The Parent Hood

Our children are pioneers, the first children having to grow up navigating the complicated, perfection obsessed and often murky world of social media. Marina and Dr Chiara talk to child psychotherapist Lia Younes about the impact social media is having on our children and whether there's anything we parents can do to help them use it for good rather than bad.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Parenting alone is a completely different experience to doing it as a couple, for one you’re a lot more isolated. Marina talks to Zoe Desmond, solo mother and founder of the Frolo App that puts single parents in touch with each other about the highs and lows of life as a solo parent and how the community she has established has allowed her to thrive.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anyone else feel like Christmas cripples us financially, ends up being really stressful all the presents turn your children into spoilt brats? As December draws closer Marina talks to Kristina Salcenu about what we can do to make Christmas less of a burden, more thoughtful and meaningful, less ‘me-centred’ and more community focussed. Here are some of the ideas Kristina mentioned in the podcast about how you can help charities over the Christmas Period.   Instead of your usual advent calendar, go to Advent of Change, where the amount you pay is donated to different charities and each time you open a window you learn about where your donation has gone. They produce advent calendars for children, adults as well as year calendars where every month you can learn about a new charity and some ideas to make your life richer. Adventofchange.co.uk   For a more meaningful Christmas this year, why not forgo the endless secret santa £5 novelty gifts that we all end up buying and buy a gift for someone who really needs it instead? 52 Lives set up wishlists every Christmas so our supporters can buy gifts for 1000 people who otherwise wouldn’t receive anything!   Volunteer with Blue Cross this festive period! Spend some time sitting calmly with the cats and kittens in our care..you can even read to them to give them some company. It's also the perfect opportunity for you to have some peace and calm away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas   Why not give back to nature for a more meaningful Christmas? Take a family walk, perhaps even complete a nature hunt and collect leaves! Being outdoors has a positive effect on everyone's well being. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s BeeWalk which runs from March – October is a great way to get outdoors looking for bumblebees and enjoying what nature has to offer.   Crisis at Christmas is a unique volunteer effort that provides hope and immediate help for homeless people at a critical time of year, when thousands face the prospect of spending Christmas alone or in dangerous conditions on the streets. In December 2019 you can make a real difference to people experiencing homelessness by joining our army of volunteers, and providing our guests with companionship, safety, 3 hot meals a day and advice to help them get back on their feet. Make your Christmas meaningful this year by giving the gift of hope   Why not suggest that instead of giving traditional Secret Santa gifts in your place of work that you each give the gift of a donation to the Great Ormond Street Hospital play team. Your donation will help to enterntain the children staying in hospital over the Christmas period.   Use Amazon smile for your online shopping. A proportion of your spend is donated to charity - including Just One Ocean :)   Avoid fast fashion. Christmas jumpers are fun but often only worn a handful of times, so check out your local charity shop instead of buying something new.   The festive period isn't always one of happiness and joy and for many homeless people it can be an incredibly lonely time. Why not acknowledge a rough sleeper the next time you're passing and say good morning or just give a smile? Or offer a comforting hot drink or food if you're popping into a shop or cafe.   For half a million older people, Christmas isn’t a time to look forward to. This year, as part of their 'Community Christmas’ campaign, Re-engage will be listing public events from 18th-31st December and actively matching over-75s with events on Christmas day. For a more meaningful Christmas this year, you can use their website to volunteer your time at local events or refer lonely, older people who may ordinarily be spending the season alone   The Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity are asking their supporters this year to send a Christmas message of support to seriously ill children and their families for our Christmas appeal. Tey will be making paper chains with these messages to...

Divorce or separation is a challenging time, made even harder by the fact that your job as parent has never been more important. Marina talks to psychotherapist Chris Mills about the challenges parents face doing this job when they are still parents but no longer together and what they need to think about to create stable, happy homes for their children.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Life is a series of changes; from being born to childhood, through adolescence. But when changes in our lives are most evident is when we become parents. Marina talks to psychologist Fran Smith about what we can do to adjust to these changes and thrive as a parent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As Extinction Rebellion disrupt London life in the quest for bringing attention to climate change Marina talks to teacher and educational speaker Emma Gleadhill about children whose response is to catastrophize and what, we their parents, can do to help them manage and understand this anxiety  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are proud that from the beginning we've been champions of conversations around baby loss. While people are working on prevention, we must also learn what we as a society can do to help those families whose babies die, at whatever stage. Having experienced stillbirth herself, Marina chats to bereavement counsellor Jenni Thomas and Jen Reid, whose son died aged three months from SIDS about what friends and family can do to support parents through these difficult times.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

That positive pregnancy test is often riddled with mixed emotions within the spectrum of sheer joy and utter fear And then there's the nagging feeling that you might not be doing what you're supposed to. Marina talks to Dr Chiara Hunt about what to do when you're newly pregnant, what to do, what to avoid and what to expect.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We trust schools to educate our children and while they take care of the academics, it's us who bear the responsibility of giving our children real life skills. Marina's guest this week is Suzy Glaskie, a health coach, entrepreneur and mother of three who reflects on her experiences both as an employer and mother and discusses what we can be doing as parents to teach our children life lessons that will give them a head start.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When it comes to what we want our children to be, happy is at the top of the list. But in a world in which mental health illness seems to be becoming more prevalent, is there anything we can be doing to make our children and ourselves happier? Marina talks to journalist and author, Helen Russel, about what she's learnt from exploring what different cultures do to make them happy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How we imagine parenting is rarely what it turns out to be; it's harder than we anticipate and a lot of us feel disapointed that we haven't done well enough. But what is it that really matters? Marina talks to Clinical Psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin and author Tanith Carey about what we really need to focus on and what we should let go of.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marina talks to parenting expert Alexa Taylor about how teaching children how to behave and how to listen helps them understand empathy and is the kindest way to parent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With well publicised Measles outbreaks all over the world, Marina talks to Dr Chiara about what exactly Measles is, when you or your child might be at risk and what you can do to protect your family.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've all been told that we need to check our breasts, but what exactly are we checking for? Marina talks to Helen Addis, founder of the Change And Check campaign about what the signs are that things aren't right and how exactly to check your breasts.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Parents are lost when a baby dies, but what about when it's even more complicated, when one twin dies and the other survives. Marina talks to Kitty Wengraf and Katie Schiff about the conflict of grief and joy and how they are bringing up their daughters without their twins.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.