Podcasts for Parents

 Hey friends,

I feel like I have to share some of these podcasts I've been listening to over the past 21 months (YES, my little guy is now 21 months!  HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? I feel like I just gave birth to him, and now he is growing up and our family has started a brand new routine in the past few months, and I am trying to balance teaching and parenting and all the other things. It's been a whirlwind, although I will not lie, there have been some long weeks, don't be fooled. 

My hope is that someone reading this will find a new podcast and/or their social pages that they can get some tidbits of truth for their lives. I've been in a space where I'm realizing that all the ways that I've been feeling broken for probably the past 3+ years (brokenness internally, in relationship, as a mom) has been significantly calmed by listening to the authenticity of others who have gone through similar experiences. Motherhood has really forced me to be honest, not only with myself as I look inward but with others too, and in my relationship with God. As a new mom, I felt drained (obv) and always got too tired to read books, or could not hold both the book and the baby AND turn the pages! Eventually reading got easier, but podcast have been so lovely, free, and there is such a wide variety of topics. And I found it nice to listen to one during naps, early mornings, while doing night feeds (which totally helped me stay awake), etc. Also, motherhood can be isolating! Although I was lucky that my son was born in 2019 and therefore I was able to meet and make friends with other moms who were off at the same time. 2020 mamas, you are incredibly strong and I feel for you being even more isolated because of covid. Podcasts did help me to feel like I was seen and heard by other moms or professionals, or even story tellers during those months of isolation, and today.

I started listening to podcasts like the Moth, CBC's Someone Knows Something, Alone: A Love Story, Early Childhood Research Podcast and Love Me (all suggested to me by a wonderful friend and colleague) when I had an hour commute to work and fell in love! So you should check those out - but today, I want to share some podcasts that have made a positive impact (whether big or small) on me as a new mom (I guess I'm not a new mom anymore but sometimes it still feels that way)!

Happy As a Mother Podcast (@_happyasamother)

I cannot recommend this podcast enough. Erica is a Canadian mom therapist, runs a super informative instagram page and does a bunch of other amazing things to help moms navigate...life! Her graphics that she posts on her instragram page have honestly made me feel normal. It is normal to have a range of emotions, feel guilty for feeling some of those emotions, and everyone struggles in some way. On the podcast, her guests talk about a wide range of topics from a variety of perspectives from those struggling with infertility and loss to boundary setting and managing perfectionism. I particularly love Episode 48: The Secret to a Secure Bond with New York Times Best Seller, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson. After listening, I began listening to Dr. Tina Payne Bryson's book called No Drama Discipline. Still going through the book but so far, it has helped me not only as a mom but as an educator as well. Other episodes that I WISH I had listened to a year ago are Episode 38 Understanding Scary and Intrusive Throughts with Dr. Cassidy Freitas and Episode 31: Unpacking Mindfulness with Psychologist Terra Larock. Definitely give it a listen!

Hello My Tribe (@hellomytribe)

Although they have not put out any new podcasts in the last year, the older episodes are certainly worth a listen. The story of Hello My Tribe is inspiring and their Instagram page is populated with supportive, encouraging and real statements about parenthood. My favourite episodes so far are Episode 23: Learn: Looking beyond PPD to the full spectrum of Perinatal Mood Disorders and Replay: Molly Millwood explains why our marriages feel strained after kids.

Unruffled

Janet Landsbury is a well known author and promotes respectful parenting. I first heard of her from our friends and neighbours and am loving what she has to say! In the podcast, she takes real life scenarios or issues that folks write to her about and goes through how parents can respond to their child's perplexing behaviour. She also sometimes has guests on to speak about a topic.  I haven't listened to it yet, but I notice that her newest episode is about Pandemic Parenting - Will the kids be okay socially? Totally a question I have antagonized about. My son goes to a small home day care which I love, but I do worry that I never get to see him interact with other children because I'm not there and model and teach him in that social context instead of at home when it is just me and him playing. A couple of my favourite episodes are from July 1, 2020 - How to Make No Mean No and April 20, 2020 Raising Emotional Intelligence and Resilience for a Meaningful Life.

Mama Said

This podcast is honestly just fun. I'm not interested in probably half of the topics that they speak about but of the ones that I have listened to, I have enjoyed. Nuggets of goodness for sure. I find it difficult to relate to some of what the two hosts speak about, not because I am Canadian and they are not, but because there seems to be quite a difference in our socio-economic status. One of my favourite episodes is from December 9, 2020 called Sharing the Load with Jordan Harbinger. The Speech Sisters, who, I don't know about you, but are ALL over my Instagram and Facebook ads, were guests on July 22, 2020 which was also a really informative episode for me. 

These next podcast recommendations are more Christ centered. Totally relevent in many ways for all parents though!

Cheeky Mama

I found these ladies on Instagram (I'm sensing a theme...do I spend too much time on Insta?!) and they are hilarious! Unfortunately they have not put out any new episodes since the beginning of the pandemic, BUT they are busy moms so feeling like this change may have been because of the shift to homeschooling. I found this podcast helpful as C has grown and was in the beginning of the toddler stage. Episodes I found particularly lovely are Episode 22: Contentment in Motherhood and Episode 26: Keeping Your Home - and Your Sanity - in the Toddler Years. They also talk a lot about goal setting in various areas of life throughout a few different episodes which I found helpful.

Risen Motherhood (@risenmotherhood)

These ladies are wonderful! I'm sure have heard of them. They have a large social media following, a new book, and the podcast...and I'm sure lots of other exciting ventures happening. I have enjoyed their inspiration and Godly encouragement. I'm looking forward to reading their book some day! They have recently started a new way of doing the podcast using miniseries. The current one on Fear has been quite eye opening. My two favourite episodes from 2020 are 172. You Don't Have to Be Scared and 176. I Wouldn't Do It That Way. Would love to discuss their work with you sometime!

Simple on Purpose (@simpleonpurpose.ca)

Shawna is awesome. I love her podcast because she is down to earth, authentic, and her episodes are short so they are easy to listen to on a quick drive or while you're cleaning up the kitchen or folding laundry. I love that she shares her heart and by doing so, encourages others. I have slowly been making my way through her recent podcast series on the enneagram in motherhood. So informative and love that she brings in other moms to speak about their experiences. Please check her out on instagram and take a listen to the podcast!

Hope you can get a nugget or two of encouragement from listening to one or  two of these podcasts! Thanks for reading.

Sloane