Raising Wildlings

Send us Fan Mail Get ready to be inspired as we journey into the heart of an exceptional early childhood education center with Narelle Dawson, the esteemed Director of Bribe Island Community Kindy. Narelle offers rare insights into leading a team that's been rated excellent four times in a row, a testament to their commitment, dedication, and unwavering focus on building meaningful relationsh...

Send us Fan Mail Buckle up! We are spilling our secrets on how collaborations have been a game-changer in our Wild Play business and how they can be for you too! Ever wondered what makes a partnership thrive? Let us share our experience in business partnerships and what we'd do differently if we were starting a new business today.  Full Show notes can be found here: https://www.raisingwildlin...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered how an educational institution could place well-being at the heart of its ethos and practice? Join us for an eye-opening talk with Claire Bartlett, the founding Principal of Woodline Primary, as we discuss its journey from ideation to a growing community of students and families.  Claire opens the door to Woodline's unique perspective on education. She...

Send us Fan Mail While playtime might seem straightforward, it's fraught with challenges and nuances that parents often overlook.  In this podcast, we are joined again by researcher, author, and Professor Dr Peter Gray and today we are unraveling the intricacies of play and its influence on a child's growth.  We discuss why simply taking your child to the park isn't the same as neig...

Send us Fan Mail Prepare to be captivated by this deep dive into the world of childhood play. In our latest episode, we have the esteemed pleasure of welcoming back Dr Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. With an impressive track record of studying play's importance, Dr Gray’s insights are sure to fascinate you as he unveils how play shapes childr...

Send us Fan Mail The transformative power of parenthood gives many of us a renewed passion for the importance of advocating for our children's play needs.  Today’s guest is no different, Dr. Carla Gull is an academic researcher, speaker, and environmental education program facilitator at Goshen College.  In this episode we will be deep-diving into Dr. Carla’s research work around loose parts...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we are delighted to have Dr Arne Rubenstein back to answer your questions about the role of father figures and how to maintain meaningful connections during a boy's journey toward adulthood. Dr Arne is the CEO and Founder of the Rites of Passage Institute. He has over 30 years of experience as a medical doctor, counselor, speaker, workshop facilitator, and the proud fa...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Kate Grarock is an Ecologist, Hiker, YouTube Creator, passionate storyteller, Mum and most recently, a participant on the incredibly popular SBS TV show, Alone Australia.  Today, we’ll be talking all about her time on the survival show, the best and hardest parts, and her current ecology work and her tips and tricks for solo hiking – including her favourite hiking treat! For Fu...

Send us Fan Mail At forest school, we often talk about how nature play is so important for our sensory development, but did you know that many of the developmental and behavioural challenges we see in children stem from our nervous system? In today's episode we scratch the surface of sensory integration, sensory processing and retained reflexes with Occupational Therapists, Rachel Harrington...

Send us Fan Mail Today we’re chatting to Sarah Aiono, international speaker, coach, teacher, researcher, CEO of Longworth Education and one of Aotearoa New Zealand's leading play pedagogy experts all about the biological need for all humans to play, the need for us as parents and educators to slow down childhood, how the early academic pushdown is harming children and how Sarah and her passio...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re anything like us, the title of today’s episode, “Low Demand Parenting”, made you take a hopeful gasp and wonder if low-demand parenting could actually work for your family and take some of the weight and pressure of parenting off of your chest.   Well, after chatting with Amanda Diekman, author and leading voice in the neurodiversity parenting movement, I can honestly sa...

Send us Fan Mail What do you feel when you walk into a perfectly instagrammable Early Years setting, or when you see an education space wrapped in artificial turf? Today we’re chatting with husband and wife duo, architects and owners of Landings Studio, Emma Healy and David Pratt all about biophilic design, the benefits of it, what we can do instead of laying astro turf and immovable playgrounds,...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever been to one of our Brisbane Forest School sessions, you may have been lucky enough to meet today’s guest, Amanda England.  Amanda is our Brisbane manager, friend, and business partner.  On today’s podcast, Amanda is sharing her journey from preschool teacher to kickstarting our Wildlings Forest Kindy Program in Brisbane, Australia. Amanda will also share how investi...

Send us Fan Mail One of the biggest reasons for starting our own business was to be able to jump at opportunities when adventure called. It’s a great privilege to be able to do this and it’s not something we take for granted.   This week on the podcast we are diving into Nicki’s recent unplanned 5-week road trip into the outback with her two homeschooled boys and dog in tow.   The road schooling t...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine being labeled America’s worst mother just because you made the conscious decision to allow your child to experience some independence. If you haven’t heard Lenore Skenazy’s story or read her book Free Range Kids, today’s episode is a great introduction to the Free Range Children and Grow Wild movements.  👉  Lenore shares The incredible story that catapulted her into this...

Send us Fan Mail Issac Newton once said “What goes up must come down”, but what on Earth are we supposed to do when children climb up too high and call out for help? Recently, we’ve witnessed several occurrences where tiny climbers reach great heights only to get stuck when it comes to getting back down to the ground. In today’s podcast episode, we are deep diving into the physiology behind this a...

Send us Fan Mail Tree climbing has always been a rite of passage. Whether it was the mango tree in the backyard or the massive jacaranda at the local park.  Where there were trees…. there were children hanging from the branches. At least, that’s what is why like in our own childhood. But did you know that 1 in 4 Australian children have never climbed a tree? That’s a quarter of Australian children...

Send us Fan Mail ❌ Newsflash: Risky Play isn’t as simple as giving children the old hammer from the rusty toolbox in the garage.  In fact, doing that will probably cause more accidents and set everyone up for a negative experience.  We used to think that ‘any’ hand tool was better than none.... until we saw some were too heavy, too bulky, and hindering the learning process for children. It was a...

Send us Fan Mail "Look, it has pockets!" said the child as they emptied the rocks, shells, and leaves from the pockets of their new skirt. And we have to admit, as grown women, we too have twirled in excitement when FINALLY finding a dress or skirt that can fit our wallets, phones, and car keys but it makes us ask the question...  Are we letting "looks" get in the way of "...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes in life you meet people who’s experience and inspiration mirrors your own and that is what I feel about my guest today. Celia Hogan is the founder of Little Kiwis in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and we shared such a rich and inspiring chat today which I think you are going to love.  👉  Celia Shares Her journey that brought her to where she is today About Little Kiwis Nature P...

Send us Fan Mail You’ve all heard the saying, ‘If you play with fire, you’re going to get burnt,' well we have another saying at Wildlings, and that’s, ‘If you don't play with fire you WILL get burnt.’ Today’s episode is all about why we must teach children fire safety. 👉  Nicki and Vicci Share:  Some striking facts about fire danger in Australia and around the world Why it is important...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine making play your life’s work. In today’s podcast, I talk with professional playworker and child advocate, Marc Armitage, who has done just that. We are chatting all about the role of adults and he asks us what is our agenda when it comes to providing play opportunities for children.  👉  Marc Shares:  How his journey got started How playwork differs from other approaches t...

Send us Fan Mail Nature schools are on the rise here in Australia and around the world and I am not just talking about Forest Schools like Wildlings. These schools have to follow Australian Curriculum, but are prioritising getting kids outside! Today I want to introduce Joanna Griffith from Kwoorabup Nature School in Western Australia. 👉  Joanna Shares: Her philosophy and the inspiration behind K...

Send us Fan Mail Honestly, our kids get a rough go. What we often expect of them at a young age can far outweigh what their brain can actually manage — and we don’t even realise we’re doing it! Today we’re finishing our chat with Allison Davies. Today we’re chatting about the importance of predictability for children, Hyperactivity and her family’s journey from homeschooling to schooling. You can...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we chat to former Neurologic Music Therapist Allison who stepped out of the allied health system after 16 years, and now focuses on enacting societal change by dismantling harmful musical myths. To get a sense of what Alli is all about, I thought I’d read one of her quotes which I love. ‘As a woman I was suppressed by the systems that told me to ‘be seen and not h...