Working Mumma

Have you ever walked in the door after work and gone into overdrive? Extra cuddles, extra stories, saying yes to everything, because you feel like you need to make up for the hours you weren't there?
You're not alone. And according to family therapist Jenny Brown, it might be part of what's making parenting feel so hard.
Jenny has worked in family therapy and child mental health since the 1980s. Her new book, The Parenting Paradox, looks at why parents today have more information than ever but feel more anxious and overwhelmed. In this episode, she isn't offering a list of parenting hacks. Instead, she invites us to look at our own part in the patterns we fall into with our kids and our partners, and to take some of the pressure off.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why parenting feels so intense right now, and how it became a "project"
Why hearing other parents' stories can help more than expert advice
How working mum guilt can lead to over-parenting, and what that does to our kids' confidence
The difference between relating to our children and reacting to them
What to say when your child says "I don't want to go to daycare" (or school)
The over/under responsibility pattern in families and relationships, and how to share the load without taking over
How to spot a pattern that isn't working and start to change it
Why kids need both limits and connection, not a perfect parenting style

Connect with Jenny
Check out her new book The Parenting Paradox
Find out more Parent Hope Project

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Have you recently said to yourself "I used to be really good at this before I had kids"?
Returning to work after parental leave can bring a mix of emotions. You may have years of experience behind you, but suddenly you’re questioning yourself, worrying about how others perceive you, and questioning if you can still perform at the level you did before.
And often it’s not that you’ve lost your capability, your confidence has taken a hit.
In this episode of the Working Mumma Podcast, I chat with confidence and visibility expert Bec Sands about why women often hold themselves back at work, why confidence can feel particularly difficult after becoming a mum, and what you can actually do to rebuild it.
In this episode we chat about:
Returning to work after maternity leave when your confidence is already starting from zero
How Bec's IVF journey reshaped her relationship with confidence
Why "confidence comes from action," not the other way around
The truth about the 8-hour workday and debunking myths
Practical, low-time strategies for building visibility at work when you have none to spare
How to catch and reframe the limiting self-talk that's running the show
What self-efficacy actually means, and how to build it one hard thing at a time

Connect with Bec Sands
Instagram: @becsands
Website & book: cameheretocreate.com
LinkedIn: Bec Sands

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Are you dreading the morning you go back to work after parental leave more than you're letting yourself admit?
In this episode, Carina breaks down the four emotional waves that hit when you're returning to work after maternity leave. Because going back to work isn’t one single emotion, and it certainly isn’t a straight line.
If you're currently in the thick of pre-return anxiety, or you're back at work and still cycling through hard days, this one's for you.
Enjoyed this shorter episode? Send me a DM as I'd love your thoughts.

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You're back at your desk, but half your brain is still at daycare. You said yes to the meeting, forgot to eat lunch, and you're already dreading tomorrow's drop-off. If that's your version of returning to work after maternity leave, this episode is for you.
In this episode, Carina goes solo to unpack what it actually feels like to return to work after maternity leave — not just the logistics, but the identity shift, the mental load, and the quiet pressure to prove yourself all over again.
Drawing on her own two returns to work (10 months off with her first son, 13 months with her second) plus everything she's learned from guests on the show, this one's part personal story, part practical playbook.
If you're heading back to work soon, already back and wondering why it still feels hard, or supporting someone who is — this episode is for you.
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Have you ever come back from a holiday feeling like you need another holiday?
Or realised, only after you've stopped, just how exhausted you really were?
That's exactly what happened to Carina. After a busy period of balancing her corporate role, work travel, Working Mumma, two young boys and the mental load of running a household, Carina headed away for a week's holiday with her family.
Carina talks about:
The difference between taking time off and actually mentally detaching from work
What Carina noticed when her own brain finally started to quieten
The real cost of ignoring your exhaustion and the hidden dangers of running on empty
Practical strategies for practicing psychological detachment, even when you can’t take an extended break.
What chronic cortisol is doing to your brain, sleep and focus, and why it's a loop, not a one-off

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