In this episode, Natalie reflects on how expectations around Mother’s Day can quietly shift after children arrive. What was once about celebrating your own mum can suddenly become multi-generational, bringing different traditions, assumptions, and sometimes tension about how the day should be spent.

Natalie also explores a deeper question: do mothers actually need one day of appreciation, or something more consistent than that?

Flowers, cards, and breakfast in bed are lovely, but they are not the same as everyday support. In modern motherhood, the small, practical moments of care and shared responsibility often matter far more than symbolic gestures once a year.

This episode looks at how resentment in relationships often builds through tiny moments over time, and why the opposite is also true. Small acts of support can quietly strengthen a partnership and help mothers feel less alone in the weight of family life.

Natalie also introduces the idea behind her Five Villages Every Mum Needs framework, which explores the different forms of support mothers need in modern life.

If Mother’s Day has ever felt more complicated than joyful, this conversation will likely resonate.

If this resonates, you can download my free audio guide, The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs, where I talk more about the support structures modern mothers are navigating.

👉🏽 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

You’re told to stay calm. Keep explaining. Offer choices. Negotiate gently. But what happens when you’ve repeated yourself ten times and nothing changes?

In this episode of The Mama Circle Podcast, Nat shares a shift she’s been experimenting with during the toddler years: stepping away from endless negotiation and allowing safe, natural consequences to do the teaching instead with FAFO (F*ck Around, Find Out) parenting.

This isn’t about abandoning gentle parenting or becoming stricter. It’s about recognising that much of modern parenting advice assumes unlimited patience, time and emotional capacity, conditions most parents simply don’t have.

Because parenting doesn’t happen in ideal circumstances. It happens when you’re tired, running late, overstimulated, and trying to hold an entire household together at the same time.

Drawing from real-life toddler moments, Nat explores what changed when she stopped trying to control every outcome and started getting curious instead of exhausted.

Inside this episode:

• why negotiation stops working with some toddlers

• parenting strong-willed children without constant conflict

• the exhaustion of endless repetition

• boundaries versus “being soft” in modern parenting culture

• letting go of control without becoming harsh or reactive

• why toddlers often learn through experience rather than explanation

If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing because parenting feels harder than it’s supposed to, this episode offers a different perspective.

You’re not doing it wrong. You’re parenting inside real constraints.

If this resonates, you can download my free audio guide, The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs, where I talk more about the support structures modern mothers are navigating.

👉🏽 ⁠⁠⁠⁠The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

We talk about prenups for money, but we don't talk about prenups for parenting. But separation with children is not rare. And very often, the hardest conversations are often the ones we need the most.

In this episode, I reflect on:

• Why hope collapses quickly under separation and divorce

• How childcare arrangements quietly shape power

• What maintenance is really about

• Mobility, location, and who gets to move

• Decision-making when you no longer trust each other

• Why clarity is not unromantic

• Why protecting children from the worst versions of their parents matters

This is not about predicting failure.
It is about recognising that love and structure are not the same thing.

If you are happily partnered, this episode still matters.
If you are separating, it may feel painfully familiar.

And if you are somewhere in between, I hope it gives you language.

If you want to go deeper into support structures around separation, download my free audio guide The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs. Because when relationships shift, support becomes everything.

👉🏽 ⁠⁠⁠The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs⁠⁠⁠⁠

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 ⁠⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

This week, I’m recording from my bed, feeling that familiar end-of-day heaviness where you’ve done a lot but couldn’t neatly list what it was.

Life doesn’t feel chaotic.
It just doesn’t feel spacious either.

In this episode, I talk about what a maintenance season actually looks like in motherhood, especially after separation, when logistics increase and capacity doesn’t.

Waking at 5am when it works, not forcing it when it doesn’t.
Batch cooking to reduce decisions.
Letting non-urgent emails sit.
Filling out government forms in fragments.
Choosing structure over spontaneity.

Not because ambition has disappeared.
But because time and energy are finite.

We talk about:

• The difference between growth seasons and maintenance seasons
• How separation quietly increases admin, responsibility and mental load
• Why structure can feel stabilising instead of restrictive
• The pressure to advance or reinvent
• Maintenance as consolidation rather than stagnation

This episode sits in time and energy debt, with a quiet thread of identity shift underneath.

If this episode resonates, start with my free audio guide: The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs — a free audio guide naming the kinds of support modern mothers are missing, and why love alone isn’t enough. 👉🏽 ⁠⁠The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs⁠⁠⁠

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 ⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

This week I’m responding to a Reddit thread titled:

“How the heck are we all okay with this scam?”

The post describes what so many families are living:

• Dual income just to stay afloat

• Hyper-scheduled days

• Childcare costs exploding

• Zero margin

• No real time with your own children

And the question underneath it all:

Is this just what family life is now?

In this episode, I’m not fixing it.

I’m naming it.

We explore:

• Why shrinking your life isn’t a universal solution

• Why “just spend less” misses the point

• The structural pressures shaping modern parenthood

• Why this feels personal, but isn’t

Because when you change the lens from “I’m failing” to “this system wasn’t built for families”, something shifts.

If this episode resonates, start with my free audio guide: The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs — a free audio guide naming the kinds of support modern mothers are missing, and why love alone isn’t enough. 👉🏽 ⁠The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs⁠⁠

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 ⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

Why does one parent end up carrying the routines, the logistics, the emotional regulation, while the other gets to be the fun one?

In this episode, I’m talking about the dynamic so many families fall into quietly, the default parent and the fun parent. It’s not usually chosen. It forms over time, shaped by outdated structures that no longer fit modern motherhood.

Often, one parent holds the weekday grind. School or nursery logistics, sick days, emotional regulation, planning, remembering, keeping everything moving. The other shows up for the highlights. The outings, the treats, the memories. On the surface, it can look harmless. Even generous. But over time, this imbalance can quietly breed resentment and disconnect.

This episode was shaped by conversations around separation and co-parenting, but it applies just as much to families who are still together. These roles exist inside relationships too, and they often go unnamed until something starts to break.

This is not about blaming individuals. It’s about naming a system that distributes responsibility and joy unevenly, and asking what that does to our experience of motherhood, our relationships, and our connection with our children.

In this episode, we explore:

• How default parent and fun parent roles form without discussion

• Why responsibility and joy have been unevenly distributed in modern families

• How resentment builds quietly, without conflict or drama

• Why fairness doesn’t mean 50/50, but it does mean shared access to joy

• Why fun shouldn’t be a reward for surviving motherhood

If this resonates, you might also like Episode 2, How do you want your motherhood to feel?

Free resource:
The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs — a free audio guide naming the kinds of support modern mothers are missing, and why love alone isn’t enough. 👉🏽 The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs⁠

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 ⁠buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

This episode explores why so many mothers feel like they’re parenting without a village, even when they’re surrounded by people who care.

I break down the five different kinds of support mothers actually need, and why expecting them all from the same people creates disappointment, resentment, and exhaustion. When we understand that the village isn’t one thing, it becomes easier to stop blaming ourselves for what’s missing.

You’ll hear about:

• Why loneliness in motherhood is often structural, not emotional

• The difference between emotional support, practical help, and time

• Why the people who love your child aren’t always the ones who can lighten your load

• Why collapsing all needs into one place leads to burnout

🎧 Free audio guide:
The 5 Villages Every Mum Needs

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.

One year into The Mama Circle Podcast, I’m revisiting one of the most listened-to episodes and checking in with myself.

In episode two, I shared what I wanted my motherhood to feel like. Ease. Fun. Flow. A sense that my child would naturally fit into my life.

A year later, a lot has changed. My son is older. I’m working. My relationship has ended. And my assumptions about how motherhood would feel have been quietly challenged.

In this episode, I reflect on what actually shifted, what surprised me, what felt heavier than expected, and what turned out to be easier than I imagined. I talk about ease as a daily practice, how fun looks different than I thought it would, and why stability now matters more than I realised then.

This isn’t an audit or a how-to. It’s a pause. A noticing. And an invitation to reflect on your own motherhood, not to fix it, but to understand it more clearly.

🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days.

We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this is your new support network. The best part? It’s all via voice notes ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nataliekmartin.com/mama-circle⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉🏽 Reset from chaos to calm in minutes The Overwhelmed to Grounded Toolkit gives you three simple, real-life tools to help you recalibrate without adding more to your to-do list. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download it here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to share your thoughts on this episode? Comment on Spotify or:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@natalie.kmartin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠info@nataliekmartin.com⁠⁠

☕️ Support my work: if you’re enjoying my podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee here! Thank you 🫶🏽 buymeacoffee.com/nataliekmartin⁠⁠

📢 Don’t forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

New episodes every Wednesday🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it really helps other mums find the show.