and respond with greater calm and connection.To purchase a copy of Raising R.A.D. Kids: Parenting with the brain in mind - https://amzn.asia/d/0egbG1O0

Talking to our kids about bodies, gender, sex and consent can feel awkward. It can make even the most confident parent freeze.

In this episode, I’m joined by Danae Beckwith, sexologist, therapist and educator, to unpack how we actually do these conversations in real life.

We talk about:

What matters more than getting the words right.
How to respond when your child asks something that catches you off guard.
What kids need to understand at different ages and what can wait.
And how to shift from fear to steadiness when these topics come up.

Danae brings warmth, humour and zero judgement to conversations that many of us didn’t grow up having. Together, we explore how open, age-appropriate conversations build trust, body confidence and emotional safety.

If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t know what to say,” this episode will help you feel calmer and more equipped.

If this episode sparked something for you, Danae works directly with individuals, couples and families who want more confidence and clarity in this space.

Instagram link

Facebook link

nurturedintimacy.com.au

Stay rad

What do you say to your child when the other parent won’t apologise?

In this episode, Rachel explores what it means to stand in the middle. Holding your child’s hurt while trying not to undermine your partner. She unpacks how to validate feelings without validating poor behaviour, how to avoid triangulation, and how to keep boundaries steady.

This is about supporting your child to regulate, reflect, and grow.

Stay rad

Why is “sorry” so hard for some adults?
And what does it mean for kids when repair never comes?

In this episode, I unpack what’s really happening when a parent doesn’t apologise, and why the absence of “sorry” can be so much heavier on children than we realise.

We explore:

• why kids notice when repair doesn’t happen

• how children often internalise blame when apologies are missing

• what actually helps a child feel safe and validated

You will feel empowered to trust your instincts, use the right words in hard moments, and support your child’s emotional safety.

If this resonated, Raising RAD Kids goes deeper into repair, regulation, and raising kids who feel safe in themselves.https://books.by/rachel-russell

Content note: This episode includes a brief mention of suicide. Please listen with care.

What if your child’s behaviour isn’t something to fix — but something to understand?

In this episode, I’m joined by Cameron Allen, neuroscience technologist, founder of Neuro Progeny and co-founder of Sensorium Neuro Wellness. Cameron has spent nearly two decades studying how the brain and nervous system shape behaviour, including 11 years working directly with children and adolescents in therapeutic settings.

One insight changed everything for him: all behaviour is adaptive.

We talk about what that actually means for parents and carers, and why behaviour is best understood as communication from the nervous system rather than defiance, manipulation or poor parenting.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why behaviour makes sense when you understand the nervous system

• What kids’ stress responses are really asking for

• Why willpower and “trying harder” don’t build resilience

• How stress lives in the body, not just the mind

• Practical ways to help the nervous system handle stress differently

Cameron shares how simple, real-world practices — alongside tools like heart rate variability biofeedback and virtual reality — can support regulation and resilience without adding more to already full lives.

If you’ve ever felt confused, triggered or stuck around your child’s behaviour, this episode offers a grounded, science-based lens that brings clarity, compassion and a clear way forward.

To learn more about Cameron’s work, programs and neuroscience-based tools, you can find him at:
https://www.immersive.neuroprogeny.com/

You can also follow Cameron on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/neuro_cameron/

If this episode helped, share it with another parent who needs a calmer, clearer lens on behaviour.

Stay rad

Do you ever feel triggered by your kids and then feel ashamed about how you reacted? You’re not alone.

In this episode, parenting educator and author Rachel Russell explores why parenting can feel so triggering, what’s actually happening in your nervous system, and how exhaustion, old patterns and constant demands play a role.

You’ll learn how to recognise triggers without shame, understand why small moments create big reactions, and walk away with practical tools you can use today to regulate yourself and repair after tough moments.

This episode is for parents who want to stop yelling, feel calmer, and build stronger, safer relationships with their kids.

To purchase Raising R.A.D. Kids or to leave a review, please head over to:

https://books.by/rachel-russell

https://bit.ly/RaisingRADKids

https://inhousebookstore.com.au/collections/new-releases/products/raising-rad-kids

In this episode, we explore what emotional readiness for school really looks like and why it’s built over time, not rushed or forced. We talk about co-regulation, interdependence, waiting and turn-taking, boundaries, and separation, with practical, long-term ways parents can support their children’s nervous systems before and after school begins.

This is a gentle, realistic conversation for anyone supporting a child to feel safe enough to step into school, and to keep growing once they’re there.

To purchase a copy of Raising R.A.D. Kids, head to:

https://books.by/rachel-russell

Stay rad

Starting school is a significant milestone! There is so muchto learn! And it brings big emotions for both kids and parents. 

In this episode, Rachel talks about (from a teacher's perspective) the real challenges of beginning school and what children truly need to feel able and confident during those first few weeks.

This episode is for parents who want to help their child feelprepared and confident without the pressure to get everything right.

You will finish the episode with a calm and realistic perspective on how to support children as they transition into school life.

Stay rad