It’s Friday, but Leah is still unwell, so we’re revisiting one of our most popular #Advice Needed episodes to ensure you get your weekly Mum Club fix. This throwback covers how to know if you want another child (with some fun, non-certified tests), the right age for kids to start helping with chores, and whether playing with Barbie is a bad influence.
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Hello, and welcome to mum Club. We are not your regular Mother's group. I'm M Blatchford and I am once again by myself today because Yaya is still sick.
What a poor sausage produced.
Nina is here with me, but we've decided we're going to wait for Leah to come back before we kick off our next Advice Needed episode because we've got some really juicy questions. I know that she'll want to weigh in on them, so in the meantime, please enjoy one of our favorite favorite Advice Needed episodes that we've ever done, and we will be back in your ears next week.
All right, let's jump into some questions that have already been sent through.
Let's do it. Hi, yahya and am hello.
I'm wondering how you know when you're done having babies. My partner and I have two girls. One is seven and the other is four. Part of me is content with what we have now, but part of me thinks about the what ifs. So how did you guys know when you were done?
I had three? That's my FINALI are we done?
I have a very good experiment you can do.
Actually, you're going to find somebody whether they have a newborn or as long as they're before the age of one or two. Okay, no, not too newborn or one year old? Find someone right, then you're going to just have a little play with these kids, right, and then see if you're okay with giving them back to their parents or like you might find.
You're talking about children, you know, right, find.
A random chose, then you should definitely give them back.
Do you like to come with me for a second, I have mollies, Yes, no, someone you know.
So I did this with my brother, right. So he's got three kids, two twins, and I knew I was done when I picked them up as little babies, and then they started crying, and I was like, okay, go to your mom. I could not palm them off quick enough. And I think when you get to that moment, you know, yeah, I'm done.
Yeah, but that's I feel that's a risky maneuver. What if you hold a little bubba who's just not crying.
Then you're not done. That answers your question. Then you're not.
There are trick babies, Yeah, there are trick babies.
Yeah, all right, so find yourself multiple How am I going to eat several babies?
The nearest daycare center, say, excuse me.
Can I just pop in? Do you have any babies that are really overtired? Because that would be idea or really hungry? Okay, well maybe so I like it. I think that's I think that's a good place to start.
I also asked myself realistically, are you okay with canceling the next five years of your life? And my kids were at the age where I didn't have to participate at the park anymore.
A glorious time to when you hit that point.
And then when I thought about it, I thought, Okay, if I introduced a baby here, it's going to be that.
Don't put it in.
Your mouth, don't do that.
No, no, come here.
Oh no, this park's not gated, and I'm going to be worrying about the baby running off.
I don't want to have to push you on the swings anymore. Sorry, kids.
And then when I knew that I didn't want to cancel the rest of my life out, then I was not the rest of my life the next five years out. I was like, no, I want to keep going with this ride. I was hoping to go to Europe. Can I tell you I ain't going nowhere?
You can go to the supermarket with your husband.
I can go to the supermarket, leave at home, can leave my kids at home. Well I'm not doing that anymore, but yes, that's my that's my doing.
It means interrupt. I will say I always.
Wanted three kids. I'm very lucky to have been able to have three kids, three girls. It's like my dream family. I'm so so, so so happy.
It's so nice in saying that, let's go to her place at five o'clock, see if she's still so so so happy, you know, in saying.
That a lot of my friends have had two and they are now moving on into Yaya territory where they are not dealing with the stuff that I'm doing.
And they'd be like, let's you feel left behind.
I don't know, but like let's go for lunch here. I'm like, I can't. We've got naps, Like I got to go home do the nap or whatever.
Or they'll be like, let's you know, just things like that, and there it is. It really is, as Yaya said, the next three three to four years of your life on hold. So if that's okay with you, as I was, I was more than happy to do that.
But it is people do start to like move to the next stage, and you're still like, like, you know when you all used to go to the park together and you're like, who has wipes? And everyone's like I do, And then I'm like who has wipes?
Everyriene's like you and I was like, oh, okay, see me.
Yeah yeah.
But I will also say, if it's financially within your reach, I don't think you ever go oh good. I regret having little Johnny, like it's it's just a lot as well.
I think the chaotic number is the two and then the third is just like, yeah, okay, it's chaos, but I know how to do this.
I know how to do multiples by now.
Yeah, and also I've got some much to say. Finally, your youngest is four. That is like you're almost, You're almost there, You're.
Almost, You're almost in the sweet spot.
Save yourself.
Cycling back to the newborn stage might be a shock the system, but in your heart, you've still got a basinet in the attic and all those onesies tucked away and everything.
Then maybe go for it.
Yeah what about a cat?
A cat?
Yeah, I will say three cats. I have three too many, don't get three cats.
Two cats?
Is great?
Do that beautiful? All right?
Question two? Okay, ladies, I need help sorting out the household chores. My husband thinks that our kids are too little to help out. They are eight and five, but I reckon it's time to put them to work and get them pitching in around the house. How do you manage chores at home? I taught my kids how to make their bed by the time they were in kindergarten.
Wow.
And so they make their beds and so I started that chaw that early. They don't really do chores apart from like maybe feed the rabbits, feed the dog, replenish water for the animals. Sometimes I might get them to do a quick little vacuum, but like, they don't do a huge clean of the house. And they're eleven and nine, so I haven't really given them.
Chores, chores, just helping helping hand.
Do you do pocket money?
No?
Okay no.
But if I take them to Kmart and I say to them, I will buy you something, I will buy them something within reason.
Obviously it's not going to be a huge lego for one hundred bucks.
But they also get money randomly from their grandparents like you just have to visit a grandparent and they get fifty bucks.
Like, way give it to me.
We got electricity to pay, so they don't.
Need pocket money from me because I don't got none.
So my eldest is seven.
Yeah, and look, no, they don't really do any chores yet, if I'm honest, do.
They make their beds? Do you make your bed?
I don't even make my own bed.
No, I make my bed and we do do we do what my husband calls clean up a clock, which will stop everything and everyone will have like jobs to do within it, but we're.
All doing It's chicken.
Do you see some?
And then we all put on I made the curtains.
So what kind of jobs do they do in clean up a clock? I love that.
I was just like, let's tell your pay. Yeah.
But what I'm trying to say is it's not like on Fridays, Like it's not like it's just more like we'll be like, right, open app a clock, let's go.
And then we'll all it'll be all hands on deck.
I really mean, now my daughter unload a dishwasher, like every day.
Do you have to wait to stop unloading the dishsher?
Yeah, that's that's my most hated job.
To the point now when my mom comes over and she says, the dishwasher like kneading empty, and she's like, I'll do it because she knows how much I hated it when oh it's horrible, but also like I like, I would give it to my kids to offload that, but my plates are up high, and that means they're gonna have to jump up on the bench and I don't want to have to buy more crockery.
You know what's a good one?
Which I get the kids involved sometimes with matching socks.
Oh yeah, that's fun.
Yeah, and just be like and because they can do it in front of the TV as well, and it's be like, here's a bunch of sock.
They don't even have to do the thing whether you scroll them up. I might just find a matching sock and put them all together. And I come and yeah later, yeah you know what I mean.
I love that. Yeah, Yeah, that's a good that's a good one. I like that. Okay, well it sounds like.
From from this little basically probably they're too young, but you can get them started on maybe some simple things.
She's say, how make it fun? Five and eight.
Yeah, you can give him little little things, but not massive. If you've got some animals, that's a good place to start.
Give clean up a clock ago and make it fun.
Yeah, beautiful, Good on you.
Okay, back at it.
Hello.
My husband works full time. I work part time, and I do most of the day to day running of the house. When my husband gets home from work, he goes straight to the bathroom and he stays there for most an hour. I told him either needs to see a doctor or he's just sitting in there to avoid his family. He says it's normal and that all men have long bathroom sessions. What do you.
Guys think, I mean straight like he has he been holding onto that all day?
He just needs to go and poop for that long.
Who's no one's pooping for an hour?
No, it doesn't take you that long, guys, Come, it does not. You know, I know you're doing it. You've done your business and you're just sitting there. If you've got a newspaper or an iPad and you're scrolling your phone, and make him give you.
His phone before he goes into the bathroom. You watch how quickly when he's reading the bottle of the back of a panteene bottle.
See how long it takes him?
But do you reckon?
Like we got home from work. I don't do the bathroom for an hour, but I do walk in and just be like, mum's lying down now. No one talks to me.
Like, yeah, I do fifteen minutes.
Yeah, Like everyone's entitled to a bit of a loane time. Maybe maybe this listen is just not giving him. Maybe she's just like he walks over the door and she's like, hey children.
Yeah.
I was like that when I had the kids that they were really little and leave. I would come and just as soon as Jerry would come in the door, I wouldn't give the kids to him, but I'd be like, okay, so this and this happened, this and this, and then then I'd just be like and then I remember one day he just stopped and he goes, Okay, I get it. You haven't seen anyone all day. Just need a minute before you just start. You're excited chat And I.
Was like, well, yes, but I mean like unless he works.
From home or whatever, he's had his commute, No to hang on, let me finish.
She spends like two hours on the train and she still needs a minute.
And I agree that he needs some downtime for sure, but that is bed bath. I don't know how old your kids are, but that is dinner, bed bath.
As soon as.
Dad comes home. That's like, go, go go.
Luke gets home at like seven pm.
Oh that's late.
Yeah, so that's like I expect him to help me the minute because I've already done dinner. Yeah yeah, I'm normally the bath is pouring, and then I've started making our dinner because I'm a sucker and make eight thousand meals per evening. So yeah, I totally expect him to time.
This guy's coming home, chuck.
His laptop down and like go straight to help him with bath, and then put the kids to bed.
And then I'd be like, do you need to Like.
I don't know, poor guy. Yeah, also, don't even catch it.
Do not ever ever say to anyone that a commute is like decompression time for me. I just sit there the whole commute.
I travel an.
Hour to work each way, and I just sit there the whole time, not decompressing, just going like, oh my god, this is the freaking, trudging, mundane hell of my life. But if he's gone I'm so depressed, and I'm like, am I then you get yeah, then I decompress like I'm not.
I'm not like on the train just living it.
Up, but I know. But like he's got but he's in there scrolling right. Let's be real. A commute is opportune time to scroll.
How do you think that conversation is going to go? Okay, before you poop, give me your phone. That's not going to go down well to it's actually, in hindsight, I'm going to have an argument.
If that was the other way around, I'd be out.
I would just say, hey, like, okay, I get it, you need to go to the bathroom or whatever you're doing, but like, do you think you can make it a bit shorter?
Yeah, I need help? Or did you start yelling like me help?
You probably don't need an hour of decompression. Maybe just go like, hey, can we try like halving that at least?
Yes? Yeah?
Or if you really need some alone time, I'm happy for you to go into the bedroom. You don't need to hide out in the stinky toilet.
Or if you're genuinely on a toilet for an hour, please do see a doctor.
That's not okay. I didn't expect to have.
So much to say about that question. Okay, last question.
A friend has told me that I'm encouraging body image issues by still buying my daughter Barbies. I couldn't help but think how sad it was that we're in a world now where we even have to be careful about the toys we let our kids play with. My husband has agreed with her my daughter loves Barbies and taking them away from her would crush her. So I feel that that's kind of damaging. What do you think I should do?
I never saw I played with a lot of Barbies. I had everything. I never saw it as a kid. I never saw Barbie as that like I wasn't until people started talking about how Barbie was this perfect being.
That I was like, oh, I never really thought of it like that.
Like I had all different sorts of Barbies, and I feel like these days Barbie comes in all shape, sizes, colors, occupations. I don't I think we're beyond that now. And also like, I don't know if it is your daughter getting that subtle message, because I certainly didn't.
Maybe I'm naive.
No, I'd agree for me when I think about what's cool about Barbie is like her awesome outfits and like her like cars and caravans and shit Like I was never like, oh, like what.
A perfect body type.
And I know you can say that that it's subconsciously the message that's being but I also remember playing with like, you know, like proper doll dolls and undressing them and stuff like that.
Yeah, Barby's just got like sixed off. So I asked that before, so suspindics, what what? What did you actually say? Though?
I think that I think it would be more damaging for you to be like you can no longer have these dolls that you love because they're perpetrating an unrealistic body image which you haven't even realized, which I am now pointing out to you and now putting in your head, and now you can't have them.
That to me is like it's.
Only an issue if you make it an issue.
Yeah, yeah, I would say that your husband's reading it in too much. Just make sure that you have a bunch of stuff in the mix, like it's not just purely Barbie's, chuck some other toys in there.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
I don't think you should make it an issue. I don't think it is an issue.
It's like the Barbie movie.
Yeah, maybe watch the Barbie movie and then you'll realize that, you know, bit misunderstood.
I think we're looking at Barbie through a new lens. Yeah, give Barbie a chance.
Yeah.
Sorry, Yeah, we're all in a great no debate here.
Thanks for coming, Cavil.
All right, ladies, those are all my questions.
Thanks for coming, Nina.
Thanks always.
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Have a good weekend.
Hi everybody. Hye