Mum's The Word! The Parenting Podcast - HONEST MUM: Vicki Broadbent on Babies After 40 & Raising Good Humans

Episode Date: September 14, 2025

This week on Mum’s The Word, Kelsey Parker is joined by Vicki Broadbent, better known as Honest Mum, to chat all things motherhood, blogging, and life online.Vicki shares her incredible journey from a successful TV director to becoming one of the UK’s original mummy influencers, and how that leap changed both her career and her family life.She also opens up about:👶 Having her third baby after 40🌱 Raising children with strong values in a modern world📱 Navigating social media as both a mum and creator💛 Why honesty and community matter more than everThis episode is warm, inspiring, and full of wisdom for mums navigating motherhood, identity, and the messy, beautiful in-between.Remember this episode was recorded in JuneAlso make sure to check out Vicki's new children's book Greek Myths, Folktales & Legends OUT NOWA Create Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Mums the Word. I'm your host Kelsey Parker. Today I'm joined by the amazing Vicky Broadbent, who many of you will know as the honest mum on Instagram, from juggling a successful career to raising her three children. Vicky has built a brand on honesty, humour and heart and today she's here to talk about the highs, the lows and everything in between. We're diving into motherhood, mental health, identity and how to navigate pressures of modern parenting in a world of curate perfection. So grab a cupper, get comfy and let's jump into a brand new episode of Mum's the Word. So, Vicky, thank you for joining me on today's podcast. Do you want to introduce yourself? Yeah, I'm Vicky. mum of three. I used to be a TV director and then I kind of switched over to being a digital creator.

What was you directing on TV? Tell me. Oh, I did all sorts of stuff. I did a lot of social documentaries, did music videos. I mean, that field is not great for women and definitely not for mums because you don't have the flexible working hours. So I then kind of pivoted into digital world, the digital world. Which brings for you because you were... Well, I think there's loads of transferable skills. Like if you're writing and producing but this was 2010 so I'm like a grandma of blogging and Instagram because I've got OG I've got OG yeah there was only like a small group of us that set up blogs back in 2010 and then just kind of pivoted into yeah the online world which meant I could see my kids so I had my first boy was 2010 and then I had another one who's here with me then your little patio over

there and then a little girl oh thank you he's very shy oh is he yeah but he's we're having a little day out so thank you for having us oh it's a pleasure so we can have a jolly in london so you are the honest mum though yeah i mean that's so i'll tell you a story why i decided to call myself that tell me the story um so jami oliver's wife had brought out a book called diary of an honest mom and i thought why hasn't she got the website because it was so popular I'm having it. Yeah, and it was one of my friends as a filmmaker and said, you need something catchy and something that's searchable.

She was a bit more switched on. Because remember, when blogs came out, especially in the UK, we weren't making money. We were just writing for fun of it. And I just wanted a space to had a really tough birth with my first. And I had a traumatic birth. So I just wanted to just get stuff out, then be creative. I wasn't ready to talk about what happened.

Just use my voice, kind of. find who I was. To say something. Yeah, to say something to like think, hey, I'm lost here on that leave, but let me do something creative. So yeah, so I just thought, why hasn't she got the name for this website? I'm going to take it. And I did tell when I collaborated to Jamie Oliver quite a few years ago, I told him that he was fine with it. He didn't care. He let you up. I think they've got enough money that show. They're fine, no, who's really good about it? Oh, I love that. And then since then, you know, we've now got like, obviously Facebook, Instagram, on Pinterest, TikTok, it's become this huge kind of machine, hasn't it?

But a lot of us just started off blogging. Where do you feel like you're the most honest on Insta? Yeah, probably. I mean, I'm still blogging. A big part of my business is my blog, particularly with a lot of US clients, because I've sort of built an American audience as well, which is... How have you done that?

I don't know. I think, like, blogs give you the opportunity for a global audience. And then also when I look at like my insights on Instagram on Facebook, a huge American kind of sector that's like meta seemed to like me. They actually offered me a job before I was having Florence. So yeah, I think it's nice that I was sort of, you know, I've had lots of meetings of them as stuff. What are you writing on your blogs?

What are you telling people? I'm just really sharing my life. And on Instagram I'm sharing like I advocate a lot for mothers rights. also for older mums. Ultimately, I was nearly 41 when I had Florence. So I'm very much about kind of championing older mums as well. But I was 27 when I had my first. So I've kind of been a mum in my 20s, my 30s and my 40s. Funny you say that. My mom did the same. My mom did the, everyone knows, always talk about my mum on here. So my mom was 19 with her first. She has a 40-year-old. And then her youngest is 18. So she had, at 19, she gave birth.

And then she was, I want to say she was 41. Yeah, amazing. And I bet she had like a good experience. Do you know what? She said that actually being older for her having babies was so different. She said even down to like going into school, the respect she would get from the teachers. I love that. Was so different to when she was 19.

Because she'd had that experience of like both ends. I get that. And I think it is about experience. And it's also like, I think when I tell. I was like all my boundaries were a lot stricter so I was very much like I'm not going to take any BS I'm just and you really advocate for your kids more fearlessly I think even now what my mum's like to my children's education and what my children are doing is so different I think you just over the years you evolve so much don't you and you're like and also like when you go to like really big things in your life right that teach you like no I've not really been for anything in my life no I've not really been for anything in my life no I think being in my life. Exactly. Like when you go through such trauma,

losing your partner, going through like traumatic birth, like I lost my cousin recently, like all these things, when you're rock bottom and you finally manage to come up for air, you realize like how strong you are. And like that resilience is quite powerful.

And you think nothing's going to make me feel that low again. So it can't be that bad if I like advocate for myself or my kids or stand up for my children or whatever. And do you know what? It's quite tough when you've actually. experience something because then your thoughts on the world and how you see everything after like my world has changed so much in three years yeah but obviously now like even when tom got diagnosed it's changed so much that even like decisions that I make now I think oh my god I'd

never have done that like five years ago now I feel so brave and you're touched yourself more right and I just feel like we all worry so much I don't worry anymore because you've been through the worst Yeah. But like you're saying, it changes your experience. So you're at 27 to you at 41 is like just different person. Different person. Yeah. Your life experience is just massively. I feel like I've changed the way I see the world. I'm not so bothered about what people think. I think that's kind of the lovely thing about getting a little bit older and even having children in your 30s and 40s. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. I've had quite a lot of therapy and that's really been transformative. I felt it's kind of made me understand childhood trauma. It's made me understand things. that affected me that were maybe unresolved so that I'm not triggered to those things or that I understand if I'm triggered so I can change my response to things. It's understanding you.

Yeah, 100%. And actually, that makes you a better parent, doesn't it? Because I can sort of help my kids because I feel like a more healed version. Obviously, it's a journey, right? But you're like able to... Because obviously, the biggest thing is you want to protect your kids. You don't want them to have a hard time at school

or, you know, they're your... all babies, but I think that I'm teaching them boundaries from now that took me so 40 to learn. And that's not my parents' fault because it's a different generation. And things have changed so much. I think for our parents, it must be like, wow, how the world has changed. Massively. And the online world. And I remember, like, we were just playing on the streets.

No one to tell us to come home at us. But, you know, just come home when it's not dark anymore. We were the first generation. Come home for your dinner. Yeah, come home for tea. We call it in yours. goes back out. Exactly. Like we had that freedom, which I'm trying to give that to my kids, but we're still, we have to be protective, we feel. Because we're fed so much information.

Yeah, we're oversaturated. Like we said, you fed so much information that you actually then have to like cipher through the information and like, even I think for me, I went to a stage school at 11. I traveled up to London. Amazing. Like, were you scared, were you like? No, even the first I went, Mum, you're not coming with me. That is so embarrassing. Like, I'm going with my friend who he's go to dance with. I was like... But girls are so mature, aren't they? Because like, you're not the eldest, though.

No, I'm middle. I'm middle. I'm second middle. Don't you feel like girls are quite mature, though, in that? Like, I was going to nightclubs at 12. How bad is that? I looked really old. Like, I looked really mature. It was terrible.

No, but times have changed with that. Kids don't go out clubbing anymore. No, they don't. They don't. They don't drink. They don't go out of clubbing. They still vote, which is a big problem. But they don't really, yeah, things have really... And actually, kids, teenagers,

just got a teenager and a tweenate tween and then like just come out of being a toddler crazy everything sort of inside like online I mean he's really sporty so that gets him out the house which is good like that goes and plays sports for teams and in the gym and my middle one loves this football so they are quite active they're not addicted to their screens but like the socialising the socialisation of kids is very specific to being online I saw someone online the other day, I think it was like a guy, a comedian. And he was like, now our kids dictate to us what they're doing, where they're going. Like, when we were getting brought up, like, we should have to go everywhere.

We just like, you'd be sat outside your mom's hair appointment. You'd be, like, your son's waiting there now. Yeah, yeah. On his son. And then I'm joking. No, he's not right. I'm joking. But that, like, kids don't do that anymore.

I know. It's true. People would say to me, like, your kids are so good. My family originally Greek and Mediterranean families, the kids integrate into their worlds a lot more. And a lot of other European cultures are like that. So my husband's part French. So I think it's quite a British thing where we, and I'm British, but maybe it's the thing where we're, and I'm accommodating for my kids a lot more. But then if I go back to Cyprus or I go to like France or whatever, they're not saying to the kids, oh, we can only go to this particular restaurant because it's kiddy kind of food.

they're taking them to really nice restaurants and they're saying, learn to behave and most times they're behaving all right. I mean, kids are kids. The thing is, people are not entitled to a child free world, right? They're entitled to not have children and make that choice and there's, you know, I advocate for whatever you want to do in your life.

But you can't expect a child free world. You can't expect to get on the train and the kids are not going to be sat next to you crying or a plane. But there's the pressure now. When I get on the train with my kids, we go up to London a lot. We work in London a lot. you just have that like

I mean even but you can't control you're sitting there eating pickled onion monster much and I sort of said it out now because I'm like if I was the person on the train

they smell and you're chewing them and it's horrible and I sort of said that out loud to actually be a bit like but yeah they were like I said sorry everyone they're pickled onion

then a christian she's picked like sorry but I think people also have to remember they were kids once I know but I feel like people forgot yeah they forget so easy And even, you know, like, I find the tantrums in the supermarket and everyone's looking at you. I find that my mum's a lot more bothered than I am.

Like, I'm like, okay, deep-brice. Because this is really formative normal behaviour. Like, you can't expect toddlers to manage their emotions. They're learning to do that. So I don't know. I think my mum's like, oh, gosh, embarrassing, take her out. And my mum used to be a teacher and a lecture, so it's like she knows kids. I think there's this fear that her generation are going to judge.

And people do judge. Like, they do look. you badly but you just have to think it's okay but i think whatever you do for all the mums out there whatever you do people are looking people are judging if you're sat there with the ipad if you sat there with the pig or dion crisp if your kids frying a tantrum if your kids skipping down and chatting i mean my problem is already talks to everyone and you're like i don't want to talk to the this is what florence does she chats everything and i'm like oh no i'm not in the mood to adults today like i don't want to be adults saying i don't want to talk to that person but you're forced to chit chat because your

kids chatting and I'm like oh and then we get it as well as Brody just looks so cute they're like oh they're cute and I'm like oh but Arrani just and she won't just stand there and just have like the little conversation she's telling the whole life story oh I love that though we use that person that always like

do you like your energy attracts kids and animals and stuff because I always have that I've had some really weird experience I was once on a little plane going from like I think it was going from Cape Town to put Elizabeth was on my own and went to like visit he was my then-boyfriend and now husband

when he was over there for the summer to see his family and I was really scared of this little plane. I'm not a massive fun of flying. It feels unnatural if I can get a train or a boat how much prefer or the car but I forced myself and I was really, really frightened and

this little kid turned round and like held my hand before we took off like so he wasn't in his seatbelt and I've had loads of weird things like that happen to me I don't know if I'm like some pipe of freak that is me. Do you ever have that? I'm the mum, and animals come around the hotel that all the other parents were coming up to me going like, oh, I'm so sorry. Like, they're all just hanging around your sunbed and that.

Like, I'm like, well, one, I've got the mouthpiece here that's probably calling everyone over a bit. Like, come to sit with us, as in Aurelia. Yeah. But did you find that you had that before you were a mum? Because I remember a little kid just coming up to me and hugging me in the street and I was with my friend and he was studying medicine. He's a doctor now. And I said to him, can you explain this? It's almost, it was so weird.

Energy. Yeah, and he was like, I think, because you've got big features, they think you're a big baby. I don't think that's why. You've just that aura. I've always had it. My mum said since I was actually a little child myself, I've always loved other children, being a mum. I was always destined to be a mum. And I've run a performing art school.

I've worked with children and taught children. So were you an actress? Did you become an actress, singer, dancer, everything? Yeah, so I trained at Talia Conti. I know Talia Conti. Brilliant school. Very hard. to get into darling.

Yeah, very, very hard to get into. Only the Chrome Delano. Only the Chrome. Because as a director, I worked with loads of actors and a lot of them went there. So was that like a day school, boarding? So that was like my secondary school. So it was the best time ever, perfect for me as well.

That would have been my dream. Probably on that. My parents wouldn't let me go to drum school. I begged them, beg them. Yeah, you would have been fantastic. I lost my calling. And also it was great because, you know, I wasn't tied down to just do the academic. I knew in my head, I'm just going in to do academic in the morning.

and I can dance until whatever time and sing and act. So it's perfect for me. Was it, Conti, left there at 19. I focused more on acting towards the end. Yeah. Came out, did films, did TV. Amazing. And then I just think it's such a tough.

When did you have your first baby? How old were you? What was I at 29? Yeah. But I did get to the point, but I'd open my performing art school at 21. Wow. I started teaching at 15.

I used to work at, and then I was. So leaving at 11 gave you that. massive confidence to be doing all these things that take people like to the 30s to do stuff like that. Yeah. I mean, I just went for it. We went for it. Me and my best friend, my best friends called Kelsey, the dance school, we were like, yeah, let's just open it. Let's do it. So if your kids wanted to go down that road? My kids love it. They love it. And they love it. Yes. Aralia, well, that will be her path. That is what I think Florence will want to, because she just loves that. And since she was a baby, you know, she's been on my channels. And because mostly

See, mums watched me. I remember once when we lived in Windsor, this woman I didn't know her, she stopped the street. She went, you were just on my timeline, like, pointed to Florence as a toddler. It's like, because we get like millions and millions of views on stuff. It was crazy. There's a video, I think, on Instagram with like 66 million views of Florence as a little baby. What, do what?

Do it what? Well, I like to share, like stuff. So the stuff that I like to watch, I share. So I'm just sharing, like, facts, research. So this one was about the fact that when you were a baby girl and you were in your mum, womb at five months you get all the little ovums the little eggs that are going to develop into your yeah i think i saw this on yours yeah and basically so you're all connected with your grandma and like all these like Hollywood actors were like liking it's right when christianna talk talk about it

on maybe i don't know if it was my i don't know if it was my 66 million people saw it so it might oh my gosh they were talking about or chloe carashire was like someone was like how crazy that you were developed your eggs were in so like hold on what series was this this is like recent recent i don't know she didn't like it but a lot of people had liked it like to send it to him like send it to and say i agree before you're saying and sorry i was before you yeah no i've had some crazy stuff that's gone crazy viral on there because but i've literally always taken this stance that create content that you like to consume yourself and you want to watch so there's like stuff of my dad doing Greek dancing

that's like viral on there and stuff. And that, I never thought that would go back. I was just like, capture my dad holding my baby doing like Greek dancing. And I thought people are going to think, what the heck is this guy doing with like a baby? But it's people loved it.

My younger brothers are doing TikTok. The listeners will know all about it. Do you feel like you miss the boat with that? I miss the boat with TikTok. With the TikTok boat. I need to, yeah. They're building their TikToks. They're working really hard.

They're posting every day. My brother posted. Yeah. A picture of this guy and it says, oh, when your mum comes back and you've used six eggs, because they, every in the steak, the eggs, they're very fitness. So then he's got a picture of my mum coming in, looking at the pan with six eggs in it. Like, shocked. He's had like six million views on it.

Oh, I need to see that. It's literally, I, that's great. But don't you think people love seeing like parents and, like, that mix of the generations? He's doing press ups and pull-ups every day. And I'm like, why is that not grown up? But my mum has. But your mum has. I'm like, mom's blowing your TikTok up.

I think people, it was the same when I was a screenwriter and a director. You want to get emotion on screen. And loads of people say to me like, what's the stuff that does really well? And, you know, and yeah, you have to teach the algorithm, which, I mean, what I love recently is. But how can you teach the algorithm? No, you know, all the algorithms, whether it's search engines for blogs, whether it's matter. I mean, what's nice about Facebook? I don't know if everyone knows this, but you can get paid quite well now.

when you upload natively to Facebook. So you don't just share automatically, you take your videos and you put them onto Facebook and you know. We'll talk about this answer. I'll give you all the no more.

Don't join OnlyFam's yet. We've got we've got more opportunities. But you know, when you said you don't give a shit anymore about what people think. So just the world shut out of hoist to go for it.

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It's going to blow up. You never ever know. But there is a thing. And like I said, I've had meetings with matter. Instagram contacts me a while ago, maybe a couple of years ago, and we really like, the quality of the content, can we have some meetings. And I actually shared absolutely everything I was told. So no one told me not to share it,

because part of my thing is that I always do want to help people. And I think that's because I used to be a teacher. So it actually gives me like a high to help people. Is that selfish? It makes me happy. I'm a shareer and I'm a shareer, but other people aren't like that. And it upsets you. But you don't need to be scared.

Like, there's enough room for all of us. I think it's like, listen, when you work in the TV industry, you know this, right? and we've both come from a traditional, like, TV background. It's like you've got to get on with people to get work. You work with crews. You work with cast, you have to, like, accustom factors, whatever. You really have to be a team player. And not everybody is.

And there's a scarcity mindset, right? Where people are like, what if this gets taken away from me, I better not share. And I've just in life, whether it's my friend, you can ask my best mate, whatever it is, I've always been a giver. And it's like part of my culture. Greek people are feeders. And, you know, it's just kind of how well. Yeah, exactly.

So you know how warm Greek Cypriots. My family are Greek Cypriot. And it's like, honestly, people just come to see my parents without me even being there because they want to eat and they want to like see my mum and dad. So I think ultimately that is just who I am. And I was one of the very first bloggers who shared exactly how to monetize your blog, how to build a business. Because I don't know.

I was like, okay, let's share with everyone. Let everybody have this opportunity. But I do believe in, and this is what I've always taught as a teacher, like you're saying, the teachings. When we first started the performing art school, that is what I was teaching people. What you give out in life is what you get back. And I am a massive believer in energy and karma. And you being kind and doing that. Well, I've moved towards like Buddhist philosophies as I've gotten older.

and I just love all of that and the principles behind it and how, yeah, and it's about trying to put out really good energy and it's not just so it can come back to me it's just so much easier and nicer to just not have that.

I don't think your intention. I think if your intentions are I'm going to get loads of stuff back. You know those TikToks that like send this to your friends and you're going to get a million pounds next week. No, no, no, no. It's not that.

But I do think, and this is actually true that, especially with like websites, It's blogs, whatever. If you share what you know, you do become an authority on it. And then people, whether that's drama teacher or music or we've seen people that blow up on TikTok and they're sharing their passion or they're sharing their advice. And in that, they become an expert. So more people follow them and they get more commissions.

So whether you're looking at it spiritually, factually, scientifically, it works just sharing what you know or sharing your passions. That's addictive. I follow so many people from artists to, you know, also entrepreneurs, fashion designs. And the thing that ties everybody through why I want to watch them is their passion is so addictive, like, and it's so inspiring that they really love something. And I think that's the same with any kind of storytelling.

We want emotion. We want to feel something. We want to relate to something. We want to feel informed or educated. But in a way that, like, touches us. Otherwise, I don't want it. Yeah. Right.

And that's what you both your content on too. Well, yeah. And I mean, obviously, I'm not saying my context is perfect. Cheers. There's just a really quick little thing or whatever. As a director, I was a bit of a perfectionist and I was really lucky that I got to shoot on 35mm film. My short films went all over the world. We won awards. I won an award from Channel 4. And in a way, I'm not saying this to like Flex, but when I decided, right, that this

industry didn't work for me. I had people say to me, you have worked so hard. I was working like 60,00 hour weeks. I was. But that's why it didn't work for you. You couldn't be a mum and do that. And they were like, you've worked so hard. You've won these awards. You short films have, you know, gone all over the world. I worked for a company called Redbus that sold to Lionsgate.

So I'd had all this experience in the film industry. And suddenly it was like, this doesn't work because I need to, I want to see my kid. My baby needs me. This was Oliver. And I need him. And I remember shooting some commercials in Manchester. And I was away from him for like two weeks. And it killed me.

I was like, I am heartbroken. So when the advent of digital came along, I was like, this is like a pot of gold at the end of the rain. But did it blow your mind a little bit? None of us believed it. If you talked to any OG bloggers, because remember, we had the Americans who were huge, right? And they were earning a lot of money, women in America.

And what was really interesting was a lot of Mormon women because Mormon's write diaries. So it was a natural thing to then evolve into blogs. So you watch the Mormon. No, but I've watched one episode, which is really good. I need. But I feel like I don't know them enough. I need to really get in there.

But they're really interesting, right? and what they created. But ultimately, I was like, when I started, I didn't think it could be a business. I actually went back to directing and that's when I was like pretty heartbreaking. So I was just writing stuff about, I don't know, all different things that were going on.

Experiences basically of having a baby. Remember, not many people were doing that. And then it evolved. So about two years in, I was like, wait a minute. I can actually earn what I'm earning as a director through blogging and later like it was Facebook and later it was Instagram. for years it was kind of primarily the blog and it's come a bit full circle I have to say now

because America's still obsessed with blogs we're just not as like the UK so then I was like oh my gosh I can actually be with my child then I had a second baby and I remember Alexander was so chilled that he used to just lie on my chest whilst I was writing you know like a baby thing and he was a really easy baby my first and my third not easy I think they they come out how they're going to be and we did the exact same thing with like my first and my second And yet my second was such a good sleeper. He was really chilled. And actually, had I been growing my business

in the way that I was with Alexander, with my third, I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I did because she needs full on attention. Like, I remember Alexander used to like, play with all those cars on the floor and he'd just be really happy on his, like I was there with him and we were inseparable.

But some kids are, Bode will just sit there, he will have his Lego out. He'll get his little, like this morning he's got his Lego pieces. He plays with them all. It's so adorable. Halea's like, can we make pancakes?

Can we do this? Can we do that? By the time we've done that, over there's a mess and she's just on whirlwind. Like today I've left like my mum with Florence. I know the house is going to be upside down. Cushions everywhere making dance on the floor just like fit.

That's one of our rules at the moment. She really wants a V-Tech phone. Oh, cool. They're good. They are good. Have you seen them? She done really well in her dance show. I don't know how I feel about it because I'm a bit like,

Is she? iPad and whatever else. She's five. Five. Yeah, but I would say that the pressure for a real phone comes about eight years old. Yeah. And actually... Well, she'll be six at the end of this month.

Yeah, so that's quite a good intro to get her. And you can manage it, right? So it's like you can control what she watches or what she does with it. And I don't feel like it's going to be the YouTube, like the... No, that's the dopamine hit where it's kind of the kids get really obsessive. Like, we've had to ban YouTube with Florence because... I think it, and this is what I've said before because I've said on this pod, my kids don't have the iPads, right? Bodie could sit there for six hours and have the iPad and not have a problem or anything.

When he comes off, it will be fine. Aurelia cannot. So I can't do one rule without the other. No, that's true. And that is, she is a monster. And I, and the only connection is that iPad. Yeah, because it overstimulates them. And then when you hear about stuff where people are creating, like producers are creating content that is meant to, like,

like over-stimulate your kids. So I think there's quite scary. That is scary. And also some of the stuff you do watch on there is a little bit weird as well. Oh yeah, really weird. So I know there's YouTube kids, but we've just decided no YouTube. She watches a few things on Netflix that are like Gabby's Doll's house and stuff. And she really likes that.

But really we moderate that. There's not a lot of screen time. We're lucky we moved to Yorkshire and we've got loads of countryside and things like. So we just try and get out as much. And it helps us. as well. I'm that person that's hugging trees in the forest near my heart. Oh, I love it. And yeah, and Florence

knows all about that stuff. She wants to get my phone and text people. So I think in her head she can have this V-Tech phone and she'll be able to text her friend. That's, as in, she's like six going on 16. Do you know what I did when Alexander was little and you wanted to text

his friends? We got the mum's phone number and then I let him send like one or two texts from my phone like together and then it just wore off that sort of. It's almost like first thing it's exciting you're sending a message it's like when we sent a message on a page for the first time like I was like 15 that's the thing isn't it it's so hard because with the kids it becomes like very clever like she's got my phone she's actually found the mum of her friend and has text sent a picture of herself like this and then put I love you oh bless her

it's so hard to win because like really that's amazing that she could do that very intelligent But yet really noughty. The thing is, though, that is already. So I think our job is to guide our kids. You can't just pick up my phone. When she starts like, who else is she going to message on there? Well, my kids also take really compromising. I'm not meaning to.

Not all my kids, but then are your one. Yeah, I was looking at my finger and watched the picture of my feet. Yeah. I know. I've got ones where I'm actually like, in my knickers. You see you ready for only fans. I've got it. And I could do feet finder.

You're going to get some weird request for sponsorship deal and the show goes out. I honestly don't think it's a bad thing. I think with tech, it's about guiding them, protect them, using, there's loads of apps

that can protect our kids. This has a parent. Yeah, a parent control. And I think for me, why I like my kids having phones is that, like yesterday, my son's bus broke down from school and I was able to see

exactly where he was through like the phone finder. Like, there's things that technology do really help us. So, I think it's about not being scared of that world. But then you go back to when you was a kid, your mum, went no, would she? You just said at the beginning you was like,

I think whatever. She was in a club at 12. I know my parents have found out also. My parents' house, they still live there. They overlook all these fields, right, in a reservoir. And I used to have these parties where 200 people would come and the police would come. And it was all barbed wire and we'd jump over.

We'd have all like these terrible. Okay. I'm a parent, yeah. But now going back to you being a parent, but we had such a great time. How would you, but would you be okay about that? How would you feel? Are you strict now?

Yeah, I don't, do you know what? I'd like to think I'm a fun mum, but I'm probably my kids and say I'm not. Like, I'm like, I'll say to my kids at my call. They're like, if you were cool, you wouldn't ask that. I'm like, oh, yeah. So I think in life, it's about just trying to be there for the, as much.

as you can so they trust you because that's what I feel like. I feel like my mum is my best friend and I feel like my kids are my friends I don't like when people say you can't be friends with your kids. My mom's my best friend. Yeah and also like my kids are my best friends

I think I need some more friends but like I honestly like they're my favourite they're my favourite people sometimes they're not and they're like you know and they're all shouting and that's okay and that's fine and I think also it's about what our parents generation weren't very good at was if they messed up they didn't say sorry because sorry was a sign of weakness whereas we're like much more healed

versions because right every generation you are so right about that so if I mess up or I lose my temper I'm like look I'm really sorry I've got PMT you know all my kids like my boys know everything about hormones like I'm raising I want kids to be aware I don't want them to constantly be you know unsure of where they stand or and I'm not very good at being I'm not a massive disciplinarian But I'm also, I want some respect, but mutual respect. With boys, you have to be. Like, even my brothers, they've been, obviously, I was, like I said before, 15 and 17 when my brother's almost like heightened, you know, hormones and whatever else and had the kids. And I text something to my brother the other day and he was like, that was really rude.

I was like, oh, I was like, I'm actually really sorry. I said, I didn't actually mean to be rude. I didn't actually, I said, I've wrote that wrong. It's not the right way I put it. I said, but I am juggling. a four and a five year old. So can you just give me a bit of a break? But I thought, oh my God,

he's a bit oversensitive maybe, but maybe... No, I don't think he wanted to do what I asked him to do. That was the main, the catalyst of that one. He was like, no, don't talk to me like that. I'm not doing that for you now. So were you a bit like a second mum to your brother?

Massive second mum. But then that gave you such a great training to be a mum. Yeah, and also for them, we talk about everything. Can I say to them, you know, maybe when you go on a date, you should be a bit more like this. I'll give them a bit of...

I love. that. A bit of advice because I think yeah, I think that's what we all crave like growing up. And because they are seeing so much online now, I don't think it's real. It's not real, the stuff you're seeing. Even the girls, you ain't getting one of them girls. They're not real. They're not real. They're AI.

Yeah, exactly. But I think that's really important. And especially, even with boys, they've got lots of body image concerns, girls. I want to teach all my kids to exercise boundaries, to have a really good strong sense of self-worth. All the things that like took me

so long and I'm still trying to get there with a lot of things and just really prioritise real friends and just like spot red flags as well so I'm doing that in an age appropriate way they have to learn the red flags themselves I know it's like you don't really like the kids have falls out it's like fallouts at school and it's like your heart you know you're just like you want to protect them but you just try and be really really like no opinion or anything because that's really good I feel like my mom oh no I don't I didn't have an opinion over the other kids but I'm just trying to make them feel like

Well I just say we're all just kind You have to be kind to people Oh 100%. I don't like these videos that show like The mum's going I'm off to scream at these kids Because they've had a go at my kid No way like that's terrible I just always think through all the years

Of like having kids Even when you go to the play group And that mum's like Oh your kid just whacked my kid and whatever And you're like Your kid bit my kid It's like that's so common Yeah and you're like

Okay, I get it. Right. You must be really upset. But your kid's probably going to do that in three months time. Sure. Sure. But don't you think second time parenting, you're so much more relaxed. Like I...

Yeah, but then you meet the first time moms. And you're like, and you're like, and there's definitely a first time syndrome in parents where it's like, oh, I'm not letting them do this or they've done it. They might as well be a bubble wrap and the soft play. Yeah. And it's like, I think you can only get through that. by experiencing what it's like to juggle two kids as well. So I try and have some grace for that

because I was probably like, I know I was really nervous. But when you're going with Florence, she's tough. She's going to be in the soft play. She's got two older brothers. We went to like a trampolining place, top jump. It was amazing. They said to us, come along and honestly, her and niece launching themselves off top of these big inflatable mouths.

It was all safe. And it was like, fearless. I was screaming down these slides. I absolutely loved it. I'm such a scared of cat. But I was like, I didn't wean myself. I was like, high five. Well done.

No telad needed that day, just that day somehow. And it was just like amazing. I loved it. I was like, I'm going to. But my, I think having a baby a bit later as well, she's teaching me to be a bit more fearless. Honestly, she's like, she came back to me the digital, don't worry about this.

And I thought, gosh, you're like parenting me. I mean, I don't want that. but she's really... She's very aware. Yeah, and everybody said when she was a baby, oh, she's been here before. She's an old soul, she's an old soul. So...

But you know, it sounds like she has. Yeah, she really... Like, a lot of elderly women would stop us everywhere we went and be like, oh my gosh. And she's got quite an old-fashioned face. Yeah. So I don't know, like, you know, those like porcelain doll type face,

especially when she was a baby. So people would be like, oh, she's got this wisdom. The conversations, that me and Aurelia have together and Boji, I'm like, both of them. I think I've been sent two old souls. Because what they know and what they pick up on

and what they read, but maybe I was sent them because what we went through as a family together. It was like, we're only going to get through this because they've been here multiple times. They've lived it. So let's.

And I think, like, people forget that, like, your kids support you as much as you support them. You know what I mean in the sense. They guide you, they teach you, they... I would not be where I am now if I didn't have my kids. There's no. way, I would have got you up in the morning, right?

When you would have just, if you hadn't had kids, you wouldn't have, you just wanted to be in bed. But they forced you to keep living. Yeah, right? And it's like, I just think that's so wonderful. That's why our kids are here, guys. Oh, yeah, they, I love it.

We've become more woo-wee, but that's, we love it. Is he like enough now? We've spoke for a million years. Oh, I've loved it though. I've loved it, though. I've loved, like, hearing more about all of your journey's, You're just fantastic as well. We're going to have chat now about Facebook and how I can monetise Facebook. Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll tell you all that.

I'll tell you all the little method trick. That's a wrap on another Mum's the Word. Thank you so much for joining us today as we were joined by the amazing Vicky Broadbent. Don't forget to leave us a review. Follow us on socials at at Mum's the Word underscore pod and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Just search Mum's the Word.

Until next time, I'm Kelmy. Parker and this has been Mum's the Word and we'll be back with another episode same time same place next week