The Netmums Podcast - S13 Ep8: Jenni Falconer on Marathons and Motherhood

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

In this week's episode of the Netmums Podcast, Wendy Gollage and Alison Perry tackle the the quest for balance between parenting and personal health with Jenni Falconer. Broadcaster, running enthusias...t, podcaster and author of "Runners High," Jenni shares the transformative power of running on both body and mind. This episode covers Jenni’s marathon experiences, the challenges of juggling fitness with motherhood, and the surprising ways running has shaped her life.  Jenni’s journey is as inspiring as it is relatable. She also dives into the world of health supplements, revealing her own venture, Kollo Health, and the wonders of marine liquid collagen for anyone over 25. As a working mum, she offers a glimpse into her family dynamics, the division of chores with her husband, and navigating the preteen years with her daughter. Whether you're a seasoned runner or someone considering your first jog, grab a copper (or lace up your trainers!) and press play for a conversation that celebrates parenting,  the highs of running, and the importance of self-care. Follow Jenni at @jennifalconer, order her book ‘Runner’s High’ here: https://geni.us/RunnersHigh, and check out Jenni’s podcast RunPod. Stay connected with Netmums for more parenting tips, community support, engaging content: Website: netmums.com / Instagram: @netmums 

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to The Netmums Podcast with me, Wendy Gollich, and me, Alison Perry. Coming up on this week's show... Even after my first run, when I came back and I was like, I had this horrible like burning in my throat that tasted like iron and then I had like, my legs were like corned beef and my face was like... You're not selling it, I've got to tell you. But before all of that... episode of the netmoms podcast is brought to you by duracell as parents we do everything we can to baby proof our homes
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Starting point is 00:01:52 Wendy. I don't know how you're doing today but I am flagging. I've been getting up at 5 30 in the morning to fit in some exercise before my twins get up at six but it means that by two o'clock I'm ready for a nap see since I came back from the detox retreat which some of you might know I went on a few weeks ago I'm trying to keep up all the good habits that I learned while I was there so the two liters of the water and moving every day but I have to say the moving bit when you're working is really tough isn't it it's 5 30 really the only time that's brutal I mean it is brutal but basically yeah I've got I've got early rising children I always have had that's I've been afflicted with early rising children so they're up at six so basically between six and them going to school I'm just
Starting point is 00:02:44 running around after them so yeah it's my only option but also there is something quite nice about that kind of smug feeling of doing the school run knowing i've done my exercise for the day so yeah well i think our guest might have a few tips i think she might do because she has she's well used to getting up early because she presents the smooth Radio Breakfast Show. We're welcoming Jenny Faulkner and she's a mum of one. And her new book, Runner's High, is all about the incredible benefits that running has to offer, not just for your body, but for your mind too.
Starting point is 00:03:18 Jenny, a massive welcome to the Netmums podcast. Oh, thank you so much for having me. I can't believe you struggle. You've got so much on your plate. You'll be, I bet you're up and out really early and leaping out of bed and taking on the day and loving it. Don't know about that. So first up, Jenny, we must congratulate you on recently running the London Marathon. But it wasn't your first, was it?
Starting point is 00:03:43 Do they get any easier? Oh my goodness, no no they don't the thing is right so that was my ninth London marathon wow and um it was definitely not my anywhere near my fastest it was one of my slower times um for many reasons all of which were stupidity on my fault because I trained to get a really good time and I quite honestly should have had it. But anyway, excuses aside, it was amazing. I think it gets better every time I do it. It's so incredible. It is honestly, it's like my Christmas day. It's just the best day of the year. And this year the sun was shining, the weather was perfect, the crowds were insane. They were bigger and better and louder and more supportive than ever before um the runners were all great oh I honestly I I smiled
Starting point is 00:04:34 all the way around it's amazing and then just when I got to the end I did an interview with someone I started crying I'm like why am I crying I'm so. You seem quite emotional now thinking, talking about it, even now. But I mean, I've heard people saying that the hard work of doing a marathon is the training and that the actual marathon, especially something like the London Marathon, that's like the celebration at the end.
Starting point is 00:04:57 I mean, is that how you feel about it? Have neither of you ever done a marathon before? No. I'm ashamed to admit that that is not my bag definitely not my bag okay we'll say it's not for everyone of course but uh yeah the training is the hard part so basically as of january the first uh i go into training mode and it's great though because you know january's dark, horrible, cold, miserable. In fact, to be honest, this year has not been great. Has it January, February, even April is pretty
Starting point is 00:05:29 rubbish. But the good thing is when you're training for something, it gives you kind of focus and direction and gives you reason to get up and kind of like stick to your training program. So even though it's absolutely pouring down with rain outside, you know you still have to go out and do your 15 mile run. And you do it and you feel amazing because you have. And so, yeah, the training is really hard and really intense. And really, marathon is just a lap of honour. I was really laughing. We were watching it on Sunday, on the Sunday morning.
Starting point is 00:05:59 And, you know, like all the crowd have signs and they hold up the signs. My favourite sign that the BBC showed was, after mile 10, never trust a fart. That's some funny one. There's another one that said, and I saw all these signs actually, there's one that said pain or pan, it's just French for bread. And you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. There's all these funny little signs held up.
Starting point is 00:06:25 But, you know, the support really is amazing out there. I think they reckon there is over a million people lining the streets cheering people on. And speaking of support, does your husband and daughter, do they still come and cheer you on? Nine marathons down the line. So funny. So this year, they literally were like we're gonna see you this year because other years i haven't seen them because they've just been in the crowd and they've been tracking me and they've been screaming i've seen them a couple of times but not every time so this year
Starting point is 00:06:55 they're like right and we they bought a flag we've got a flag off the internet massive neon pink with a yellow smiley face i mean it's it's ridiculous. It was loud. My husband's got lots of film kits. So we got a pole that he usually puts, you know, like recording kit on. He fully extended it. This was it. They had the best flag. So I was running along and they said, we'll be around mile nine first, get to mile nine. And I'm looking and there is pink flag, smiley face. And I run over all happy, waving my arms. And I tell you what, that was the most popular flag on the course that day. So did you see them? I did. I saw them at mile 25. I have to say being a spectator, I know that I'm going to sound like a total nightmare, but it's really hard work being a spectator, I know that I'm going to sound like a total nightmare.
Starting point is 00:07:46 But it's really hard work being a spectator for the London Marathon because getting on the tube is like an endurance event. And if you're trying to see someone twice and get to certain places, you really do have to put some effort in. And I know it's not 26.2 miles but it's still hard it was well they actually had they'd scheduled a whole day and they did everything to kind of make sure that they knew where to be and everything but they ended up walking walking right across London uh just to get to mile 25 so I think they did they keep reminding me they did a lot of steps that day and I should appreciate they're both fitness junkies as, or are they more sofa dwellers? No, I think it's quite, we're all pretty active, just with different hobbies.
Starting point is 00:08:33 So like I love running and I love, I love running. They don't, quite frankly. So my husband's into the gym. He likes boxing. He likes lots of different sports, but really going to the gym is, he's very strict. He does it every single day. My daughter is obsessed with a whole load of sports, gymnastics, number one. And then she does, you know, she's doing athletics at the moment. She likes lacrosse, which I've never played in my life.
Starting point is 00:09:00 Netball. She likes loads of sports as well. yeah running not high on there to do I was going to ask you do you ever do anything as a family like doing park run together or anything um well park run I actually am working on a Saturday morning when park runs on so it's very rare I get to go to that but uh it's it's Ella used to do junior park run on a Sunday but really running is not up their street not Although my husband did say the other day he's going to start. He turns 50 this year and he wants to be the fittest he's ever been. So he thought he might improve his cardio. It's a great way to improve your cardio fitness and it's free and it's easy to do. And so actually, yes, it makes sense. He only wants to be able to
Starting point is 00:09:39 do 5k, but do it well and do it fast. So he's going to start doing that. And I think that's a good thing. When we do something together, though, we all play golf. My little girl started but do it well and do it fast so he's going to start doing that and I think I think that's a good thing when we do something together though we all play golf my little girls started as well so um we do play golf together and it's it's really nice because it's very relaxed and and it's quite fun as well so nice so your husband's turning 50 and you're in your late 40s and I'm guessing like many of us in our 40s at naming no names me and Wendy and you're going through a bit of perimenopause but do you find that running helps with all of that? Yeah I mean in terms of perimenopause I mean I know it's a it's the big buzzword let's chat
Starting point is 00:10:17 about perimenopause let's chat about menopause I actually don't really have any symptoms a bit of brain fog forgetfulness but brutally honest that is it there's nothing else so I don't really have any symptoms a bit of brain fog forgetfulness but brutally honest that is it there's nothing else so um I don't feel anything unless I know it makes you more susceptible to injury so I'm always slightly aware of that which is why I'm going out of my way to make sure I'm doing strength training in the gym um and I do try and make sure I'm getting more sleep and I do I probably am more focused on health and well-being now than ever but I think that might be coming part and parcel with the fact I am getting older I do want to be active healthy for my daughter and my husband's set precedent with his fit for 50 campaign and he is
Starting point is 00:10:55 just a health food now he's given up all booze he's like literally throwing himself into health so I think I'm more aware of it. But in terms of in terms of fitness, for perimenopause, not necessarily for me at the moment, but fitness for general health and well being is absolutely the way forward. And I think what's great is now that we're all being educated so much on perimenopause and menopause. So there are a whole load of symptoms to look out for. And I'm not, I'm not a slave to the symptoms. I've got to be honest, I'm not sitting there, expect to get like checking a list. You feel a bit left out though, because I mean,
Starting point is 00:11:34 it's kind of like the end thing to be going through the perimenopause. Well, I mean, a lot of people love talking about perimenopause, and it does affect people in different ways. And in fact, I have a health supplement business called ColoHealth and we have a product coming out which is going to be hugely beneficial to anyone going through this period of life and it's and it's very exciting and I've been integral to developing that because yes I will need it and I do need it and you know for to help me through that midlife that midlife period and it doesn't matter whether you're going through it or not. You should be still doing exactly the same as someone who is taking precautions,
Starting point is 00:12:09 doing your strength training, taking the right nutrition and supplements to make sure that you are protected through that period of time because you don't know how hard it's going to hit you. I'm going to take you back to pregnancy, Jenny, or just after pregnancy. Did you use running and exercise to help you recover from birth and did it take you a while to kind of get back to your marathon running self um I was I was the fittest I'd ever been when I got pregnant I mean I was ridiculous I was training for a 315 marathon which is is is a lot better than I would ever achieve now, I was ridiculous. I was training for a 315 marathon, which is a lot better than I would ever achieve now. And I was really, really, really excited about kind of like the training process. And I was very committed to my fitness. I was working hard. It was all going very well. And then I got pregnant, which obviously changed things a little bit. So I continued to run throughout my pregnancy until I got to about early 20 weeks because I
Starting point is 00:13:07 didn't like the feeling of running with a swinging tummy. I just felt weird. And so I stopped running and did a lot of gym work. And I stayed fit and active during my pregnancy until five days before giving birth. I was in the gym until five days before and I just enjoyed it. That was it. I mean, I ballooned, I still put on a ton of weight and it didn't make my still my thighs were chafing every time I walked. But apart from that, you know, I felt really good. And I don't know if that's why, but my labor was from the minute my waters broke to the minute I gave birth was about 35 minutes. And so I don't know if a lot of people go, well, maybe that's because you were doing so much exercise. Who knows? But whatever it was, I remember phoning the hospital going,
Starting point is 00:13:57 I'm in labor. And they're like, yeah, you're not. And I'm like, no, I really am. And they're like, I said, I've got a contraction app and it tells me I'm having a contraction every nine minutes they were like and it got to like 11 30 and I was like I'm coming in and I was in a bit of pain then so I went into the hospital and 11 30 they they were like, go away. And they put me in a bath. Midnight, my waters broke 1230. She was born. So it was all quite quick. So I was home by 630pm the next day. Anyway, I got home. And I was like, okay, we're home. This is where you've got to start becoming the parent. And, you know, over the next few weeks, I felt great.
Starting point is 00:14:45 Obviously, your body is completely different to anything you've ever seen before. And I honestly didn't recognize my body. Our little girl was amazing and she slept well and she did everything really well. And I think we were quite together and stayed very calm and were quite sensible with everything and just took it all in our stride but I wanted to start doing exercise so in that hour I might have free while she's asleep I'd be like right I'm going to go back out and I tried running and my knees started bending backwards they were hyper extending um and because the relaxing was so present in my joints that actually it was far too soon I didn't realize I didn't realize that's why you shouldn't go back to running.
Starting point is 00:15:27 So I had to wait, I had to wait three months until I could run again. But I did the marathon when she was just seven months old. Gosh. And I thought by doing the marathon, I would get spring back into shape. But it absolutely does not happen like that. I mean, I definitely, definitely took me a year to get back into like my pre-baby teens and even then they've never quite been the same um now it's clear that you're fit and healthy but is it true that you have not eaten crisps in 34 years since you made a bet with your mum when you were a child yes we were at school and
Starting point is 00:16:04 loads of my friends were giving things up for Lent and we don't do that. We don't do that in our family. But I was like, everyone's giving something up. What shall I give up? Let's see if I can do something. And she went, right, I bet you a pound you can't give up crisps for a month. And I went, I bet you I can. And then I went, no problem. She went, okay, let's make it harder. Let's do chips as well. And I was like, fine. And that's it. Not touched either since. You have got some pretty serious willpower. That's good. I mean, don't, I mean, I can eat plenty of other stuff. Don't get me wrong. I mean, there's, you know, I haven't given up everything. I've just given up those two things.
Starting point is 00:16:38 So you can, and I can find loopholes. Like I can officially say I'm allowed tortilla chips because they are not a crisp, because they are not made with potatoes. Just a reminder that Duracell is partnering with the European Academy of Paediatrics to educate medical experts and parents about the dangers of swallowing lithium-coined batteries and how to prevent it. Yes, with its baby-secure technology and tamper-proof packaging, Duracell really is the safest battery brand for families. So you hear a lot of people saying running helps their mental health. What's been your experience of running and your mental health? Well, I mean, when I started running, it's funny because when I wrote my book, so I've got my bookrunner's eyes out now. And when I wrote it, you start thinking about your running journey more than you probably ever have before. And actually, when I started running, I just wanted to run for 30 minutes without stopping.
Starting point is 00:17:35 That's literally all I ever wanted to do. And it was only through doing that I realized how good it made me feel. Now, don't get me wrong. If you start running, you will notice the benefits immediately. You don't have to be super fast. You don't have to run super far. Just running for 30 minutes twice a week will benefit you massively. You don't even have to run the whole way. You can do a run walk because that's how I started. And what you do is you just go out there, get started in your journey,
Starting point is 00:18:04 set yourself a challenge of a distance, walk it, try and do it running. And it might take you months to achieve it, but you'll get there. And through that process, when you come back, even after my first run, when I came back and I was like, I had this horrible, like, burning in my throat that tasted like iron and then I had like my legs were like corned beef and my face was like a tomato. You're not selling it, I've got to tell you. But the minute you got home you sat down and you were like I feel amazing, I feel absolutely incredible and so much so that I wanted to go again so I went out again and you know you you go through that whole whirlwind of emotions and whether you feel good or bad or out of breath or you're enjoying the challenge or you're hating the challenge, you get home and you only feel good. And you have a huge sense of self-pride and achievement. And I think it's a lovely challenge to set yourself. It's free. You can do it anywhere,
Starting point is 00:19:00 anytime, on your own, with someone else. You can do it as a group. You can do it as an individual challenge. It can help you grow. But more than that, it's time out. If you do 30 minutes, even if it's a 30-minute walk, 30-minute walk run, that's 30 minutes for you, you to listen to a podcast, listen to music, listen to your own thoughts, put things in perspective. Oh my God, I ran a marathon and planned my entire wedding during that period of time. It's a really creative opportunity. And I just, I being a runner, don't understand why nobody else would want it, why other people wouldn't want to feel like that. Can we talk running essentials, like the kit that you love, but specifically running bras, because I feel like
Starting point is 00:19:45 it's such an important thing for so many of us and it's really they're really expensive so like you can't really just try a load and see what works and it's really hard I think to find the right one yeah no there are there are loads of I've tried quite a lot of them as well and I mean the thing is there are expensive bras out there, but if you get a good one, it's going to last for a long time. So I almost, listen, every step you make
Starting point is 00:20:13 is a bounce of your boobs, right? And every bounce is... Or in my case, double bounce. Well, look, for every bounce, whether it's a single bounce or a double bounce, whatever it is, every bounce is a potential damage to your breast tissue.
Starting point is 00:20:28 So that's why you need to wear a bra to support your boobs all the time. And if you're running, it's really important you have a bra that really does hold you in place. And it's, I mean, it's worth it. You'll be grateful for it. Also, if you've got big boobs, it can hurt. You know, it's not comfortable to run and bounce everywhere you go. And I know some people like it, but it's not for me. So a good running bra is important. And I've tried a lot. There's some good ones in M&S actually. Sweaty Betty do a whole
Starting point is 00:20:58 variety of them. There's a company called Mare. They do really nice running bras as well. And then you've got Runderwear. They do some too. And a lot of these companies will go right up to really big sizes as well. So don't worry if you're a bit more well endowed. There are loads of bras out there to support bigger breasted ladies. And why not too? Now, I want to know if you're still buddies with your old co-presenter Ben Shepard because he runs as well doesn't he do you go running with him and he he I used to go running with him all the time in fact we used to we trained for a marathon together a few years ago quite a few years ago he doesn't run as much now because he has a few back issues but um
Starting point is 00:21:41 he he still does occasional part runs but I think that's really his limit. He is an absolute gym monkey. If you've seen his muscles, he is all right. I'm sure some of our listeners would like to see Ben Shepard's muscles. No, I'm the queen of excuses when it comes to exercise, despite me revealing that I am getting up at 5.30 at the moment. But if if it's raining if the gym's too expensive it's a Tuesday like any old excuse
Starting point is 00:22:10 I'll use it do you ever just not feel like it and if so what do you say to yourself to get yourself out there I mean I I'm like that I procrastinate all the time I just have one more cup of tea then I'll go and sometimes you're like god I've had three cups of tea. I could have done it twice in this time. So here's the thing. Just do it and then it's done. Then have all the tea in the world you want or just get on with your day. But the more time you spend faffing around,
Starting point is 00:22:36 talking about it, you're moving into it's not going to happen territory, okay? So the thing that you've got to think, if you do it, you'll feel good. If you do it, you'll be pleased. If you do it, you can tick the box. You don't have to reschedule and put it off to another time. And if you do it, you can really be annoying to all the other people who didn't do it. You can get that last laugh. And you might as well just get on with it. I often do this thing where I'm going for a run and I'm going to run home from work. So I'll get on the, I'll say, I'm going to run home.
Starting point is 00:23:06 Don't feel like it. Okay, I will run to the tube station and I'll just get the tube home. But by the time I get to the tube station, I actually just go, I'm out doing it. I'm going to carry on running. And that's a good attitude. Get up, get out. Say if in 10 minutes you're not feeling it, you'll come home. But you'll be out there.
Starting point is 00:23:23 You'll already be doing it. You might as well carry on. Are these golden nuggets the sort of things that are in your book? Yes, of course they are. Do you know what? Here's the thing. I just talk about this all the time. This is my general chat about running, okay?
Starting point is 00:23:39 So if anyone asks me about running, I will enthuse. There's all of this in the book. There's probably things I wouldn't talk about every day in my book. And also there's probably things I'm telling you that's not in the book as well. But generally, I love running. And so writing a book about it was just like a natural progression. So in that book, you'll just find lots of tips and suggestions and also lots of anecdotes about the running community and about events like the London Marathon and tips for races and tips for things you need and tips for running in the dark
Starting point is 00:24:11 and you know because a lot of women wouldn't want I wouldn't want to run in the dark but some women do it's hard not to in winter I think sometimes well it's just not a lot of women especially would probably choose not to run um in those darker days so you you know you're limited so it's just a way of how you can do it and still feel safe um now you've mentioned that you're the co-founder of colo health which is the supplements company um and you make marine liquid collagen and i hear so many of my mum friends talking about collagen and how amazing it is. Do you want me to try it out and why? I mean, to be honest, anyone over 25 should be on collagen.
Starting point is 00:24:52 Oh, wow. I'm late to this party. You know, when you get like, you hit 25, you feel great. You feel fabulous. You have no wrinkles, your face is chubby, you're like, whoa. And then it all starts kind of getting a bit wrinklier, a little bit creasier. That's because of the lack of collagen. Because as of 25, the collagen starts depleting. And collagen is what gives you elasticity in your skin. It keeps your skin hydrated. It makes you look more youthful. it gives you a glow it makes your hair shiny it makes your nails long so without it everything starts to get a bit duller
Starting point is 00:25:31 now when we get to the perimenopause menopause area as well that that's like like lack of collagen kind of accelerates it kind of or it goes out the window altogether. So really taking collagen is going to do a whole load of good. It's going to improve your hair, the quality of your hair, thickness, the shine. It's going to help the quality of your skin, the elasticity. It's going to make you look a little bit more dewy and fresh. It's going to contribute to stronger nails. It's going to give you benefits in of joint health, recovery after exercise, your immune system. I mean, there are so many reasons why you should take a collagen supplement.
Starting point is 00:26:12 And marine collagen is amazing because it's more in tune with the human body. And liquid collagen is more readily absorbed by the human body. So taking a marine liquid collagen is the best. And taking a collagen that's got 10 grams in a serving is ideal because that's what all the tests have been done on. So anything less, the tests have been done on 10 grams. So that's what you need to take, which happens to be the amount that is in every one of our sachets. My friends discuss, you know, that there's been so many discussions about whether their collagen tastes fishy, whether it tastes disgusting.
Starting point is 00:26:50 And I'm like, oh, I'm not being sold on this. But you've sold it to me, Jenny. I think I need to start on the collagen. Yeah, you do. I mean, you can even put it in smoothies. You can do it. I just take mine straight out of the sachet so easy. And also we've got vitamins in ours as well.
Starting point is 00:27:04 And so you I mean you get everything you need it's good so I want to talk to you about being a working mum does your husband James share the load who's the one booking the haircuts and the dentist appointments and doing the school trips and all of that stuff oh well all the kind of admin-y style stuff obviously falls to me because that's the non- kind of admin-y style stuff, obviously, falls to me because that's the non-sexy, non-exciting stuff, obviously. But all the kind of hero moments,
Starting point is 00:27:32 he picks up, clearly. I'm on the radio every single morning. So he does the school drop-off. I do the school pick-up, generally, unless I'm working and then he will come in. It's very much a partnership in terms of the parenting. I mean, he's, he's amazing. And because he runs his own business
Starting point is 00:27:51 and he runs Colo Health, our supplement company, he's, he's able to kind of help out a lot. And my mum has been amazing over the years. She lives in Glasgow, but she comes down to London to help us out whenever possible. yeah I mean it's very much a collaborative affair parenting and yeah we both we both take it on and we both are very much um part of it but in terms of admin dentist all that stuff I book it all but I might he might get a whatsapp going today you were taking Ella to the dentist at four o'clock and then he knows he has to pick her up and take her so he just gets a to-do list and he does it that sounds familiar um well obviously you've been through the baby stage you've been through the toddler years you've been through what i call the golden years of age five to ten and you're now in
Starting point is 00:28:39 the pre-teen years um which has been your favorite stage of parenting and why oh they've just all been amazing I mean forget the terrible twos and the you know three nature all that stuff which every now and again you'll remember something that they we were talking the other day about how the naughty step was a thing in our house and how she used to just sit on the naughty step and she'd go like this. And she'd just walk off and sit herself on the naughty step. Amazing. I loved all these stages for all these little stories. I mean, I just, every step of the way, the cuddles have changed through the year.
Starting point is 00:29:16 You know, the way they hug, the way they kiss, the way they talk to you, the names they call you, whether it's mummy, mama, mum. Sometimes I just get called Jenny Fowler. And I'm like, oh. And this is just a new stage. I think I'm just discovering new things about her as we go. And age 12 is certainly, there's certainly more debate than ever before.
Starting point is 00:29:42 And I'm in the stage now where I don't know her style. And I better pay attention because what I get is not her style. And she has her own style. And I have to respect that. So we're at that stage. Well, I, too, have a 12-year-old daughter, Jenny. So I know. Oh, I know. What are your biggest challenges with
Starting point is 00:30:08 a tweenager in the house? Because I could talk for three hours about mine, but I won't bore you all senseless. I think the mistake is, I mean, we have been ditched, by the way, totally ditched. She is wanting to be with her friends all the time. And I think it's lovely. And I just, I want to encourage her to have friendships and I want to encourage her to try everything. The one thing I worry about is that she falls into the habit of only doing what her friends do. And so for me, at this age, where they're so highly influenced by their peers, I want her also to do things that are unique to her that's not reliant on friends
Starting point is 00:30:48 because she has to make her own path eventually. And I love her being with her friends all the time, but I also want her to do things for herself. So I also want to remind her to be independent, which she is away from us, but as well, I want her to do things without relying on friends. So I just want her to
Starting point is 00:31:05 have lots of life experiences and enjoy it. We also try and do something together. So I try and take her somewhere new. Every year we have a weekend where we go somewhere, just the three of us. And she has to, so whether it's Edinburgh or maybe Paris or, you know, just something that we just do, the three of us, we don't, we don't have to go to museums, but we just walk everywhere and we just learn about it together. And we, you know, we'll all have something we want to do. And she gets treated equally. One night she'll choose a restaurant.
Starting point is 00:31:36 One night I will. One night James will. Likewise, one night she'll choose what we're going to look at today. And it's just about giving her a fair chance, but also trying to make sure that she can make choices for herself as well. That's so lovely. When you think about all the stages that we go through as mums, it's a lot, we need to pat ourselves on the back, I think. But what do you think, Jenny? What do you think that you've learned about yourself since becoming a mom 12 years ago um well I've actually I've
Starting point is 00:32:06 actually learned that I've become health and safety obsessed I don't know where that came from I couldn't have cared less a few years ago but now I'm like um hang on a minute can we just check um my little girl was hit by a car a few years ago. And when she was just turning seven, she had her seventh birthday in hospital. And you cannot at all prepare yourself for the emotions of suddenly this absolute stress and terror and worry and panic. And you go to hospital and you're like,
Starting point is 00:32:41 right, this is it. So I may have become slightly overprotective since but it's just you you do anything for these little things and you know they even she's 12 you know even when she's 19 she'll still be my little baby and I want to be there for her so learning about myself I've just learned that I I want to make sure she is well and good and okay all the time. Thank you, Jenny. Thank you so much for coming to chat to us today. It has been a pleasure to have you on the podcast.
Starting point is 00:33:13 It's been really lovely being on here. Thank you so much for having me. Don't forget, you can get in touch with us on all social channels, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. Just type in Netmoms and you'll find us. And if you liked what you've heard today, we'd love for you to give us a five star rating,
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