Danielle Colley and Sean Szeps: Work family balance, lice and wins of 2019

Danielle Colley from My Good Life and Sean Szeps from Bringing Up Gaybies join presenter Shevonne Hunt for the last episode of The Parent Panel for 2019.

On this show they discuss:

• The pain points of juggling work and family life
• What they avoid doing at Christmas time
• How they have managed lice
• The parenting wins and fails of 2019

Listen to Danielle Colley and Sean Szeps on The Parent Panel:

Finding the balance between work and family

It’s a perennial struggle – how do you manage a balance between work and family life? This week in The Sydney Morning Herald, Wendy Tuohy highlighted several reports that came out in October this year – all illustrating the stressful impact of work on mothers.

Statistically, we know that women still carry most of the domestic burden, even when both partners work. But as more and more is expected of fathers it’s a question that every parent grapples with. 

What is (or has been) your pain point when it comes to managing work and family life? Has it ever worked for you? If it has, what’s your secret? 

View this post on Instagram

They will both kill me for posting this, but that’s because they are ridiculously modest, quiet achievers. This is Lyndall “The Russian” & Lauren “The Geologist”, my producers on #Evenings @abcinsydney You’re only as good as the people you work with in broadcast media, & I lucked in with these two gloriously talented women. I cannot thank them enough for the effort & enthusiasm they put into the show for three years. The three of us have had a ball working together. And I’ve learned a lot from both of them. Leaving Evenings was a very difficult decision because of this pair, & also because of the amazing listeners who tune in. I feel like I’m leaving my family. The intimacy of radio has blown me away. It simply can’t be replicated on TV. But I need to find a gig with hours that mean I can cook dinner & play the Quiz with my family brains trust from time to time. Thank you for the amazing messages this past week. Thank you to everyone who listened to the show and called and texted in too. I will miss my Evenings family but I know it’s in safe hands with Sarah MacDonald, who is a great chick & a fabulous broadcaster. Apologies that this is a tad belated but a bloody bushfire got in the way.

A post shared by chrisbath (@chrisbath) on Dec 8, 2019 at 4:49am PST

The scourge of lice

At some point in your child’s life, they will get lice. And if you’re unlucky, you will too. Darren Levin wrote about it (Paywall) this week for Rendezview.

He said, “I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried to eradicate head lice before, but they’re about as stubbornly difficult to kill as that evil robot cop from Terminator 2.” Which is totally true. 

Have your kids had lice? How have you tackled it? Have you ever had to deal with lice as a kid? Has the technique changed? 

What don’t you do at Christmas

Holly Wainwright from Mamamia (and regular Parent Panel guest) has started writing lists about what she doesn’t do. It’s her way of sticking her finger up at the idea of ‘perfect parenting’. She’s written one for Christmas. On that list, she includes: I Don’t… finish my Christmas shopping by December 1. I Don’t… buy different wrapping paper for “Santa presents”. I Don’t… cook complicated Christmas lunch. I Don’t… do all the washing up.”

What are your “I don’ts” this Christmas?

View this post on Instagram

This year I wrote my ‘I Don’t’ list and a whole lot of women said ‘Nah, neither do I…’ The idea is to ditch the never-ending ‘To Do’ list and be honest about what we all let slide. I’ve written a Christmas version, on @mamamiaaus home page now, because this time of year is one giant list. Sample: ‘I Don’t… put myself at the end of the list of people who deserve to enjoy a holiday.’ And nor should you. Please tell me yours, all the I Don’ts have been one of the bloody delights of the year. 💪🌲

A post shared by Holly Wainwright (@wainwrightholly) on Dec 16, 2019 at 11:58am PST

The parenting wins and fails of 2019

Given this is the last The Parent Panel for 2019, looking back over the year … was it a good one? Are you happy to start fresh in 2020? What were your main parenting wins and fails in 2019? Any goals for 2020? 

GUESTS

Danielle Colley –  on Instagram @your.good.life or at yourgoodlife.com.au

Sean Szeps– is @seanszeps on Instagram and bringingupgaybies.com

PRODUCER & HOST

Shevonne Hunt – @shevonnehunt

Listen to The Parent Panel on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. Be sure to subscribe and you’ll never miss an episode!