Parenting and Personalities

What if the words you use every day…without even realising it…are quietly shaping who your children believe they can become?  Kate Mason sits down with communications expert, author, and mother of two boys, Kate Mason, to explore the hidden power of gendered language in parenting.  From "be careful" on the playground to "give grandma a kiss," the two Kates unpack the subtle, ev...

Parenting isn’t a performance, it’s a relationship, and the messiest moments might be your best clues.  Kate talks with family therapist and educator Lisa Taylor about her new book The Perfect Parent Trap and why “losing it” doesn’t mean you’re failing. It may mean an old, tender part of you is getting “ignited.”  They explore Lisa’s “heartprint” framework (the deep beliefs we carry, like “I’m not...

What if the anger you feel as a mother isn't a character flaw…but a signal worth listening to?  Kate Mason sits down with Lauren Novak, award-winning journalist, mother of two, and author of the groundbreaking new book Meltdown: Why Motherhood Makes Us Angry and What to Do About It.  Lauren brings her two decades of investigative journalism to bear on one of motherhood's most taboo subje...

What if the mood swings, the sleepless nights, the sudden irritation, and the loss of joy aren't signs that something is wrong with you… but signals that your biology is quietly staging a dramatic takeover?  Kate Mason sits down with Dr. Joanna Bruce, GP of over 25 years, clinical director of Myma Health, and passionate advocate for women's hormonal wellbeing, to talk openly about perime...

What if an autism diagnosis could actually open doors instead of closing them?  Kate Mason speaks with Dr. Theresa Lyons—a Yale-trained chemist and autism expert—about how her daughter’s diagnosis completely transformed her personal and professional life.  Drawing on her background in pharmaceutical research and medical strategy, Theresa refused to accept outdated assumptions and instead turned to...

What if the key to being heard isn’t changing who you are but learning how to be powerfully likeable without apology? Kate Mason sits down with another Kate Mason—executive communications coach, world champion debater, and author of Powerfully Likeable, to unpack the invisible dynamics of communication, particularly for women navigating work, parenting, and presence.  Together, they explore why wo...

What happens when a baby changes everything... except one partner's life? Kate Mason welcomes Amy Taylor-Kabbaz, author of Mama Rising, for a raw, insightful dive into the invisible shifts parenthood brings to relationships.  Amy unpacks the silent resentment many new mothers feel when their worlds are upended while their partners’ routines stay largely intact. Together, they explore the ment...

Burnout does not arrive with a bang. It whispers until your body screams.  Kate sits down with Sinja Hallam to explore what it really means to move from surviving to thriving.  Sinja shares her remarkable journey from Germany to South Africa to Australia, her rise through high pressure global leadership roles, and the moment her body forced her to stop.  Through stories of career success, motherho...

What if the problem is not your personality, but what happens when it takes the wheel without supervision?  Kate Mason walks listeners through the four classic temperament styles and reframes New Year growth as awareness rather than self-correction.  She explores how the sanguine thrives with intentional connection instead of overcommitment, how the choleric’s drive can turn into pressure without...

Is your child's “healthy” snack actually hurting their health?  Kate Mason welcomes back Mandy Sacher to expose the shocking truth behind food labels, Australia's Health Star Rating system, and the hidden dangers of ultra-processed foods.  With over two decades of experience in children’s nutrition and a background in investigative journalism, Mandy breaks down how misleading marketing t...

What if becoming a mother wasn’t just a role, but a complete identity shift?  Kate Mason sits down with journalist-turned-coach Amy Taylor-Kabbaz to dive deep into the transformation that women experience when they enter motherhood, a transformation called matrescence. Amy shares her personal story of burnout, identity loss, and the emotional upheaval that came with trying to be the woman she was...

Christmas can bring up deep emotions, powerful memories, and the challenge of balancing tradition with change. Kate Mason opens up a thoughtful and moving conversation about what the festive season really means to different people. Through a series of deeply personal stories from guests around the world, this episode explores how families celebrate, mourn, adapt, and create meaningful holiday mome...

What if your Christmas chaos was actually a personality clash in disguise?  Kate Mason unwraps the four classic temperaments, choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic, and how they dramatically show up around the Christmas table.  With warmth, humour, and heartfelt wisdom, she explores how each personality type contributes to both the magic and mayhem of the holidays.  From the bossy boots...

Is your child's "sex education" secretly coming from free, violent online pornography?  Kate Mason and podcast producer Liz Keen, creator of The Reality Of podcast, joins us to uncover the shocking truth that children as young as eight, nine, and ten are accidentally, or intentionally, stumbling upon highly explicit content, citing the average age of first exposure in Australia as 1...

Content Warning: This episode discusses suicide, self-harm, and mental health. Please listen with care.    What if your teen’s big emotions weren’t the problem, but your response was?   Kate Mason sits down with licensed therapist and author Katie K. May, a leading expert in teen self-harm, DBT, and emotional regulation. Together, they explore the often-quiet struggles parents face when their teen...

Is your baby really hungry—or just hooked on ultra-processed foods?  Kate Mason sits down with children’s nutritionist and author Mandy Sacher to unravel the tangled world of feeding babies and toddlers.  From decoding misleading food labels to tackling fussy eating head-on, Mandy shares her powerful journey, from developing childhood obesity programs with UK hospitals to launching Australia'...

This is an episode originally published in November 2024. It is one of my most popular.  Are you tired of living with your adult kids? The phenomenon of adult children living at home with their parents has become increasingly common, leaving many to wonder: is this the new normal? Kate looks at the realities of adults living with their parents, whether due to economic challenges or shifting cultur...

Is Christmas your calm or your chaos?  Kate Mason welcomes returning couple therapists Helen and Shahn to unpack why the festive season so often becomes a pressure cooker and how couples can reclaim it with clarity and compassion.  They share their own blended-family reset, choosing Christmas morning at home to create sleep, sanity, and new traditions. From end-of-year exhaustion to old family rol...

Is your partner your teammate… or just your roommate?  Kate Mason dives deep into why so many loving couples start to feel emotionally disconnected—not because of conflict, but because of neglect.  With warmth and insight, Kate introduces the "Five-Minute Personality Check-In," a powerful weekly ritual that helps couples realign, reconnect, and stay curious about each other, even when li...

What if your health isn’t something you do, but something you are?    Kate Mason sits down with wellness journalist and author Casey Beros to trace her path from a Perth uni student obsessed with health reporting to on-air roles with ABC’s evidence-based program Tonic and a dream daily TV gig that was axed 35 episodes in—followed by a grief-soaked reset that clarified her true mission.  Casey shar...

Are we expressing more than we’re actually coping?  Kate Mason poses three big, bold questions to five insightful guests—Cat, Cassie, Jack, Maryann, and Tracy.  Together, they explore what today’s kids are most missing: is it freedom, discipline, or connection?  They unpack whether our personality or our experiences shape us more deeply, and whether the current culture of emotional openness is fos...

Ever wondered if siblings raised by the same parents actually grow up in completely different families? Kate Mason sits down with author, veteran, and filmmaker Pamela Vines to explore how sibling dynamics, birth order, and evolving parenting styles shape who we become.  Through heartfelt storytelling and humorous reflection, Pam shares how she and her two sisters (each born in a different decade)...

What if love, loss, and legacy could all live between the pages of a book?  Kate Mason sits down with journalist and author Casey Beros to explore the raw, real, and deeply human story behind her book The Next of Kin .  Casey shares how she left a thriving life and career in Sydney to return home to Perth and care for her terminally ill father during the height of COVID-19.  Together, they discuss...

Ever tried renovating a house with someone whose decision-making style feels like it’s from another planet?  In this hilariously honest episode of Parenting and Personalities , Kate Mason dives into the chaos, comedy, and clashing temperaments that come with navigating a home renovation and retirement… at the same time.  With her husband Paul newly retired and suddenly hyper-involved in what was s...

What happens when a seasoned parent meets their grandchild for the first time—and realizes that parenting doesn’t come with a manual, even the second time around? Kate Mason shares a raw, heartfelt, and often humorous reflection on her first four weeks as a brand-new grandparent.  From revisiting the sleep-deprived fog of early parenthood to navigating the emotional nuances of supporting her daugh...