Embrace the Crazy

How can parents better shape their kids’ friendships? Making friends is an important aspect of every kid’s sense of connection and development. Dan and Kristy talk about how to help your kids be and make good friends from before they start school, at school and as young adults. They talk about the importance of being good friend to each other and the affect that can have on their kids.

Do you stand in the way of your child learning and connecting with others? Working out when to get involved in your child's interaction with others is an important part of parenting but, how do you improve awareness and get good at it? Dan and Kristy open up and laugh with what they have learned over more than a few bad examples.

Are you the 'yes' or 'no' parent? Either way, you need to deal with the consequences which can appear to be soul destroying for your kids and sometimes yourselves. Dan and Kristy look at why parents need to say no, the benefits to their kids and themselves, and how it can assist creativity, resilience and contribute to many other positive outcomes.

Conflict is a part of everyone’s every day, whether we like it or not. How we manage and deal with disagreements can have a big impact on our own and our family’s quality of life. Dan and Kristy look at some of the areas of their lives such as school, sport, and home life where they experience and need to deal with confrontation. They talk about what qualities help, tactics and strategies they use...

In this episode Dan and Kristy talk about why they invest time and effort in cultivating good family relationships and how to make family members some of your best friends. They look at how to involve different generations within the family to draw closer and built strong connections and the benefits of successfully interacting with your immediate and extended family.

Big change is afoot as Kristy returns to her first career love. Dan and Kristy talk about how they transition into this new role that has implications individually and as a family. Kristy talks about the journey and how support and belief in her has helped her embrace the sometimes uncomfortable journey back into her first career.

Getting things done can take over from some of the more important aspects of parenting. Dan and Kristy talk about how they ignite the spark in their children by getting involved in their children's interests and games.

How do you feel about creativity? Many of us don’t think of ourselves as creative however this episode looks at Dan’s passion for the importance and power of creativity, its diverse applications, and its integral part in learning. We look at the Mark’s family way of applying and driving creativity, the activities that encourage different ways of thinking and working, why it’s so important, ideals...

Dan and Kristy talk about the healthy lifestyle choices they have chosen and implemented for their children. They explore the value of each activity and how it aligns with their families view of health and recreation. Dan explains why sport plays such an integral part of their day-to-day life and how they managed to put into action schedules that reflect their values and the benefits they have exp...

Dan and Kristy reveal how they manage their family’s household finances. Dan dives into his insights around healthy financial planning and healthy relationships while Kristy talks about prioritising, drawing on lessons learned from childhood and how it can shape each of our personal view of money and what we do with it.

Kristy and Dan discuss the huge topic of environmental friendliness. You can’t do it all in this space and Kristy and Dan have learned that along the way. They do what they can to green their own home and discuss who they admire, follow and which products they use to be a good example to their children.

Are entitled children a new phenomenon or are parents tackling an age old dilemma rooted in their own sense of entitlement? Dan and Kristy dive into why it happens and what to do about keeping this pervasive attitude at bay.

In this episode, Kristy talks about returning to work after a long 10-year absence from work. Kristy provides an overview of what that absence looks like and how she was able to capitalise on the experience not only for herself but also for her family. She honestly and intimately shares the challenges many face returning to work and what she found most beneficial in re-gaining her confidence and s...

Negativity creeps into everyday life and affects us all. Dan and Kristy discuss the appeal of negative talk and why it's so destructive to ourselves, careers and family. They also go further and look at how to shut the negative chatter that can sometimes dominate our headspace.

Managing rest within a busy family is one of the key ingredients to achieving harmonious family dynamics. Dan and Kristy look at how a lack of proper rest impacts the family, the tell tail signs of tiredness and what needs to be prioritised so that proper rest and recuperation can happen.

Kristy explores the much talked about woman's mental load in today's society and how she experiences and responds to the burden. She looks at the difference between mens and woman's brains and the feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion that comes with that mental load.

Dan and Kristy delve into one of their biggest challenges - developing themselves as parents. They discuss giving and receiving feedback from partners, children and trusted others - a difficult thing for anyone to do, especially as a parent. They talk about how they learn and parenting confidence. It is not always smooth sailing in their family however with an open mind they continue to develop th...

This session we discuss one of Dan’s favourite thing…. food! It is often said that food brings us together and that the kitchen is the heart of the home. The significance of food and its influence on our family table is not lost our family. We discuss all the wonderful memories we have made around family tables and how the crazy of the meal is embedded into our family life.

How hard is it to navigate kids and digital media? As our kids get older it becomes more challenging to keep up and to know the right thing to do. We struggle with it every day, but we discuss how we do it with our family. We discuss the rules we put into place, and we also talk about ways we can be ahead of the game by keeping up to date and knowledgeable about what is going on in the world of di...

As they move into the new year, Dan and Kristy discuss their 2024 podcast and family plans. Listen as they talk about the process they use to recap the year that has passed and plan for the year ahead, a process that has been refined over time and is still being perfected. Dan and Kristy have some big plans for 2024 and they look forward to bringing their listeners on their crazy journey!

Christmas and the end of the year round up is such a stressful time for many families, but it can be a time of magic for children and adults alike. This week we discuss the magic and the crazy of Christmas and how important family time is at the end of the year. We discuss how we have brought both of our family Christmas traditions together and created our own traditions with the four kids. Merry...

Kristy asked this one question; it opened a discussion then led to her entrance into the business world with Dan. She often thinks it was a silly question to ask but she speaks about how joining the business has assisted with her growth and development to start thinking about life and seeing her passion with more clarity. Dan shares his passion for the business and how support from others has shap...

Kristy speaks candidly about her journey through pregnancy and birth. She gives her unique yet positive experience and touches on the power that she felt through her birthing journey.  If this episode has brought up any trauma or other feelings for you please reach out for support Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 Panda 1300 726 306

Kristy and Dan speak frankly about the choices they made to move to beautiful Canberra, the emotional, social, and financial reasons behind the move. They expand on what lead them to the suburb where they now live, the importance of a collaborative discussion and how their choices align with their family values. Dan’s insight on rental/mortgage pressures is powerful and they discuss how they manag...

Kristy and Dan talk about the dangerous trap of overscheduling. Dan continues to want to do more, with no time making commitments that just can’t be delivered. This edition follows the challenges Kristy and Dan have on not overscheduling, becoming aware of when it is happening and strategies to schedule appropriately. From asking for help to saying no, Kristy and Dan discuss how they try to get th...