Kinderling Conversation

Perinatal depression and anxiety affects one in ten dads, yet only just over half reach out for help. Dave Edwards is the proud dad of two child aged 6 and 8. When his son was born he went through a really challenging time, that he only realised in hindsight was PND. Dave tells us his story in the hope that it will help other dads ask for help. Resources for dads: The Gidget FoundationPANDABeyond Blue  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many people understand what domestic violence is, but child to parent violence is less well known. Jo Howard is a social worker who is an expert in adolescent violence in the home, and has also worked with families who have young children who are aggressive and violent. Jo says that parents who bear the brunt of this violence are often too ashamed to ask for help, and when they do, can be turned away. Jo talks about the impact of this type of aggression and what parents can do.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lauren Dubois was a successful political journalist before she turned her hand to blogging about parenting, eventually switching to Instagram. She's also written a book called You Will (Probably) Survive. Lauren's posts on Instagram are insightful and funny. But most importantly they always seem to resonate. Lauren talks about the amount of work it takes to maintain an account like hers and why it's worth the effort.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leaving your child at day care while they're crying their little hearts out can be so hard. Gen Muir is a parenting educator at Connected Parenting and a mum of four. She's still going through challenging drop offs so she knows just how to help parents make the experience easier and better. Gen gives us some practical tips on how to help our children separate from us with less tears.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I know. There are a million apps out there for parents, so what makes this one special? This is an app that could help parents who need the most support: parents with kids on the spectrum. Kindship is a free app that aims to connect parents who are likely to feel more isolated than other parents. Co-founder Sandy Golder talks about the benefits of joining a like-minded community who really understand what it's like.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you met the love of your life, was your first thought 'I wonder if their parenting style will match mine?' You may have thought they'd make a great parent, but probably not all the nitty gritty of how they approach things like discipline and sugar. Unfortunately these things can lead to frustration and confrontation once discipline and sugar become an issue for your kids. Rachel Tomlinson is a psychologist at Toward Wellbeing. She explains how we can get on the same parenting page, even when we've started from completely different chapters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Baseley is a TV presenter and dad of three. When it comes to spending time with his kids Matt loves to get messy in the kitchen. If you follow his Insta you will find many examples of how much fun they have together. The secret, Matt explains, is about following your own passion. Matt talks about his own love of cooking and how he deals with fussy eaters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour can be an unknown and frightening prospect. But what if you could go into this experience feeling confident and empowered? Nadine Richardson founded SheBirths to help women have better birth experiences. She explains the most practical ways a woman can prepare for birth. In this interview Nadine mentions the Shebirths free holistic pregnancy guide that you can find here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When our babies crawl into toddlerhood they start to push their boundaries. This can often include running away, throwing food and other challenging behaviours. So how do you handle this stage if you have two babies going through the same developmental stages? Mothercraft nurse Chris Minogue takes us through her top tips for managing this tricky stage of life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor Ryan Johnson was going through a separation not long before the first lockdown in 2020. While coparenting through the pandemic he also met and fell in love with his new partner. On this episode Ryan talks about how he navigated all of that with his young daughter and ended up in a good place today. Ryan is best known for his role as Matt Knight in Doctor Doctor and his most recent appearance in the Aussie comedy How to Please a Woman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Childhood friendships can be light and easy, but as kids head into their tween years they can start to get a bit tricky. Dana Kerford is the Director of URStrong, an organisation that helps children understand the many nuances of friendship. Dana gives us her top tips on how we can support our children when friendships get tough. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research from the University of South Australia has revealed that assistance dogs are helping to expand children on the autism spectrum and their families. Dr Shelley Wright is a qualified occupational therapist and who supervised the research. Shelley explains exactly how dogs can help children on the spectrum. Information relevant to this interview: Research from the University of SA on assistance dogs and autistic kidsAssistance Dogs AustraliaGuidedogs AustraliaInformation about assistance dogsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maggie Dent is best known for her work helping parents to raise their boys. Now Maggie has sunk her teeth into girlhood with her book of the same title. Girlhood, raising our little girls to be healthy, happy and heard was inspired by her four grand daughters. In this interview Maggie leads us through how to raise our little girls with understanding and compassion. Touching on key issues raised by a survey of 5,000 parents Maggie uses her humour, wisdom and common sense to help parents and carers of little girls everywhere. Maggie Dent is also the host of the podcast Parental as Anything. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Helping children navigate their big emotions can be challenging. Particularly when those emotions result in behaviour that is aggressive or difficult to change. Lyn Jenkins is a clinical psychologist and the creator of Boss Brain, an online program designed to help children from 5-11 navigate their big emotions. Lyn explains what's happening for kids when things get out of hand and how we can help guide them through those tricky moments. This episode of Feed Play Love was made in partnership with Boss Brain. Visit lifematters.com.au/bossbrain for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to pregnancy and birth support is focussed on the mum-to-be. But what about dads? Rob Sturrock is the author of Man Raises Boy. He believes that we need to be more inclusive of dads from the very beginning in order to make parenthood a more equally shared experience. Rob talks about his own experience of pregnancy and birth, and the very small thing we can all do to make a big difference. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know the pain of telling our children over and over again to put on their shoes. Or brush their teeth. Or get ready for bed. But what if it's all about how we ask our children something that makes the difference? Gen Muir is a parenting educator at Connected Parenting. She talks us through some very straightforward steps to getting our kids to listen to us.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone knows someone who has strongly held beliefs about the COVID- 19 vaccinations. Many parents still haven't had their children vaccinated. But where did such deeply held doubts about vaccines come from? Dyani Lewis is a science journalist and author of a new book Unvaxxed, Trust, truth and the rise of vaccine outrage. Dyani's own relationship with her mother broke down due to the passions around vaccination. She explains what she discovered about where all the distrust has come from.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nine-year-old kids can be vastly different when it comes to where they are on the childhood scale. Some are still playing with toys while others are passionately learning all the Tik Tok dances. Vanessa Hamilton is the founder of Talking the Talk Healthy Sexuality Education. Her latest book is a novel that explores the issues around consent for tweens. Vanessa explains how you can have casual conversations about consent and why it's not always about sex. Vanessa's book is called Kit and Arlo Find a WaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About 50% of parents are not intending to get their children vaccinated against the flu this coming winter, even though children under five are amongst the most vulnerable when it comes to the flu. That's according to the most recent Royal Children's Hospital National Child Health Poll. Dr Anthea Rhodes is a paediatrician and Director of the Poll. Anthea explains why parents are hesitant to get their kids vaccinated and why we should overcome that hesitancy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allison Davies was working as a music therapist when she started to go through the process of getting her daughter assessed for autism. It was then she noticed that the boxes she was ticking for her daughter also applied to her. This led Allison on her own path to an autism diagnosis. Allison explains what the world looks like through her eyes, giving some insight to how some people experience on the spectrum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.