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Pop Culture Parenting

Dr Billy Garvey, Nick McCormack

This podcast is about finding the sweetspot between the textbooks and real life when it comes to parenting. Dr Billy (a developmental pediatrician) and Nick (a developing parent) are a couple of dads having honest discussions about parenting day to day

We'll be using iconic TV and cinema scenes from the 80's & 90's to give context to Billy's parenting advice.

Please subscribe and tell us what parenting topics and movie scenes we should talk about next

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25 episodes
fortnightly
Avg 1 hr 25 min
English

Episodes 25

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Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#148
Yesterday · 1 hr 24 min
PCP Collabs: Understanding Boys with The Man Cave Ep. 1
"Why won't he tell me what's going on?" It's one of the questions Billy hears most from parents. Inside schools across Australia, The Man Cave hears boys asking something strikingly similar: "Why does no one seem to get me?" Two sides of the same relationship. Rarely in the same room. In this special three-part series, Pop Culture Parenting teams up with The Man Cave to close that gap. Billy of course brings you the clinical and developmental lens. From The Man Cave Al Green, Co-Founder and Chi
#147
September 20 · 1 hr 18 min
Episode 140: Lost boys & The Lost Boys
What does it mean to be a man? The Lost Boys gives us a window into one version of that answer and it isn't pretty. In this episode we use the film to explore masculinity and what the research tells us about how boys develop their sense of who they are, what it means to be strong, and what they risk losing when the only version of masculinity on offer is rigid, stoic and built on control. We talk about why masculinity itself isn't the problem but rigidity is, how boys often police each other's m
#146
September 13 · 2 hr 2 min
Episode 139: Sensory sensitivities reflection
The response to our Sensory Sensitivities episode reminded us just how personal and powerful this topic is. Our polls revealed that 85% of our community find the world too full on for their senses some days, and the reflections that followed were honest, funny and deeply moving. We hear from a social worker whose son's autism diagnosis unlocked more than 80 years of unrecognised sensory challenges in his great-grandfather, a mum who realised her entire approach to sleep and noise in her home has
#145
August 30 · 1 hr
Episode 138: Sensory sensitivities & Mad Max Fury Road
Every child experiences the world differently, and Mad Max: Fury Road gives us the perfect lens to explore why. In this episode on Sensory Sensitivities we dive into the science of sensory processing, including all eight senses, and what it means for the children we love and care for. We discuss how the brain decides what to notice and what to ignore, why some kids seem to need more of everything while others are easily overwhelmed, and why so much of what looks like difficult behaviour is actua
#144
August 16 · 2 hr 4 min
Episode 137: Anger reflection
The response to our anger episode was one of the most moving we have ever received. In this reflection we hear from parents who grew up around anger they couldn't name and are working hard not to repeat those patterns, from a dad who recognised himself in his own mother's rage during the most vulnerable weeks of early parenthood, from someone who works with young people in custody for whom anger became the only language they knew, and from a listener whose message stopped us in our tracks. An oc
#143
August 2 · 1 hr 6 min
Episode 136: Anger & Lethal Weapon
Every parent knows the feeling. Your kid goes from zero to meltdown in seconds, over something that seems completely trivial. In this episode we use Lethal Weapon as our jumping-off point to explore what's actually happening in a child's brain when anger takes over. We talk about why children's brains are wired to detect and react to emotional triggers before they're wired to interpret them, why telling a young child to "just calm down" is often a developmental mismatch rather than a discipline
#142
July 19 · 1 hr 57 min
Episode 135: Healthy habits reflection
Episode 135 is out now! Healthy habits reflection goes deep into the gap between the habits we want and the reality of our lives. We hear extraordinary listener stories, questions and advice. A music professional who survived her own real-life Fletcher and came out the other side with a powerful question about what we teach kids to normalise in the pursuit of excellence. A dad whose chaotic childhood was transformed by one loving parent who proved that presence matters more than proximity when i
#141
July 5 · 1 hr 3 min
Episode 134: Healthy habits & Whiplash
Healthy habits. We all want them for our kids and for ourselves, but as Whiplash reminds us, the pursuit of improvement can sometimes drift into pressure, perfectionism and burnout. In this episode we explore what the science of habit formation actually tells us about lasting change, including why healthy habits are built more by our environments than our willpower, why people with strong self-control tend to rely on habits rather than discipline, and how simple changes to our homes and routines
#140
June 21 · 1 hr 41 min
Episode 133: Arrival of a baby reflection
What an episode. We asked the PCP community and they delivered some of the most beautiful reflections and advice about the arrival of a baby. We answer question about feeling ready, repairing bonds, jealousy and the foundations of connection. We hear practical advice and phenomenal reflections from people who have overcome challenges that no one should have to. Thank you to everyone who shared their story. You guide us through the dark. Thank you to the Queensland Children's Hospital Foundation
#139
June 7 · 1 hr 14 min
Episode 132: Arrival of a baby & The Incredibles
This one might seem like it's just for new parents but it's for all of us. There's no moment quite like a new baby. You're handed the most enormous responsibility of your life wrapped in a very small blanket. Using The Incredibles as our jumping-off point, we explore what a newborn actually needs from the people around them. Why responsiveness matters more than perfection, and what support really looks like when a family is finding its feet. If your kids are older and you find yourself looking b
#138
May 31 · 1 hr 53 min
Episode 131: Rewards & punishments reflection
Episode 131 is out now! Rewards and punishments reflection goes deeply into how developmental theory and the evidence can be used in the real world to guide our kids. We hear amazing listener reflections, questions and advice including a mum whose seven year old caught her mid-bad-parenting and handled it better than she did, a dad fighting the daily battle between connection and control, and a teacher who runs a no-detention, no-suspension school and has never needed either. We cover the differ
#137
May 17 · 1 hr 1 min
PCP Guides: supporting neurodivergent kids - Q&A
To finish up our first PCP Guides series we ran a live Q&A with our amazing Patreon community. People seemed to think it was helpful so we thought we would share it more broadly. We answer as many questions as possible and cover some great areas about how we can better support neurodivergent kids. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and for attending the session. Your relentless efforts to help the kids you care for motivates us to keep going. How lucky those children are to have you i
#136
May 10 · 1 hr 5 min
Episode 130: Rewards, punishments & Star Wars
Rewards and punishments are a part of daily life for anyone supporting children, sometimes consciously but often without us even realising. In this episode we discuss the developmental psychology behind them, how it can help us to guide our kids to healthier choices and behaviours and where we might be caught out ("it's a trap!"). We want them to choose the light side of the force by understanding the how, when and why of rewards and avoid pushing them towards the dark side through punishments,
#135
May 3 · 1 hr 19 min
PCP Guides: supporting neurodivergent kids - nurturing neurodiversity
In this final reflection episode of supporting neurodivergent kids we explore how we can true nurture the kids we love and care for. We explore safety, masking, communication and evidence-based care along with some incorrect and unhealthy beliefs about neurodivergence. To finish this PCP Guides series we will be running a live Q&A via out Patreon in the coming weeks. Please join that community to send in questions and we can't wait to diver deeper into how we can all support neurodivergent kids.
#134
April 26 · 2 hr 2 min
Episode 129: Chaos & control reflection
Well this was a big one diving deeply into chaos and control. We go deep into the balance between chaos and control in family life, especially when anxiety, neurodivergence, and survival mode are in the mix. Through honest listener stories, questions and practical insights, we explore why control can feel safe, how to loosen it without everything falling apart, and how real balance comes from safety, flexibility, and gently learning how we go let go of some of the feelings, beliefs and behaviour
#133
April 20 · 1 hr 12 min
PCP Guides: supporting neurodivergent kids - survival
A heavy but important re-listen this week about survival. So many of us feel like we are constantly in the arena battling to survive and in this ep we discuss how real and tough that can be with two messages sent in from the beautiful PCP community. Thank you all for helping us to keep moving forward and we hope this helps in some small way too. We can't wait to host a Patreon live Q&A at the end of this PCP Guides bundle on supporting neurodivergent kids too!
#132
April 12 · 1 hr 8 min
Episode 128: Chaos, control & Point Break
What a movie, what a topic! So much of life is the balance between chaos and control and mental illness Mental illness can present when we become either overwhelmed by unchecked emotion and unpredictability or constrained by rigid, overprotective attempts to stay safe. Just like riding waves children can learn how to successfully ride the waves of chaos and control in their lives with the right support leading to healthy emotional regulation, positive relationships and improved wellbeing. We hop
#131
March 29 · 2 hr 8 min
Episode 127: When to worry reflection
In this reflection episode we hear from so many parents & professionals about their worries regarding children they care for. We discuss early development, neurodiversity, teenagers, schools and the best practice approach to assessment and building support around kids. Thank you to every single person who sent in a message. We can only read a fraction but every message helps choose what we cover and where we go next.
#130
March 16 · 1 hr 10 min
Episode 126: When to worry & Titanic
One big challenge of supporting children is figuring out when to worry. What difficulties are a typical part development and what are signs of something more worrying? Research highlights that many parents and professionals feel lost as to signs of developmental or mental health concerns so in this episode we try to offer guidance so that people can be comfortable to keep sailing or help realise it's time to find a safe harbour for support. Please send in your questions, reflections and advice a
#129
March 8 · 1 hr 16 min
PCP Guides: supporting neurodivergent kids - kids that won't sleep
Few episodes are more important and full of practical tips than this one! In this re-listen we reflect on what we can do to support our kids in healthy sleep. Poor sleep impacts 30-40% of children with up to 80% of neurodivergent children experiencing childhood insomnia. We hope you like this PCP Guide and please listen to the reflection episode 20 as it's full of gold form the beautiful PCP community. We hope this helps your child sleep better and succeed more in their waking hours.

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