Leonie Akhidenor is property developer, a relationship coach and the host of the Parenthood Podcast, which was a finalist in the 2024 Australian Podcast Awards. Leonie is also a mother to two young boys and although she spends her time interviewing couples about their parenting experiences, she's not one to shy away from sharing her own, either.

In this episode, Leonie delved into her own experiences with mental health, from anxiety to pre-natal depression and how she managed to move herself through some of those difficult days.

We talked about the impact that family dynamics and background can have on our own parenting, and Leonie shared how the vast contrast between her father's upbringing in a village in Africa to her children's experience of relative privilege, growing up in Australia, informs her own choices in parenthood.

There is so much in this episode, from taming that achiever mindset, the many shifts in identity as a parent and ways to balance our own needs and mental health with the demands of parenting.

You can find Leonie on socials at @parenthoodpod and you can listen to the podcast wherever you get your pods.

You'll notice that we've had a little identity change over here at The Curious Life, and you can find me on socials now at @jana.firestone. Same page, new handle!

If you enjoyed this ep, please leave us a rating and review on iTunes and Spotify.

Thank you as always to the team - Sam Talbot our brilliant sound engineer and Julie Reynolds from @audiolemonade. www.audiolemonade.com

Dr Billy Garvey is a renowned developmental paediatrician and one of the hosts of the brilliant ⁠⁠ Pop Culture Parenting⁠⁠ podcast. His new book Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child's Mental Health is out now.

If you have kids or work with young people in any capacity - THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ.

Have you ever wondered how we build self-esteem in kids? Or what the long-term ramifications of shame might be? Do you know where anxiety comes from and how early it can start? Did you know that there is one thing you need to do before you can help improve your child’s mental health?

In this episode, we drilled down into all of these questions – and so much more – and thanks to Billy’s invaluable insight and professional expertise, you will finish this episode with evidence-based answers and strategies that you can start implementing immediately.

Billy is passionate about creating accessible resources for all families, to ensure better outcomes for our children and young people. To learn more, head to Guiding Growing Minds, a social enterprise founded by Billy, dedicated to changing the future of our kids.

You can access all of the ⁠Pop Culture Parenting⁠ videos and podcast content (for free!) on ⁠Youtube here.⁠

You can find Billy on socials at ⁠@drbillygarvey⁠ and at ⁠@popcultureparenting⁠

To connect with Jana, head to ⁠@thecuriouslifepodcast⁠ or send an email via ⁠thecuriouslifepodcast@gmail.com⁠.

Thank you to The Curious Life Team – Sam Talbot for his super speedy audio engineering, and to Julie Reynolds of ⁠Audio Lemonade⁠ for her wonders with VO!

Please leave us a rating and review on iTunes so that this episode and the show can be found by new listeners too.

Dr Nick Fuller is a leading obesity researcher and internationally recognised health expert, who is committed to helping families get the best start in life. He joins us for the second time to talk about his new book, Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids: Six Steps to Total Family Wellness.

In this chat, Dr Nick shares exactly how we can transform our habits and behaviours, to give our kids (and ourselves) the gift of good health and longevity. Is there any greater gift?

And it's amazingly simple, really! No fads here, just clinical evidence that teaches us what our bodies need, with a clear guide to the changes we can implement from today, how to feed our fussy kids and the importance of the messaging we give to our kids around movement and health.

To find out more, go straight to the source for resources, recipes and cooking demonstrations for your own family, by heading to Feeding Fussy Kids.

There is more on Youtube at: @FeedingFussyKidsbyDrNickFuller

And to learn more about Dr Nick's work and research in the adult realm, head to Interval Weight Loss.

You can connect with Dr Nick on socials at @intervalweightloss

Come and say hello at @thecuriouslifepodcast or send us an email at thecuriouslifepodcast@gmail.com

A big thank you to Sam Talbot for jumping in so expertly on the audio engineering tools! And as always a big thanks to our lovely Julie Reynolds of Audio Lemonade.