If public representations of fatherhood on Father’s Day are to be believed, almost everyone has an idyllic father-child relationship. Between overly effusive social media declarations of love and connection, Father’s Day school events, restaurant brunches and the plethora of cards and personalised mementos available for purchase, the expectations of this day devoted to honouring dads…
Not many would think motherhood is a good time to be selfish, but I have learned that selfishness is, in fact, essential to being a good mom. If I had heard this advice before I had children, and even a year or two in, I would have rolled my eyes and dismissed the statement as…
When I was a mom of one, I nailed motherhood. I was calm and patient; my child was well-dressed; the car was pristine; the chores were completed; and there was very little shouting. But as a mom of two, I just can’t parent to the same standards. Everything is messier, louder, more rushed, less organized,…
As a perimenopausal mum of two toddlers, there are a lot of moods to manage in my house. Let’s just say my children aren’t the only ones losing it over things as trivial as banana-related offences: the banana was cut, wasn’t cut, peeled without permission, is too sticky or “broken.” Having had my children at…
Parenting is often described as the hardest job in the world. But for the more than 6.5 million mums in Australia, the challenge of parenting is, will be, or has been heightened by perimenopause. With more women giving birth later in life and a study in the US suggesting 40 per cent of 36- to…
My partner asked me the other night if I love his son. The question stung, both because he felt he needed to ask, and also because I understood why he did.