Kinderling Conversation

Raising small children is full of challenges. They may be waking through the night, refusing food or behaving in confusing ways. Mothercraft nurse Chris Minogue has been helping parents solve these dilemmas for over 30 years. Today she gives advice on: A two and a half-year-old trying to drop a needed nap, a twenty-two month old who sleeps well at night, but not-so-well during the day, managing challenging toddler behaviours, a twenty-two-month-old procrastinating at bedtime, a three-and-a-half year-old rejecting dad, a four-month-old having short naps and a 12-month-old waking several times at night for a breastfeed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Becoming a parent can be very disorientating. Where once you completed the simplest tasks in moments, now it takes all day to get out of your pyjamas. Margie Warrell is the author of You've got this, the life-changing power of trusting yourselfShe's also a mum of four. Margie talks about how to find your confidence as a new parent, and trust that you have everything you need to thrive.. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This generation of parents and carers have never experienced anything like the Coronavirus pandemic. And while the virus spreads the messages on social media and in the news seem to be full of conflicting advice. It's no wonder people are feeling anxious about the state of the world. While we can't do anything about what's happening, psychologist and founder of Hey Sigmund!Karen Young says there's plenty we can do about what's happening in our own minds. Karen explains how we can respond to the current events and feel more calm and present for our children.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is so much information circling around about the Coronavirus. We've been told that flu-like symptoms could be a sign you have the virus, but how do you know when to get tested? And if you need to get tested, where do you go? Dr Elysia Thornton-Benko is a GP dealing with alot of these questions. She goes through everything you need to know about testing, and how we should be approaching contact with grandparents. The following is general information only. For more detailed information check the Government's Health website. Other good websites to check out include dedicated Coronavirus page and The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.do Raising Children Network'sSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You'll find most of France Whiting's writing under the News Corp banner of mastheads. She writes funny and insightful pieces about parenting and life, as well as more in-depth stories about news and events, and interviews with celebrities. She also writes fiction, and her latest book is called The Best Kind of BeautifulFrances talks about the line between public and private when writing about children, and why Robin Williams is her favourite interview to date.. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watching your child try solid food for the first time is strangely satisfying. But working out how to wean can be confusing. What food do you start with? Should it be solid or mush? And how on earth do you deal with potential allergies? Annabel Karmel has been a much-loved food educator for over 25 years. In her new book Weaning made simple, your go-to guide for baby's first foods she has everything you need to know about starting your child's food journey well. Annabel's digital weaning course can be found on her website.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mothercraft nurse Chris Minogue returns after a short break to answer all your questions. On this episode of she helps to navigate: A six-month-old with erratic sleep patterns, a six-month-old waking at four and five am, toilet training an almost three-year-old, whether a queen sized bed is too big for a first bed, a two-and-a-half-year-old who still wants to be breastfed (though she has been weaned), weaning a two-year-old off thumb sucking, helping a 14-week-old join 45 minute day naps together and weaning a three-year-old off the bottle.Helpline See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While COVID-19 is in the headlines, should we be considering the flu vaccination for our kids? The flu vaccination for 2020 does not protect against the COVID-19, but doctors and pharmacists are urging people to consider vaccinating against influenza. Amy Evans is a pharmacist with Terry White Chemmart at Rouse Hill. She explains how the flu vaccination works, and why we should be considering it for our families.NOTE: The Terry White chain of pharmacists are opening vaccinations for booking for March 23 and later now. Pharmacists cannot vaccinate children under ten although some Terry White pharmacies will have ‘family clinic days’ where children aged two and up can be vaccinated by a registered nurse. You will have to check with your local chemist before booking to see if they do these days.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anger is a big, spontaneous emotion. Sometimes, when your kid has just kicked you in the stomach as you try to put them in the car seat, or they're having a tantrum and throwing books around the room, it can feel like you have no control over it. And so you yell. And then maybe, you feel terrible. Parenting educator and host of the Parental as Anythingpodcast Maggie Dent says that it's human to feel anger. But it's what we do with it as adults, and the carers of small children, that really counts. Maggie explains how we can be calmer at home, and ways of understanding why we feel angry in the first place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Rob Sturrock became a father he said it was like hearing church bells ringing. It's what came after that took grit and a bit of soul searching. Rob decided to stay home with his kids at a time when it's still unusual for men to take on a full-time role caring role for children. He looked for literature to tell him, as a dad, how to navigate this world. When he found none he wrote his own book Man Raises Boy - a love letter to his son and a contemplation on what it means to be a father and to raise a boy in today's world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing a baby for the first time can be full of weird and wonderful experiences. Not all of them make sense, and sometimes it helps to get a run-down of what to expect. Hannah Dahlen is a Professor at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She helps guide many women through pregnancy, and has studied what is happening with all the changes (and why). She tells us the changes that happen throughout your nine months of pregnancy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parenting coach and expert with Babyology's Sleep School Karina Lane filled in on this episode of On this Karina helps with the following challenges: A six-month-old with a dummy dependency, getting a 14.5-month-old to self settle, getting a 13.5-month-old to have consistent day naps, helping one 13-month-old twin who is waking in the night, a ten-month-old baby hitting their head while asleep (and waking herself up), a 25-month-old who struggles with sleeping through the night, a ten-month-old that needs a lot of comfort to sleep through the night, how to ditch the dummy for a 20-month-old and a five-year-old who has trouble settling in at school.Helpline. Helpline See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anywhere that children gather in groups germs will incubate. When they start day care or school, it is inevitable that they will end up with one thing or another. Sarah Hunstead is the Founding Director of CPR Kids. Sarah outlines the more common illnesses children get from day care, and whether it's possible to protect them from all of the lurgies flying about.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If your child has challenging behaviours - like aggression or problems sitting still - where would you go?Chances are you might ask your GP for a referral to an occupational therapist, or maybe ask about child psychologists. Olwen Forker is the Clinical Director at BackChat Speech Pathology. Olwen says that speech pathology can often be the first step parents take to help their children. She explains how understanding communication challenges can help with behavioural problems.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mim Jenkinson was on the cusp of her happily ever after when she discovered she had breast cancer.What followed was a descent into alcohol addiction that she didn't see happening. And along her own path to recovery, she discovered many more stories about other mums and why they drink. Mim talks about her own experience with 'mummy wine time' and why life is so much better without it. Mim's book is called Less Wine More TimeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the start of a new school year, when many children will begin 'home readers' with their parents, it seems an opportune time to look at how we can help our kids on their path to reading. Learning how to read can be a big challenge for children, but reading expert Louise Park says that children are preparing for this big step long before they start school. Louise's book is called 7 steps to get your child readingIn this interview Louise explains what is happening in a child's brain when they first learn how to read, and how we can best support them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unfortunately Chris Minogue couldn't make it for her regular helpline, but we have this amazing webinar with Dr Vanessa Lapointe about toddler tantrums. Vanessa is a psychologist and author of Parenting Right From the StartIn this webinar she explains why tantrums are so important for our little people, and how we might handle certain behavioural challenges. To see Vanessa live in Australia this March, details are available at Maggie Dent's website.fortunately. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you heard about Bush Kindy?It's a program that some early educators are adopting as way for children to play and learn in nature. Liesel Murphy is an educator who set up a Bush Kindy program at Sydney's Gumnut Gardens. Liesel describes a day at Bush Kindy, and what the children get out of it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you first have your baby, you're told "breast is best". But what happens if you have them so early your body isn't producing enough milk for them? Or for other reasons that baby can't get breast milk?Redcross has a solution. It's called Lifeblood Milk, and they work to take an excess of milk from breastfeeding mothers, and give it to those premmies who really need it. Chris Sulfaro from explains how it works, and what you need to do if you'd like to donate.Lifeblood MilkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not many people bring up kids on their first date. Particularly when the date has been set up by friends (and the details of what you want are not outlined on a Tinder profile). But this is exactly what Ben Jenkins did when he met his future wife Stacey.Ben had been through quite a bit by this point, and he was all about being honest.When Stacey didn't run away, they started to plan for the future.Ben talks about being diagnosed with prostate cancer, falling in love, and making a baby.You can listen to Ben and Stacey on their podcast #couplegoals?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.