The Juggling Act

Parenting is challenging, but when you've got kids fighting on top if it, it can be enough to drive you absolutely bonkers. Sometimes it feels like it never stops, and it can be very difficult to know how to handle it without losing your cool. Sarah and Mel share their experiences and how they (try) to approach it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melbourne has been through so much, and for people with a chronic illness, it’s been especially tough. Beloved author, columnist and podcast host Jamila Rizvi was diagnosed with a brain tumour nearly three years ago and to keep her whole family safe, they had to take precautions - including keeping her four-year-old son Rafi home for the past eight months. She was so inspired by discussions she ha...

Our guest today is an author, speaker and mum to three boys, who says that we need to rethink our approach to juggling work life and motherhood. Danielle Dobson’s book Breaking The Gender Code is all about how we can rewrite the code to live our lives on our own terms, and she joins us with some practical strategies on exactly how to do it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mum recently wrote about how she didn't really like her kids until they were seven. And while she was slammed on social media, Sarah and Mel understand what she's trying to get at. For the first five or so years, you're in care mode. Then as they become more self-sufficient and their little personalities come out, you start to enjoy their company more and your relationships changes. See omnystud...

Well, it has been a huge year for Grant and Chezzi Denyer who are pregnant with their third child. Chezzi has been suffering from severe morning sickness AND vertigo - and handling criticism for having a baby at 41. They join us on the pod to talk having kids when you're older, how they hated each other when they first met, and the awesome summer road trip they have planned before the new bub arri...

This week, we are joined by the stars of The Crown – Charles and Diana, that’s Emma Corrin & Josh O'Connor to you commoners… they open up about why we're SO obsessed with the royal family. Sarah and I admit that we are drowning in life admin and we just need people to cut parents some slack! Author Brooke Graham has written a fantastic children's book that is helping our kids banish worry (I use t...

Today’s guest is a former actress, fitness instructor and TV producer, she’s also the mum of three girls, two in their twenties. Shantelle Bisson has now turned author with her new parenting guidebook - Raising your kids without losing your cool.  She joins us to explain this sorcery and why she thinks a 'little pat' is sometimes needed to discipline our kids.  See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Today's guest wanted to find a way to give women in senior administrative roles more workforce flexibility. So Lauren Calvert started an executive support service called The Well Suited Group - as a side hustle - and it’s now changing the lives of mums trying to juggle family and career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When primary school teacher and mum, Brooke Graham's daughter was 9, she was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night because she felt like she couldn't breathe. Turns out she was having a panic attack, and it was the sign Brooke needed to get her some professional help. She has since gone on to use the techniques they learnt to write a new children’s book called Go Away, Worry Monster!, to h...

Written notes from daycare, newsletters from little athletics, alerts on the school app, emails from work - life admin can be so overwhelming! There is a lot of pressure on parents to be across everything and sometimes it just becomes too much. Sarah and Mel talk about how they're copying and beg people to just cut parents a little bit of slack. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new season of The Crown is here, and we were lucky enough to catch up with Emma Corrin & Josh O'Connor who play Charles and Di - one of the most famous couples in history -  to get their insight on why we’re all so obsessed with the royal family (admit it, I know you are…), why Princess Di was so intent on being a hands-on mother and Emma reveals the reason she is glad Covid hit just after the...

Sometimes being the one who makes the family decisions – and quite often its mum – can be bloody exhausting. Some days it feels like I’ve got decision-making fatigue and it makes me want to take a break from adulating – I don’t want to! Mum and journalist Casey Beros took that feeling one step further and decided to stop making the family decisions for a week, just to see what happened…  See omnys...

No parent should ever have to outlive their child. The heartbreak is just unimaginable. That's why TV presenter and mum of two boys, Livinia Nixon has partnered with the children's charity Bailey's Day. They're helping raise much-needed funds for the Monash Children’s Hospital’s cancer centre in Melbourne. She opens up about the incredible support that money provides, how much of a struggle the se...

Sometimes being the one who makes the family decisions – and quite often its mum – can be bloody exhausting. What will we eat for dinner? Who will make it? What time will it be? Who will drop the kids to daycare and school? Who will make sure they have something to wear that doesn’t resemble a clown? Will anyone buy a gift for that looming birthday party this weekend? Some days it feels like I’ve...

Some people spent lockdown binging Netflix and eating, others put that time to slightly better use by learning a new skill or actually doing something productive (not that eating and binging TV series is not – I’m so here for that). Today's guest falls into the second category. Casey Gillespie, a Queensland mum of two, decided to use her time to write and publish a children's book inspired by her...

When I was growing up in country Victoria, heading off on a trip to Melbourne was a really big deal. It was four hours drive away at the time (no major highways) and it was so damn exciting. I loved walking down Chapel St and looking at the shops, we could never afford to buy anything. I’d stare in the windows of Alannah Hill, lusting over the feminine fabrics and colours. I didn’t end up buying o...

We all know the benefits of sports for kids. Teamwork, coordination, resilience, the list goes on. But for some kids, playing sport is just not their thing. They'd rather curl up with a book, learn an instrument or create a new world on Minecraft. Living in a sporting nation like Australia, there is a huge focus on the sporting culture with swimming and athletic carnivals all throughout schools. S...

This week we talked about what age it’s appropriate to give your child a mobile phone… We caught up with Sue Brierley about the incredible true story behind the Oscar nominated film LION, we discussed why tweens are the new teens and how to manage their moods… Candice Warner opens up about her biggest struggle as a mother, and we’ve got some totally achievable tips to paying off your mortgage fast...

We all know that any spare money (ha!) needs to go into paying off our mortgage. But there are some other simple changes we can make to bring that number down faster. Today we're joined by Founder of Money Mode Renae Vercoe who talks us through these totally achievable tips (and they won't take you long). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Ironwoman Candice Warner and her little family were put through the wringer following a ball-tampering incident involving her husband, Australian cricketer David Warner, in 2018. She had to put on a brave face for her three daughters, was slammed on social media, labelled ‘a bad mother’, and suffered a miscarriage after Dave addressed the scandal. She joins us on the pod to tell us why she...

Earlier in the year we spoke with Steve Biddulph who said that kids these days are mentally a few years ahead of their actual age. And man am I noticing it with my 8yo daughter! It’s why tweens are now the new teens, according to our next guest. Amanda Stokes is an educator, mother to 3 and the Founder of Raising Strong Daughters.  Her new book ‘The Tween Mother’s Tool Book: Raising Strong Daughte...

When I watched the totally heartbreaking Oscar-nominated film 'Lion' starring Nicole Kidman four years ago, my daughter was four. As a mum with a child pretty much the same age, my heart shattered into a million pieces as I watched 5-year-old Saroo go missing. I just couldn’t imagine how my child would survive, so tiny and all alone on the streets of India. I also couldn’t imagine not seeing her a...

As adults our mobiles are pretty much attached to our hands, and our kids are watching! It seems kids are getting their own phone younger and younger, but do they really need them? Sarah and Mel talk about what age it's appropriate to give a child a mobile phone and what things you need to take into account. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we caught up with mum-of-two and filmmaker Tahyna MacManus who opens up about suffering three miscarriages, including one during the making of her doco Misunderstandings of Miscarriage. Psychologist Belinda Williams joins us with some practical tips for making sure you don’t take your bad day in the office home with you. We have a laugh with author of The Treehouse series Andy Griffith...

Do you ever feel like you're constantly apologising for things? Sorry I was late this morning, sorry I forgot his book week costume, sorry she has packaged food in her lunch box today, sorry I have to leave early because my kid has a temperature...sorry, sorry, SORRY! Mums are some of the most efficient people in the workplace, so why are we constantly apologising for having children? See omnystud...