Parents Who Think

What happens when a father dares to speak the truth the world hasn't made space for? In this episode of Parents Who Think, host Danusia Malina-Derben speaks with Elliot Rae—author, speaker, and founder of Music Football Fatherhood—in a conversation about emotional fluency, gender equality, and the revolution unfolding inside modern fatherhood. They explore what happens after traumatic birth and postnatal anxiety, how safe spaces for men are made (and misunderstood), and why organisations need to stop treating dads as optional extras. Elliot reflects on founding MFF as a form of self-therapy, the deep responsibility of public voice, and what it takes to show up as both a parent and a change-maker. From Black fatherhood to workplace policy, this episode asks what else becomes possible when we stop pretending dads don't feel—and let them lead with more than silence. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

What does it really mean to mother across time—through babyhood, adolescence, heartbreak, grief, and desire? On this episode of Parents Who Think, Clover Stroud joins Danusia Malina-Derben for a conversation that names the unspoken. They talk about what happens to a woman when she mothers across decades, not just in nappies and sleepless nights, but when her teenage son is getting expelled while her newborn cries in the next room. Clover talks openly about postnatal depression, intrusive thoughts, the violence of maternal rage, and the parts of motherhood that don't belong on Instagram. She also speaks to desire, ageing, long marriages, and the seismic shift in identity that comes with being responsible for so many lives, for so many years. This is a conversation about the kind of mother who doesn't perform perfection. The kind who wonders if she's alone—until someone like Clover says the hard thing first. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

What happens when your child's diagnosis doesn't just change your daily routine, it changes your entire business model? In this episode of Parents Who Think, Danusia Malina-Derben talks with psychologist and executive coach Jessica Chivers about how motherhood redefines ambition, and reshapes working life in ways no corporate handbook prepares you for. Jessica opens up about navigating exclusions, assessments, and school meetings while building a business, and how that tension has led her to become even more ambitious. They discuss the myth that self-employment is the golden ticket for mothers, the grief of an underdeveloped self, and the underestimated power of honesty in leadership. This is a vital conversation for anyone balancing strategy decks with school runs, or wondering if the entrepreneurial dream is actually a backup plan gone wrong. Listen in, and feel seen. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

What does risk really look like when you're a mother and when you're not willing to blow up your life to chase a dream? In this episode, Danusia is joined by entrepreneur Colleen Wong, who talks about building her business on calculated risks, not chaos. They get into what happens when your startup is hacked by a government body, how to run a company with four mothers in customer service and zero face-time expectations, and why Colleen feels absolutely no guilt about the way she works, or parents. This isn't about glorifying hustle or soft-focus family life. It's about building something that sticks, even when everything else tilts sideways. And if you want more conversations like this - the ones that go deeper than the usual soundbites - search Parents Who Think Substack in your browser and join the community. Come be part of it. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

In this episode of Parents Who Think, Danusia Malina-Derben sits down with Zoe Blaskey to explore what it really takes to stay connected to yourself when everyone else seems to come first. Zoe, founder and author of Motherkind and mother of two talks openly about the difference between performing wellness and actually tending to yourself. Together, she and Danusia unpack how easy it is to get lost in parenting, why journaling can be a lifeline (not a luxury), and the micro-practices that help keep self-worth on the radar. There's no preachy perfection here, just two women naming the quiet crisis of mothering without tending to the mother. This conversation is a gentle gut-punch for anyone who's been last on their own list for too long. If you've ever needed permission to prioritise yourself, you've just found it. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here  Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

Journalist and author Matt Blake joins Parents Who Think host Danusia Malina-Derben for a candid conversation about what it actually means to co-parent equally. Since his daughter was born, Matt has shared care 50/50 with her mother, through relationship shifts, career trade-offs, and a system that still assumes mothers carry the load. Together, Matt and Danusia explore how parenting redefines ambition, what changes when men stop being treated as babysitters, and why the metrics of 'success' look very different when your week is split between deadlines and the school run. Matt shares his experience of being pushed to the sidelines by GP registration forms and playground assumptions and why he's stayed committed to showing up, even when it means saying no to work. This episode speaks to anyone reshaping the traditional script, whether you're a father, a mother, or rethinking what family looks like in real life. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

What if everything we thought we knew about screen time was the wrong conversation? In this episode, Danusia Malina-Derben joins Jordan Shapiro for a refreshingly grounded take on parenting in the digital age. Together, they unpack why most debates around tech and children are missing the point. Jordan challenges the obsession with duration, how long a child is online, and instead urges parents to look at quality: What are kids doing? Who are they connecting with? What values are being shaped? This is a wide-ranging and deeply human discussion about how parents can actually mentor their children through a digital landscape, rather than fear it. Expect thoughtful critique, sharp metaphors, and the kind of parenting insight that doesn't come wrapped in guilt. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

Becoming a mother isn't just a personal change but a profound identity transformation on par with adolescence. In this episode of Parents Who Think, Danusia Malina-Derben is joined by Dr. Aurélie Athan, clinical psychologist and scholar of reproductive identity, whose groundbreaking work on matrescence reframes motherhood as a major developmental passage. Together, they unpack how motherhood alters our physiology, status, relationships, economics, spirituality, and sense of self, and why recognising these shifts matters more than ever in today's fractured support landscape. This is a conversation that reshapes how we think about mothers, not as a monolith, but as individuals on distinct and complex reproductive journeys. From delayed childbearing to chosen childlessness, from postpartum crisis to existential reawakening, Aurélie and Danusia delve into the real universals of becoming, and being, a mother. It's not about ticking boxes. It's about honouring the full, evolving story. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

In this episode of Parents Who Think, Danusia Malina-Derben speaks with Laura Vanderkam—author, researcher, and mother of five—about time. Not just how we spend it, but how we talk about it. Laura's work tracks how high-achieving women actually use their hours, and what she found flies in the face of everything we've been told: the women she studied weren't burned out, short-fused, or collapsing in heaps at the end of each day. Danusia and Laura get into it: why our cultural myths around 'busy women' persist, how remote work has reshaped everything from commutes to childcare, and what happens when you zoom out from the day-to-day panic and look at time over a full week. This conversation refuses the tired narrative that success for women is always a breathless, collapsing compromise. Instead, it's a quiet rebellion—a reclaiming of time, energy, and joy. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram  

In this episode of Parents Who Think, host Danusia Malina-Derben is joined by Marisa Peer to discuss why "I am enough" is more than a mantra, it's a psychological reset that ripples through families. Drawing on decades of therapeutic work and her own personal evolution, Marisa unpacks how societal norms, school gate competition, and everyday self-criticism shape our belief systems. From writing affirmations on mirrors to embedding them in passwords, she offers inventive, memorable ways to anchor self-worth. They explore gendered pressure, the damage of perfection myths, and why so many parents still chase external validation. Danusia shares her own journey of "marrying herself," raising triplets, and learning to create joy in chaos. This is a conversation about repetition, ritual, and radical self-acceptance. One that reminds us: your children learn from what you model, and you are allowed to speak to yourself with love. Discover more from us: • Join the Parents Who Think community on  Substack • Follow us on Instagram • Connect with Danusia • Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Advertising Inquiries here   Credits: • Hosted by Danusia Malina-Derben • Edited, Mixed + Mastered by Marie Cruz • Cover art by Anthony Oram