Sounds great, right?

Sarah’s most popular episodes are:

S1E1: Getting Past Perfect

S3E1: Personal Boundaries

and S3E3: Comparison

I personally also enjoyed S3E2: Anxiety, S3E7: Overthinking and S3E8: Self-confidence. Oh wait, it’s no surprise I did, as they’re all topics that are quite close to my heart! So happy listening! And happy homework!

The Mindful Parenting in a Messy World podcast, with Michelle Gale

Mum of 2 boys Michelle Gale is also the author of the book Mindful Parenting in a Messy World, Living with Presence and Parenting with Purpose. I came across Michelle’s podcast following her interview on Lisa York’s show, the SuperMum podcast (see episode 095). Michelle was also a guest on The Working Parent Resource podcast with Sarah Argenal (see episode 039). So I had to go and check her show out!

I asked Michelle to tell us a bit more about her podcast and how it came about, and this is what she shared: “The Mindful Parenting in a Messy World podcast is for parents who long to be meaningfully connected to themselves and their children, even as the demands and complexities of modern life are accelerated.

My intention is to share a collection of supportive conversations, meditations, and nuggets of practical wisdom to help you embrace the parenting journey as your greatest potential for growth.”

Michelle recommends these episodes:

Stay Sane During Pregnancy And Your Child’s First Year

Sibling Struggles, Stressors, and Solutions

And The Masks We Live In.

Personally, I’d like also to recommend this episode: Loving Kindness for Parents: A Conversation with Sharon Salzberg. If you’re a fan of Sharon Salzberg’s work and wisdom, you’ll absolutely love this episode! I was lucky enough to had the pleasure to watch Sharon Salzberg in a keynote speech back in June at The Mindful Living Show in London, and it was really moving.

The School Success Formula podcast, with Lucy Parsons 

I had the pleasure to meet Academic Coach Lucy Parsons from Life More Extraordinary in person, following an interview I published earlier this year, where I asked Lucy about her daily habits and mindfulness practice. So I’m probably a little biased when I tell you have to subscribe to her show, The School Success Formula podcast!

In Lucy’s words: “I started the podcast because I realised that, while there were loads of blogs, podcasts and books out there for parents of younger children, I found there was very little to serve the parents of teenagers.

The podcast brings in experts for interviews from all areas that impact teenagers’ education, from special educational needs to mental health and study skills, as well as featuring regular solo episodes from me.”

If you’re new to the podcast, Lucy recommends these episodes: 

How to manage your teens’ behaviour with Anne Goldsmith.

How to nurture grit in your teen with Caren Baruch-Feldman.

Successfully stepping up to the sixth form with Martin Griffin.

Although I don’t have teenagers yet, I find the parenting advice in Lucy’s show very useful, and I particularly enjoyed episodes [18] How to support a child with Asperger’s Syndrome with Zoe Short, [21] How to set meaningful goals with your children with Shola Alabi, and [24] How to get the most out of parents’ evenings.

As an added bonus, here’s my own interview with Zoe Short – a professional declutterer and organiser, who has also inspired me to create my own working space at home and helped me go through my paperwork!

The Slow Home podcast, with Brooke McAlary and Ben McAlary

This show was recommended to me by my friend and UK-based, very talented photographer Clare Murthy. And I’m super grateful to Clare for signposting this podcast to me, as the themes of slow and intentional living have been quite high up on my personal (and blogging). It’s no coincidence that I started this blog with an invitation to slow down (*cringes at the very first post published on this blog!*) Since then, I’ve also shared my tips on slowing life down, and on ‘quitting’ distracted living in favour of a more intentional life.

But enough about me! Brooke and Ben McAlary have recently (October 2017) celebrated their 200th podcast episode, and it’s a really good one to tune into if you’re just starting out listening to this show. In it, they talk about something that really resonates with me. And that’s the fact that pressure, deadlines, and stress are often self-imposed. We create this rushed life for ourselves, don’t we? The idea of perfectionism comes to mind again as I write this, as it’s something I’ve been thinking about myself.

I also enjoyed some of their more recent episodes on unplugging from social media. And some more on being intentional in the time we spend online and with family over the holidays. In particular, I’d recommend episodes:

206 Slow Living and Social Media: Facebook

208 The Age of Distraction and what to do about it

214 Slow Holidays: Presence Over Presents

Brooke McAlary is also the author of Destination Simple – Everyday Rituals for a Slower Life, a book that is on my to-read list!

The SuperMum podcast, with Lisa York

Lucy Parson from The School Success Formula podcast recommended The SuperMum Podcast with Lisa York to me a few months ago, and I’ve been hooked on the show ever since!I asked Lisa to share a few words about her podcast, and this is what she told me.

“The SuperMum Podcast redefines the traditional and unattainable perception of what it means to be a perfect mother. The one that leaves you feeling guilty, overwhelmed and like you’re never quite good enough.

I interview mums ‘in the trenches’ who share their expertise, knowledge or simply an inspiring story. The tell-it-like-it-is style doesn’t mask the incredible challenges that mums face. But it always leaves you with a positive takeaway for what you can do to make your journey through motherhood more fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable.

I am raw and honest about my own journey of having four kids in less than 5 years; having a child with leukaemia, and another with autism; and how I manage the military-wife life of constantly moving and often doing parenthood single-handedly. The SuperMum Podcast leaves you feeling inspired, ready for action and that you’re not alone in motherhood.”

And that, it absolutely does!

Lisa’s most popular episodes are:

Episode 19: Powerful Tactics to Eliminate Mum Stress with Kate Snowise.

Episode 45: How to Be Happy as You Muddle Through Motherhood with Olivia Horne, who I actually know in person (yes, it’s such a small world!) Olivia is fab, and this truly is a fantastic episode!

And episode 75: From a Humble Blog to a Thriving Family Empire with Abby Lawson.

My absolute favourite episode has to be number 100: Celebrating 100 Episodes of SuperMum where Lisa herself is the one being interviewed. This episode made me cry, laugh, and shout “YES!” in the car. On my own. In agreement, of course.

I also loved episode 99 – Motherhood Life Lessons from an Empty Nester with Jodi Silverman. Just don’t listen to it on a Saturday night, when the children are in bed.

The Working Parent Resource podcast with Sarah Argenal

And last but not least, The Working Parent Resource podcast with Sarah Argenal was recommended to me by Lisa York from The SuperMum Podcast. The first episode I listened to is episode 38 How to Manage Your Stress and Anxiety as a Working Parent with Dr. Ilyse Dobrow Dimarco. And I can’t even begin to tell you how much I LOVED it! It talks about topics that are so close to my heart, including what I call ‘the mental load‘ (referred to as the cognitive load in this episode).

Sarah and Ilyse talk about the person in the family who “holds ‘the list of lists'”. And about how it’s important to be able to let go of that! It touches on topics like wanting to be in control and finding it hard to delegate, as well as being able to recognise what’s ‘normal’ and part of our busy, everyday lives as (working) parents vs something that indicates we may want to find some sort of support to make sure our mental health doesn’t suffer. Honestly, if you only have time to listen to one episode of this show today, make it this one!

I also loved episode 37 Helping Your Kids Manage Technology with Emily Jameson, Sarah’s sister and mum-of-4. It talks about children having smartphones, boundaries, and about much needed ‘grown-up conversations’ to have with our children. After all, technology is definitely something that we, as parents, can’t hide our heads in the sand about!

Head over to Sarah’s website The Working Parent Resource to read more fantastic stuff about being a working parent in today’s society.

So this completes my list. I’d love to know if you already listen to these shows. Or do you have more that you’d like to recommend? 

Come and tell us over on Instagram – get involved in the conversation!