We finally got Jacqlin Richards on the pod and she did not hold back.

Parenting Alchemist. Award-winning educator. Author of the best book title we have ever heard: F*ck Up Your Kids with Grace & Humour.

Jacqlin used to be the fun police, the sugar police, the screen police. Blow-drying her hair before a run. Holding it all together while falling apart behind closed doors. Now she actually enjoys her kids, and in this episode she tells us exactly what changed.

We talk about:

✨ the perfection trap and why it keeps mums isolated

✨ the love languages exercise her whole family did (steal this one)

✨ why losing your sh*t isn't the problem, the repair is what counts

✨ screens, fear, and getting your kids' buy-in instead of policing them

Her book hits Amazon on 28 July and there are a handful of signed pre-order copies left. Pre-order also gets you free access to her live workshop series. Link in bio, or head to jacqlinrichards.com/preorder.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Then share it with your village 💛

@jacqlinrichards

#HotMessesBigVisions #ParentingPodcast #NZPodcast #RealParenting #MumLife #TheVillageCo

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

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This week we're joined by Nicole Retter, founder of PAM (Personal Admin Manager), one of New Zealand's top-ranked apps and a product built entirely from lived chaos.

Nicole takes us right back to the origin story: COVID, a husband who couldn't use either arm, two preschoolers, a piece of 4x2 wood wedged against a bedroom door, a panic attack, and then a concussion that gave her 12 months on the couch to figure out what she actually wanted to build.

In this episode we talk about:

• The mental load that never actually ends (it just changes shape at every life stage)
• What "supermum" really means, and why Nicole thinks it's the most insidious thing ever invented
• Burnout canaries, recognising your personal early warning signs before you hit the wall
• Why she deliberately limits what AI does inside PAM, and why throwing an LLM at a problem is not a strategy
• The overlap between mum mode and founder mode, and what snapping at your kids at the kitchen bench taught her about boundaries
• Authentic pitching vs scripted presentations, and why cookie-cutter kills personality

Plus Nicole's actual messy moment of the week: a logistical nightmare involving swimming pools, an Uber, a scooter, a closed Butterfly Creek, and a very sugar-hyped eight-year-old.

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you actually do if your baby choked right now?

In this episode, we sit down with Charlotte from And Breathe First Aid, a paediatric ICU nurse with over a decade of experience and the founder of NZ's only parent-specific first aid education. We talk about the gap between knowing first aid and actually being able to act in a crisis, why choking is less common than you think (and what to do when it does happen), and the one stat about CPR that stopped us both in our tracks.

We cover:

• The difference between gagging and choking, and the one question to ask yourself
• Why baby CPR is nothing like what you learned in a workplace course
• Febrile seizures: what they are, how common they are, and why no one talks about it
• How to stay calm when it's your own child
• The free Baby CPR mini course you can do right now from your couch

Charlotte also shares the story of her own daughter going blue at 2am, which is equal parts terrifying and reassuring.

Free Baby CPR Mini Course: https://www.andbreathefirstaid.co.nz/pages/baby-cpr-mini-course

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobody talks about the bit in between. Not the exciting launch, not the "we made it" moment. Just the long, unglamorous stretch where you're building something real while running on broken sleep and blind faith. That's where Nikki and Sophia are right now, and this episode they're not pretending otherwise.

From midnight wake-ups and toddlers who insist on driving the car, to turning 41 wondering if you have your life together, to that very specific startup feeling of being so close and so far at the same time, this one's for anyone in the thick of it.

Because parenting and building a business? Turns out they're not that different. It's the same stubbornness, the same "I can't quit now," the same slow, hard, beautiful progress you almost miss while you're living it.

If you've been waiting for someone to say "same" instead of "here's how I scaled to seven figures by Thursday," pull up a seat.

In this episode:

• Messy moments: poster frights, car-seat standoffs, and the 3am guilt spiral
• Why you never hear about the middle of the story
• Turning 41 mid-startup and questioning everything (briefly)
• "This too shall pass" and why we actually believe it
• Building The Village Co., their fifth baby

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Renata Wiles is the founder of ROAM with Kids, an app that helps NZ parents find places to go with their kids, complete with parent reviews, age-based filters, and local events.

What started as a dodgy Google map she built to stop answering the same DMs is now live across New Zealand and just landed in Brisbane.

In this episode, Renata gets refreshingly honest about what building a business with small kids actually looks like. We're talking one-handed pram-pushing while replying to emails, working until 1am for almost a year, and sitting with a resignation email in her drafts for three months before she finally hit send.

We also talk about the thing nobody says out loud: that "flexible working" doesn't really exist for parents. That the juggle is real. That this week might just be a write-off. And that the only way through is building your own village.

Big conversation. Lots of laughs. A genuinely messy moment at the end.

New episodes drop every week. Follow wherever you listen, and find us at thevillageco.nz.

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week nearly broke us.

Between daycare chaos, burnout, building a business with two young kids, and trying to hold it all together… something had to change.

In this episode, we’re getting real about:

• the messy moment that pushed us to the edge
• the reality of daycare (and why it’s not working for so many families)
• taking space, burnout, and what happens when you finally stop
• why we rebuilt everything and launched The Village Co. 2.0

This isn’t a polished business story.

It’s the messy middle, the part no one talks about.

And it’s exactly where this next chapter starts.

If you’re building something, raising kids, or just trying to keep your head above water… this one’s for you.

Follow & Subscribe

New episodes dropping as we bring on women building big things (without pretending they have it all together).

About Us

We’re Nikki & Soph, the founders behind The Village Co.a platform rethinking how families find support. Built in the chaos of real life, not boardrooms.

Connect with us

Instagram: @VillageBabysitting

Facebook: @VillageBabysitting

TikTok: @VillageBabysitting

Website: TheVillageCo.nz

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're getting real about the one thing every mum talks about needing but almost never actually gets: rest. We kick off with a stat that'll make you laugh (and cry) — the average mum works the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs when you combine paid work, childcare, and household labour. Oh, and the weekend? Sold to us as rest. TGIF indeed.

From white-knuckling a weekend full of activities and face paint in the shed, to the concept of a 'switch-off moment' (hint: it used to happen at daycare drop-off), we unpack the reality of modern motherhood — the mental load, the mum guilt, the constant spinning of plates — with humour, honesty, and zero judgement.

We also ask the uncomfortable question: when was the last time you genuinely rested? The answer might surprise you (Fiji, 2021, before the second kid arrived).

In This Episode

[00:00] The 2.5 jobs stat — why weekends don't count as rest

[02:00] Weekend activities and the reality behind 'making memories'

[03:47] Managing kids' boredom without losing your mind

[05:00] Planning excursions in a busy city — chicken nuggets in the air fryer FTW

[07:34] Switch-off moments: what happened to just… not thinking?

[09:00] The challenge of rest — binge-watching Netflix used to be a valid activity

[11:59] The trend of mums actually taking time for themselves (gasp)

[13:28] Mum guilt vs. dad guilt — spoiler: not the same thing

[15:14] The mental load and calendar management — spinning plates edition

[17:57] When was the last time you genuinely rested?

[20:00] Messy moments, face paint, and kids in the shed

[23:00] Kids' creative play — beautiful chaos

[25:00] Language, boundaries, and honest parenting conversations

[27:00] The importance of rest — what the research actually says

[28:30] Reflecting on balance and closing thoughts

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

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Camping with preschoolers is not for the faint-hearted.

In this episode, we unpack the beautiful chaos of family camping trips, the sleep deprivation, emotional meltdowns (from kids and adults), post-surgery recovery, and the strange parenting phenomenon where you swear never again… only to start planning the next trip days later.

We share honest reflections on marriage under pressure, parenting through exhaustion, and why humour is sometimes the only survival tool. Along the way, we talk about building a brand in the middle of real life, leaning on community support, and collaborating with people who truly understand the parenting experience.

It’s raw, funny, relatable and a reminder that the messiest moments often become the memories we treasure most.

Hot messes. Big visions. And muddy shoes.

Key Takeaways

• Camping can seriously test your patience (and your marriage).
• Making memories with your kids is hard work — but deeply rewarding.
• Parenting post-surgery adds a whole new level of challenge.
• Sleep deprivation is basically a parenting rite of passage.
• Community support matters more than we realise.
• Humour helps everything.
• Building a brand takes collaboration and understanding.
• Your parenting perspective evolves over time.
• Kids absolutely copy their siblings (for better or worse).
• Every chaotic moment is still a learning moment.

Find your village at: TheVillageCo.nz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.