The Rising’s Growing Together Podcast - Hygiene, Health & Puberty: Parenting Lessons Every Modern Family Needs @TheRising1111 Ep. 8

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

In this episode of Growing Together, Billie and Charlotte dive into the essential parenting lessons that many of us wish we’d known sooner from children’s hygiene and body boundaries to women’s health awareness and having The Talk with your kids. They cover: • Why smear tests and health checkups are vital for women • How to make personal hygiene fun and easy for kids • The importance of privacy, boundaries, and respect in parenting • Approaching topics like puberty, periods, and growing up with confidence • Debunking common health myths (with a fun fact-or-fiction game!) Plus, relatable chats on family moods, wedding planning, and how weather shifts can affect parenting routines.If you’re navigating the early stages of parenting, teaching kids about self-care, or want to feel more confident handling sensitive conversations this one’s for you. New episodes every Friday! Hosted by Billie & Charlotte best friends, ambitious mums, and career women sharing real conversations about motherhood, health, and growth. Connect with us: www.linktr.ee/therising1111#parentingtips #womenshealth #SmearTestsSaveLives #kidshygiene #healthyboundaries #pubertytalk #modernparenting #growingtogetherpodcast #respectinparenting #healthmythsdebunked

Welcome back, guys. Welcome to Friday. Yes, the sun is back. Fine, well. It was thunderstorming raining this morning, and then all of a sudden the sun come out. So I was like, quick, hang a washing. Hang the washing.

I was thinking about you because you've got a tumble dry, and I was like, oh, my washing is just getting more and more and more. because there's been, I don't remember the last time we had this much rain. It has been a bit miserable, isn't it? It's been a bit... Yeah, it's, luckily it's not constant. Like, it comes and it goes,

but it is like most days every other day at the minute. Yeah, it is. It is like, it's the wet for me. Yeah. It's the wet and the grey. But no, it's back. The sun is back. Instantly, lovely.

Yes, and it's Friday. But we've had a nice week, I suppose. Well, the kids were off. So your kids were off at the beginning. Mine was off, yeah, and yours were off ever this week. And Kaysen's been off at the end of this week. But they were all off on Wednesday. Yeah, so that was Spanish Father's Day.

That was nice. We didn't do too much, to be honest. We just chilled at home, went for a walk. Yeah, Casey made a little handwritten card. Same, as did the same. It was funny, you put, to my amazing dad, something like, we love you, and we are lucky to have you. You cook us food.

Thanks. And then, yeah, you cook us food. We're lucky to have you. Hayden said, Gougu, Gaga, love you too. Oh, bless me. It's so cute. Yeah, so they did that. They made all the things.

The Adepapa. Yep. Which was good. I went to Gibraltar. You did. It did. I haven't spoke to you since. Literally just flew Gibraltar.

When you say flu, you meant drive. Well, I did. a trope yeah it's a long drive yeah it is long but I like it it's alright it's a not easy drive it's nice too of us me and Liam have always liked driving so when we lived in England and we were in Portsmouth we would drive four hours up to Derby every now and then and I loved it for me I'd rather that get in get out on the once you're in the airport you're in argue you can't get you out and then you're on the plane you can't get out you know what I mean so it's just it's nice it's what you make of it and I like it I like

it so yeah we drove there just got an idea of what it was like there and you know for doing a did you meet anyone or was you just looking around or did you actually go to speak to no no no I didn't meet no I didn't speak to anybody I've already got an idea of everything anyway so it was just me seeing it with my own eyes and visualising and you know exactly how I wanted it and whatever whatever so I suppose for those listening if you don't know if you live in Spain

and if you're resident in Spain you've got the option to go down like doing it all paperwork in Spain which is just long or you can get married in Gibraltar and then you can have obviously either a whole other wedding in Spain like what we did or you could just do a celebration or yeah so going down the route of paperwork as well I'm a foreigner aren't I yeah um I've heard it's just long and I I can't involve with a lot of things I'm definitely going to be with all that yeah so um it was a choice of getting married in England or getting married in Gibraltar yeah basically for us I don't think we even considered

because we knew we were having like essentially a fake ceremony Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We just went to Gibraltar because we didn't make a thing of it. Yeah. So where my, obviously, mine is more in the day is the day. So, yeah. And yeah, it was nice. It was good.

It was a good night's day. Got things a lot clearer in my head of how I wanted, how, where we were going to stay. Because it's not just for me and the kids. It's, you know, for the parents as well and the walking and the location of stuff. Do you know what I mean? So as much as it is obviously about me a mix, that's the main. thing you don't want to have to worry about them things you know yeah i would you know yeah of course you would it's only normal isn't it it's your mom or your dad or your indoors or your family you know you just

want to make sure they're all comfortable and everyone's yeah easy going and that's it so yeah it was nice um that that side of it was good uh we didn't do too much because we want to do some of it well most of it's not that much to do obviously on the island but but we want to do it with the kids you know like to do the monkeys or go to the rock or the caves or whatever it is that they do you know we wanted to do it with the kids so the main thing was going to see where we'd be getting married where we'd stay maybe where we'd eat you know that sort of thing basically the most exciting thing we did we went to morrison's did you stock your car um yes so we went there the first he was oh god there's a morrison so we went in there and it was like oh this is so

much fun like i know this sounds sad people but until you know you know i don't so yeah and um we're oh they sat in the other and I was like well we might as well just come back tomorrow before we leave and with the car we didn't have we was walking at this point and where we were standing at the top so I was like that's not happening um so yeah so we went back the next day with the car and stocked up bits that obviously can be can be still I think we did the same thing I I vividly remember going into it must have been Morrison's I don't know if they've got any other supermarkets there but Morrison's briefs it was a market Suspensis that wasn't very good.

Oh yeah, no. That wasn't very good. It's too poche. Yeah, it was. He made for an upstairs, and I was downstairs, and I was like, did you see anything you liked? He was like, no, the clothes aren't very good. And if they were, they're well expensive. I was like, it's Marks of Spence's way.

I've heard the Marks and the Adverts look amazing, but I've never, I've never tried it. Yeah, no. Yeah, we would have gone to Morrison's and got, like, some spices and cereals and all those kind of things that cost us an arm in a look up here. Yeah, it is. But yeah, no, I enjoyed Gibraltar. when we went um but we didn't actually go before we went to do it so you've gone ahead of time planned it all we went with like you know both our parents and and siblings and um we stayed at lillinia which is on the outskirts of the border the night before um we had like apartments like all near

each other and um we all arrived because we all drove down different cars and then like there was bottles of champagne and kava and stuff so we all got quite drunk the night before yeah I had the worst hangover waking up the morning in the car like driving in i just remember like having a proper headache and hanging out the window like oh i feel really rough um and then we went obviously across the border into to go and to do it and yeah it we never had been there before oh no tell a lie the day before we did go um because you've got to go you have to present the original documentation so that is a lie we did go the day before i think maybe even just me and him i can't remember if we all went or we might have all

wandered up and down the streets or whatever but we didn't spend much time there presented the original documents and funnily enough when we were in the queue to present them and the woman from next door which is where the things take place she was like oh would you two want to come and be witnesses for a wedding and we were like okay so we've done our thing and we went in and just this English bloke and this Spanish woman we're getting married completely by themselves and we were their witnesses so we're actually like on their marriage certificate but it was good because we got to like like hear the words like the day before because that's one thing that I was a little bit nervous

about I think Liam was probably a little bit more nervous than I was about saying all them all the words and repeat and everything um oh so what you said and we went in the room and it's only a really small room like yeah I don't know what to expect but it was nice that we got to see it the day before then we all went back but yeah trying to like park make sure we arrived on time um I just wore like a jumpsuit I think it was like beige and um pink something like that um So we didn't dress up. I don't think we exchanged rings. So we kind of kept it like really like low key

because I didn't want to do too much there and then feel like it. Yeah, because like we had like two weddings. Yeah, but your main focus was the, the, when you had the. Because we knew we were doing a whole ceremony and a whole celebration after. And we actually did it about a year before we got married because, funnily enough, we booked it for kind of like the anniversary of when we met. Yeah. Which is, I always thought it was a.

24th of November, but it wasn't. We got married on my birthday. Ah, where? In De Rolta, and then we got our actual wedding with everyone and all the guests was the following September. So we had quite a lot of the year already married. But yeah, we just went that day, done, done it with, you know, close parents and siblings. And then we went to pizza, pizza, buffet.

And that was kind of it. That's what we did. We didn't really make too much of it. No, there's, like you want to do something, like, you do something, like, because you, it's marking, you know, what an occasion of a big one because, you know, but for you at the same time it was like, okay, this is just like the paperwork side. Exactly. And then we'll focus on that. Whereas more for me, this is, this is more ever significant day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so, yeah, it got everything clear. It was nice. Um, it was so lucky with the weather because it was

lovely there. Yeah. On that day, just the day that we were looking around and walking around. So that was good. Um, and yeah, and drove back and then that was it. There was, Spanish Father's Day and then back into routine for me. Obviously, yours were the way around. Yeah, so you had jaws off the beginning and I had mine off at the end. Oh, actually, just a quick one. Sorry, shout. Wow, well, I can't doubt.

Sorry, it's just because I know I had to say something and I'll keep going to say it. I have had my smear. Okay. So I really wanted to remind people to girls, please, please, please go and get checked, okay? Really, really important. Yeah. Yeah, that's a really big thing for me. I was told from obviously having children young that you have to have regular check.

You have to have your first check after six months after having your child. I mean, again, this could have changed now. So obviously my eldest is, the thing. But so from then, I've always had regular checks. And when certain things have come up, different a virus that carries a cancer cell. Abnormal sex, isn't it? So, yeah, I've had to have different prevention, the medication and that didn't help in the end so I had to have some of part of my uterus

sort of lasered away because that wasn't recovering but I'm okay now everything's fine but my point is they caught it and they did what they did because before it turned having checked yeah exactly so you hadn't have gone and you'd left it for years and years then yeah it could have been something yeah yeah this was years ago this happened yeah but it just really really makes me think get checked make sure you get checked regular keep on Yeah. It's awful when you see them stories because sometimes people find out so late and there's not really any kind of symptoms and things to it. So it's one of those things you just have to go and do as a preventative measure. And I know it's not nice. Just relax. Just relax. I've never had a problem. Like it really don't bother me. None of mine have ever hurt. I've probably had about three or four. I've actually got an appointment on Monday. it was kind of automatically booked. I don't even know whether it's a smear test

or whether it's like post-baby check-up. Okay, yeah. Because I didn't book it, but it's in my diary. It's in my calendar, so. Something's getting checked. Something's getting checked or tested, I don't know. The point is keep on top of it. Yeah, definitely.

Well, obviously, Hayden's nine months now, so maybe they have automatically booked me in for a smear test for after. or it could be the fun post-baby check-up cough for me although I feel like I'm a bit past that now that first initial check-up after the baby's not nice although I haven't said that

with Kaysen it's like six weeks after isn't it the midwife checks you know things are all okay and with with Kaysen she gave me like an internal check to make sure everything was okay but obviously with him it was a bit more of a not traumatic but I

but, you know, I had stitches and things like that. But with Hayden, they should just, I went to the same appointment after, and how are you, all okay? Yeah? Was it? And I literally remember going in saying, telling him,

oh, I really can't be awesome this. I really don't fancy it. They should just ask me if I was okay and sent me on my way. Yeah. I think then, from what I remember, I can't remember too much as to be honest. They're worse for me, I would say, than a smear test. Oh, 100%.

It's the thought more than anything about all of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The smear test is obviously just, one thing of it. Just relax. Just relax. You know what I mean? They get the clamp thing to do what they do. But the obviously the post one, you've just had so

much going on down there. And you think the thought of someone, you know, checking stuff. Yeah. Six weeks after. Yeah. It just makes little bit funny, but it needs to be done. It does need to be done. The pelvic floor thing with the cough thing and all that. Yeah, yeah. I've never

forget my mum telling me. obviously when I was pregnant with Mason because I was young like keep you around do that you know all this and I'll never forget

me telling me how important it was to do them yeah I just one of them things you try to do and you always forget but with Kaysen no problem

she checked me after and she said yep you're all good and like the cough and all that and the pelvic floors were strong with Hayden

it took me a couple weeks to get back get back to normal yeah I I think that happened to one of mine. It might have been Lexi and they, she said, yeah. And I was like, what does this mean?

Am I going to just, I'm not going to just wee myself? What does that? What happens? What does this mean? Like, is it going to come back? I think it's different for everybody for me. It's just, I don't know if it was my age. Obviously, or the third, that it just took a bit more time to go back to, you know,

but it did maybe think. And also, like, maybe, I don't know if it's how much you push on, like, whether it's the birth related or whether it's just how strong you are. But, yeah, with how. Hayden, I was okay to, like, hold it. Yeah. Once I went, you know, when like, you stop yourself. I couldn't stop myself.

Well, I didn't think I had a problem until she told me. So it was only when she was said it. I was like, yeah. What does this mean, you know? But I think she was just when indicating, you know, make sure you do the, and keep on top of it. And it's the same thing with all of that, all of that general health. I did panic, but it literally only, like, a week.

Exactly. Yeah, my, yeah, you just remind you. Just to remind you, like, you know. Yeah, imagine, like, having that issue, like, for life yeah yeah so just try to prevent everything to prevention yeah so yeah yeah i've had a few now um i had one at the toribeck hospital that one was probably my most uncomfortable but even that wasn't nothing to not even you know thing about they are well they are but they're all right and then i had a few with um the private hospital and yeah the first one i went to they told me to take

everything off. I remember thinking, you're for a smear test. Why am I taking everything off? This is weird. But they give me a breast exam at the same time. Oh. So I've never had that before. I've never, no. I've been, no, I've never, well, why did you go to this, Bill?

Part of me was thinking, because I've read stories like doctors taking advantage and things. I'm thinking, oh my God. But was this before, actually, this was my first smear test. So I think I'd booked him for myself, even before I'd had been part of a thing. So I think it was just part of the package. And actually, he ended up being the doctor that I went to with my pregnancy with Kaysen. And he was lovely. Yeah, so he's.

And so, yeah. It wasn't just some weird. In the moment, I was a bit like, whoa. And there was a nurse in the room as well. So I was thinking, right, well, if this is dodgy, he's not going to do it in front of a nurse. Yeah, yeah, no, of course. I've just never heard of that before. Well, I wasn't prepared for it.

I know. I was a bit. Whoa. But then I thought that's another thing that we need to be doing as well. is feeling for lumps and bumps and things. Yeah, that's a, well, all of that, you think, you know, just everything with, with ourselves, with the kids, with, you know, your partners, you know,

the men have got to keep on, Papa, there, checking and whatever else. And it's, you know, some people go, well, I do, sometimes I go funny about talking about stuff, but so it is important. It is so important. I think it makes you go funny because nobody talks about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's not something that I grew up, hearing about, you know, and it's not even that bad, doesn't it? I'm saying it's just like a thing that makes you go oh yeah you know and it's not even that bad no I really don't mind getting a smear test and you've got to keep on top of it as well because obviously whether you're private or not private getting appointments can be difficult and sometimes it makes you just want to give up yeah you know what I mean but keep on and keep doing it well I think I've I requested one ages ago I think actually in one of my post birth checkups with Hayden they automatically put me in for one yeah she asked me when my last one was but I didn't

it's still not been contacted to have one with the public hospital but then the private one I think they just automatically get to me in well either way whatever you can do but you've got you've got to do it everyone yeah um yeah even well even with the kids teaching them to you know be clean and you know yeah look after yourself whether that's diet exercise you know hygiene we talk a lot more now than we ever did it's not really something i don't really obviously like make sure you clean yourself and things like that and wash hair and stuff. But I don't remember going into too much detail about like oral hygiene, how to clean myself, you know, deodorant and how to, you know, wash my face, you know, when you're getting spotty and all those things. I don't remember having conversations about it.

I feel like we're more kind of aware to have these conversations now. Yeah, I mean, probably was mentioned stuff because, well, I lived on a, I was either at the horse ride. or something like that. So you were a dirty girl. There was no shit. But it is, it's a funny thing I find with kids that sometimes you get to an age or a stage, I don't even age, it's a stage. Yeah.

Where you can't get them in the shower. And when you get them in the shower, you can't get them out of the fading shower. You know what I mean? That's one of them things. Then you get one when they don't stop showering. When they're showering morning, noon and night for absolutely no reason whatsoever. you know um but but yeah i do think it's important that they that they are what i'm aware that you know of how to do everything properly from yeah boys bits to girls

bit you know and they should be shown you should you should you should show them i think that yeah that's who needs to you have to don't me so yeah i don't remember being shown but i must does that make sense yeah maybe it's just one of the things that you don't really talk about and you just assume and then yeah but the one thing i remember and remember being shown by my was how to dry myself properly with a towel. I know that's really random. Is there a right way to do that? Well, this was it.

Obviously, as a kid, I probably just wrapped it around me. I'm like, he's like, dry yourself. I'm like, no, I'm done with that. Yeah. You know? And then he actually showed me how to, you know, to do your back properly and down this way and down that way. I don't know, but you do.

You have to go like that. Don't you to get your back properly? Like, so, you know, them kind of things. I remember that. I remember that. I remember really showing that. And what, I know it sounds stupid, what order to dry myself?

Okay, I've never heard this. I know, I know, but this is what I mean. So I can't just get a towel and then dry myself in these areas and then start drying the rest of my body. Right, okay. Do you get what I'm trying to say? So it was that kind of a thing of different towels, your face towel, you've got, you know, that kind of a thing. Yeah.

Yeah, so that's the thing in my house as well. Everyone's got different colour towels. You told me this not long ago, and I've only just heard this, but that's a great idea. Yeah, so everyone's got their own colour towels. And you know you're not using other people's towels in a house when there's a lot of you and in a house where you don't want to wash the towel after every single use.

Yeah, because you've got like, depends. So, yeah, you've got obviously like adult men, Mason and Mitch having a towel. I think Lexi was the one. I want to wipe my face on their bumhole or something rude or awful like that than she would probably say.

But yeah, so yeah, all different kind of towels, body towel, face towel, and then you've got the general hand towel for the bathroom when you put the hands off weather. So yeah, so that's how we do it. That's a lot easier. Everyone can follow that. But in regards to showing them, teeth, here you go. Teeth brushing teeth.

Yeah, I saw something that had come up on my TikTok, like super nanny going. You know, nowadays the schools are having to teach kids how to brush their teeth properly. because the parents aren't doing it. And, you know, how much do you want to put on the teachers? This should be a parent thing. And, you know, one thing I did do for Casey is downloading this app, this Disney app, and it counts down for two minutes. And he does it in the morning and in the evening to get a whole star.

I think it's half sticker and a whole sticker. And generally we do, for him, it's quite good to remember. Yeah. He is pretty good at doing it twice a day. I'd say lately I've kind of left him to it a little bit more. Yeah. But then sometimes I can hear him like, humming or talking to himself and he's obviously not doing every two and stuff so it's

keeping him focus yeah um but adults are just as bad for it obviously but that's where it has to start you know with yeah with all of that yeah and I'm not that strict to doing it twice a day I must have been no but we all get days of me even me alone you know yeah and you're getting something like no I'm not going no I'm staying again um but the it's that it's showing them how keeping on top of it um making sure they are doing it properly yeah um sometimes i'll leave mine to do and sometimes on a random i'll check to see if they have done it properly you know to kind of throw them um yeah yeah and one thing as well that i think's not good is that they used to at school they used to have to take

you know how you'd have to take you your sport your kit bag kind of thing you'd like your change yeah you change a tisha and all your smellers and flannel whatever um they used to have to take another bag with your toothbrush and toothpaste and plastic or wherever they had. And so that they would have to go after their snack time and if you was in Commodore, after Commodore, dinner time, to brush your teeth. And they took you, and I thought that was

brilliant. That is exactly what should, that's showing what, you know, that's a normal habit and routine. And it's an extra toothbrush in the day, isn't it? It should be, that's how you should, and it's just I think it's a good example of showing, you know, you've had your food, you go and brush your teeth now and do, I don't know, but yeah, they've took it out. I was going to say Kaysen's never done that, but then he started school just after COVID. Yeah, it was COVID, probably. But then they brought back, like, he has a wash bag.

Yeah. He's got a change of a T-shirt, because obviously it's different because in the UK you take your P-E kit, so you get changed into your sports clothes. Yeah. Then you take your sports clothes off, whereas here they just wear their clothes. And then they have. a possible change of t-shirt and they have soap and yeah they're the proper good i've seen things all around his classroom and stuff of and he tells me like how to wash your hands

yeah yeah yeah so they're getting them into that habit it's like it's a shame that they were doing something so good yeah as toothbrushing and if they're already in the bathroom cleaning themselves what difference yeah make to have i do you see that's one thing that they should i've never heard of it in the UK and i'll never remember no because like saying in the UK you change your clothes completely but we never wash but at the brush we did wash we did wash I've never remember taking toothbrushes school? No, even in our liminar, which was here, but it was an English school, we had, did we get changed with it? No, when we had PE days, we wore our track suit, we had our, you had a, you know, we had a, well, no, we had two sets of uniform.

So we had a formal uniform. I probably was like the skirt and the polo and the jumper, which you wore on days. You didn't have any, yeah, yeah. And then if you had PE, you were allowed to wear the track suit, but you wore that all day. Yeah. So you didn't get changed. Or that every day anyway. I think in the end we did, yeah.

But, yeah, no, we didn't get changed. I don't remember changing. So that's it. Like I say, it's actually a good thing that Spanish schools do. And especially with the heat here. Yeah, they should. That's probably why they do it. Yeah, but it should be a thing, you know, of standard basic hygiene of, you know, of them things.

And yeah, it obviously starts at home of, you know, showing boys how to clean their bits properly, showing girls how to clean and dry. there be it's probably don't forget the try don't forget the drink but yeah I think there's little things that yeah for sure parents should be doing

I mean I even saw something the other day and it never even crossed my mind yet and obviously Kaysan is still quite small but I think he's definitely at the age I need to start being a bit more mindful for these things like we don't have locks on any of our doors

at home because the kids have always been little and obviously both bathrooms my onsuit and Kaysan's bathroom they don't there's no locks on it so if anyone's in the bathroom then obviously just come in and I walk into the bathroom when he's in the bathroom you know checking on him or if he's in the bath in and out but I saw

a woman and she was saying that even from a young age like that realistically you should be taught from now to close the door not before going in you know kind of I'm a little bit more aware of a bit of privacy yeah he is very like now when he gets changed he like covers himself up yeah so he's getting more aware of his body anyway at this age but it's yeah those kind of yeah I'm just trying to think of how my house is that's why with the with the lock situation because we've got locks on the bathroom but they only really get used they don't it doesn't always get used then yeah do you know what I mean um so and and yeah it's true you you they should and they should be taught that you know

like in that way I suppose but then it gets to a point of being you don't want them too much Do you get what I mean? Like, especially at home in a family, that's your home, that's your family. So obviously, you don't leave the door open if you're having a shit because that's disgusting. But, you know, you know what I mean? It's like a thing of, and it's just respect. Well, that even if the door was unlocked, you knock any way in a way. Yeah.

Just, I mean, it's different at home. Brothers and sisters and whatever, they've barging and barge out. I was going to say, I don't longer have in any boundaries. Yeah, exactly. As long as I think they learn that ground thing of general respect. I think it's more of a common sense. things and I think it depends on that would scare me I think I think just because as you were saying I don't know if I'd feel if Lexi locked the door even you know what I mean yeah that side of it

yeah like why you're looking the door and lock the door yeah I think it's an age thing as well because you kind of obviously need to keep an eye on them and stuff like that and then obviously you've got boys and girls in the house and then you've got you know teenagers preteens one's coming up they're all starting to get aware of themselves yeah there needs to be boundaries but it's Mine are all quite open, but obviously in different houses, it's different things. You don't, you know, it is that balance, obviously. Well, I don't think there's a need to go as too far the other way that everything's completely private and, like, I can't eat. Because, like, they're in their swim stuff in the summer.

It's like, you know, not saying that they should walk around naked in front of each other. But then, yeah, like sometimes. That's, that they do that. I, we don't in our house. I know some people that, like, wouldn't even change a t-shirt even with, like, underwear. on in front of their siblings. Which is, obviously, if it's a boy and a girl, that's a bit strange. But I mean, like, even saying, like, two girls, because they're so thing.

But sometimes I'll just go and have a, go to have a quick way kind of thing and just shut the door too. It's not long, it's not even shut. It's just shut the door to a quick way. And it's, like, one of the kids' friends are there. Oh, shit. No. I forget that actually someone else. Well, that's it.

At the moment, we're not doing that. I don't close the door when I go to the bathroom, like, say, I'm less certain occasions. But, yeah. like Kason comes in and he starts talking to me and I'm talking to him and I don't see any problem with it. I feel a problem when they go in and they can't get in the door. If it's what's going on and it's a lot, but saying I will probably do that with them. Well, more Lexi, I suppose.

The boys now obviously all right and age that whatever, but yeah. It's a very difficult balance. Yeah. But yeah, I think that you need to start kind of making them a little bit aware. But then like I say, I don't want him to be too thing about, you know, people, you know, you need to cover yourself up because there's bad people out there, you know, I don't want to scare him into learning things. I probably said it to probably one of mine at one point.

But yeah, I think when I'm out more so. Because that's, I think, how we were taught. Yeah. There's, you know, you don't want to get grabbed by someone or that policeman's going to cut, like, I think we were scared into a lot of things. And my sister's really bad, like, you know, she's just hypervigilant. If we're anywhere, like, there's a man on the other side of the street, you know, she's very cautious and very, like, on edge. part of it is probably that because you get told was that the man the mom told me about and

it's like you I mean especially for girls I think there is conversations that you need to have and you need to explain these things that so girls are aware especially when they get into teenagers and stuff yeah yeah and you don't want to lose their personality with it and you don't want to scare them to a point of them not wanting to live yeah a life you know but it's true the world is a bit crazy and then so have you spoken to the boys about like how you have periods and time of the month and you know yeah so when they get to an age they they question with stuff whether something's in my bag or something's in a cupboard in the bathroom do you know what I mean that sort of thing um it's not something I would do in front

of them well case has walked in on me once you go I mean that's just not so me my pad and that's what's that so I did I kind of was like look you know get out and I'll explain and then I just said look every month so that we can have babies we if we don't have a baby then we uh the blood that we would give to the baby comes out well i i i can't even so i tried not to go into it too much but i i i know it was both the boys were at an age where they'd already kind of gone over certain bits in school yeah you know um i don't remember doing hardly any sex education in school but i think we left i think we was moving here at that time i think they were the more or less do you know what i mean

ages um but yeah so with with them yeah that's when whenever we're we're when they asked, when it, so when they asked and they were young, I was, oh, don't worry about it. Like, just mommy's stuff. And then when they get a bit older, then I would go into what we have and what we have to do and so on, so on. So then when it comes to them experiencing it or being around friends who are girls, you have it, they don't be disrespectful or be nasty or take the piss out of it or make that girl feel uncomfortable. I'm like, ew, you know what I mean? because that's the worst thing.

I think it's all been a situation where we've leaked at school or in a public place. So I was not my period. We were about to go on stage in front of all the parents. Exactly. And I had nothing on me. And it's because one of the later ones of us actually to start my period. Yeah, it's a... But yeah, boys need to understand because it isn't a thing to take the piss out of.

And I think a lot of boys our age did. I think boys in the next generation are going to be a bit nicer and kind of... I do. I think they're a lot more mature, I suppose. In a way, in a way. Well, like, well, I think we're just parenting differently. So I think kids are maybe made aware of things, whereas before they probably weren't explained anything. They didn't know anything about periods and, you know, yeah, I can kind of see where they're.

That's our department kind of thing that's not for you to know. Exactly. Now I think we talk more. What about the talk? Have you had the talk obviously made at the age where he's definitely had the talk? Morgan's probably getting around. Morgan, no, he's a bit young still. Not, yeah.

Mason, yeah, I'm in the talk. Yeah, Morgan's. I don't know, my head, I think Morgan's too young, but... I think he's too young to go into detail, but obviously he knows... Oh, yeah, he knows. He would have known how babies are made or... Yeah, but the talk, that talk. Yeah.

No, not yet. Mason, yeah, obviously. What kind of age did you start talking to him? Because I think talking to him at the point where they're, like, thinking of it is a late I think you don't want to do it too early but you don't want to do it where you kind of because I'm trying to think I think it was I think it was I think he was I think he was about 16 okay 15 I don't know you might be 15 15 16 I'm going to go on yeah around the age I think like real real talk talk yeah and and it's all right

mate so I'm not going to embarrass you I'm going to be vague but um essentially it's not even that's not even embarrassing but obviously for him that is me talking about it um uh i to put to be honest we you do the basics mitch showed showed how to how to to use protection yeah and how to actually put it on not on his obviously on a banana okay but i read that's good because there's one thing talking about it but then in the moment it comes to me you're not actually knowing what you're doing are you really it's like a it's like a it's like a I've never thought about your driving tests. They never take you on the motorway.

You go on the motorway. It's just the scariest road of all and you've never been taking on it. You don't know what you're doing. That's a good analogy that one. Thank you. So that and I sort of, not all at the same time, we did it in different bit. I left him to that and then at the time I spoke to him more. For me, I think of a girl's side of it, like, from like your perspective.

Yeah, I think just to be respectful, as much. is he's my boy as well he has to he has to be looked after and his feelings need to be cared for so on so much thing but um and again protecting protecting yourselves yeah things um but on on you know for the other side of a girl you know don't just just just be aware of feelings and and be respectful and um i have i have always told mason that that you know that girls can be bitches to. I'm not going to paint a picture that, you know, you have to be, oh, it's a boy. You know what I mean? You know, because

it's not, you know, but just be, just be a good, just be a good boy. Be a respectful. Be a good, going to go into a good respectful man. Yeah. Yeah. And, yeah, I think, I don't know, I don't know how far to go into it about, no, I think you're right doing

that because I think a lot of people focus on the actual act of what sex actually is, but there's so much else that goes around it and especially when you're at a young age and you're... Well, one thing, sorry, one thing I did mention maybe before this, actually, the big talk kind of thing, was about porn. Yeah, because I guess that comes first, right?

I think it wasn't even through Mason. It was through a friend or something. And they were young. It was either as they've been younger than him, I think. And it was something that had been found on something that they had looked at it. And that made me think, oh, okay. he's not I don't think he didn't have anything like that I don't think phones like that when it can but it just makes you think now everyone's got phones younger everyone I did

speak to the internet and I did say that um porn porn is not real life yeah don't expect that from a girl yeah really yeah to be honest because it's not yeah um and basically that yeah you know so I don't want him to watch stuff like that and then expect you know it's just not you can you know some things but a lot of it is not it's not real life is it you know it's quite extreme

and exaggerated and extreme is a good word because it's not and they go from well I don't know but I'm presuming they go from this so yeah so I did

I did mention that as well that I that's that's something to cover yeah when I had to talk about yeah again that's something that I probably would have forgot about so

I've only done boys at the minute I'm nowhere well I've done boy done one one child yeah and every person it's different, too. So when it comes to that,

I don't know how, Mason was brilliant talking to. Mason's great. I think you two have always been comfortable talking about a lot of things anyway and you've spoke to him quite frankly, like, as he's grown up about all different stuff. I've probably makes, when you get to that point,

easier to talk about. I mean, I was shocked, like, I'm sure Liam said he'd never had the talk at all. My mum spoke to me, obviously. I'm trying to think if I had the talk. I mean, I was obviously told, because I remember going, I know, I know. And then as soon as I said, I was pregnant, oh, you know, you know what I mean.

So, yeah, yeah. I think it's one of them things that, you know, when you get spoken to, especially that age, parents, what do you know? So, like, obviously, you know, I know best, yeah, yeah, yeah. And also, I think just naively as a teenager, you never think it's going to happen to you. No, I think you probably were a bit naive to, oh, yeah, and going to happen to me. I know, I know, I know, I know, mom, whatever. And, yeah, I think I've all, yeah, I think just naturally as a teenager, that's how you take any kind of, you know,

but don't be information for your parents. And, you know, you think the point of being a parent is mostly given life experience to advise them and help them along the way. But the main things of hygiene and, you know, we need to do it for ourselves. I've just said about smeared pets. I think demonstration is the best. At the end of the day, you can preach to your kids all day a lot. but that kids learn more from what they see.

So if you're not exercising, if you're neglecting your body, if you're not ever going to the doctors when you're not feeling well or complaining, that's what they learn and that's what they're going to pick up. And to be fair, mine, do see us go and have yearly blood tests and things like that to check yearly that were okay. Eye tests, you know, smear tests. I don't go into too much detail in certain ages,

but they know, yeah, I'm just going out, I've just got mummy's bits been checked, just to check everything's okay. And that's it, because I can't see inside. they can have a look inside properly check everything's okay and then I carry up you know that's that's the kind of conversations that we're starting to have I think like say just be open about everything age appropriate is obviously the main takeaway as well but like even yesterday I was watching Temptation Island which is about couples that go to an island that like are at a tough

point in their relationship they're either going to stay together or they're going to break up one normally makes them the other one go because one's not happy then they get split up into two villas and the boys live with loads of girls and the girls with loads of boys is basically to explore and be like do I miss that person do I want to be with that person or actually am I too interested in the temptation that I've got here and one guy cheated on his girlfriend very quickly with zero remorse it was actually pretty disgusting and I'd be devastated if like any of our boys grew up and acted that way so yeah Kaysen's playing he's not watching obviously but then I'm like oh my god and he's like what and i'm like that boy was really horrible to his girlfriend and

he kissed someone else and he shouldn't have done if you don't want to be of your girlfriend then finish it with your girlfriend and move on something like that and then i was like and he's just really nice and that's not how you treat people and then i was like and if you're you know that's not how you treat your partner that you're with and uh he was like yeah because if someone treats you like that they're just not your person oh bless him he's right though but that goes for relationships, friends, anything, family. And I think start talking from this kind of age and modelling it. And he said to me, it was like, because I said, I have never treated Daddy like that.

And he was like, has Daddy ever treated you like that? I was like, no, absolutely not. You know, it's getting them to see things because he sees minor and Leon's relationship as normal. But it, you know, we're trying to model something for him. But that's not what every relationship is. So, yeah, I think age appropriate, obviously. Yeah, I think, I say age. It could be just general as if their child's maturity

or when you think it's ready for your child to speak about. Yeah, exactly. But yeah, it's got to be done and I think it's really important one. But I'll say it again. Smeat test girls. Yeah, I've got my Monday. Hopefully they give me one.

Hopefully. Hopefully. Well, you're turning up the tummy. Well, yeah, some sort of check. Either way I'm going to get my legs up. So we'll see what the appointment is. Right, should we finish it with the game? Yes.

Let's do again. So the game today is health, myth or fact. Mm-hmm. So go for it. Right now. So... I'm going to be the first one to guess. Yes.

So should you... You should drink eight glasses of water a day. I'd say that's fact. Like your body's made up with a lot of water that you should be drinking. Like everyone talks about dehydration. It's a myth. The amount of water you need depends on factors like activity level, climate and diet. Some people get plenty of hydration from food.

Wow. Okay. They go. So, next one. This is irrelevant then. Yeah. I didn't even have one. So that's fine.

Trying to drink more. I don't even need to. Smear tests can detect all gynecology. Oh, God, I can't read. Gynecological. Yeah, I'll see. Cancers. Yeah.

Myth. They only detect changes in cervical cells, not ovarian or uterine cancer. I thought that you'd be able to know ovarian cancer for me. You get the cells first, the cancer cells, like I was explaining, for a virus, a little. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's interesting, actually. So you'd say the main thing. So you need different tests for other ones.

Yeah. I'm presuming that's a starter thing, like in a blood test or something else, isn't it? Okay. Next one. Wearing a bar to bed causes breast cancer. I heard this. I did used to do it a little bit when I was younger, but now I wear sports bras more than anything. But I heard this, so I'm going to say it was true.

I would have said it was true. as well, not to wear, especially you wired ones. I'm sure someone told me that because obviously when you first start wearing braids. Myth. There's no scientific evidence linking bras to cancer. Get them out, gals. Rumors. Get them out.

So I do remember when you've got them wired, horrible and comfortable. The best thing is taking it off, isn't it? The best thing. I've not had that feeling for years. No, I haven't. I don't. I don't. I don't.

I don't even want to do it. Okay. You can't get pregnant while you're on your period. you can't get pregnant I just want to read that again just so I can understand the question you can't get pregnant while on your period I would say that's true

I think I think well first of all sex on a period then well yeah you'd have to do that ew you should probably shame a lot of our viewers now

but yeah that's so old now aren't I ew back in the day so I get it so hot No, that's gross That's a no-no But yeah

You'd have to On your period So that you could get pregnant But I'd say no You can't get pregnant But I would say I'm clearly don't really Get it all

I'm doing You can't get pregnant While on the period Oh god Either way That adds contraception Exercise can help With period cramps

Yeah Backed Movement increases Blood flow and releases, endorphins that can help reduce the pain. Which is the last thing you want to do when you've got period pains, but yeah? Yeah. Yeah.

Roger. You just more just want to crunch up. Pain killer and a hot water bottle for me. I don't get them as much now, to be fair. I'm only every now and then, but mine have got worse as I've got older. Mine have gone the other way. They've got better, but I feel like I'm going back again. I don't know where I haven't.

And then I think from where I've not took the pill for the last few years, they've got worse, whereas my periods were better when I was on the period. On the pill? Yeah. So I've never, I've never been on a pill. anything like that so I wouldn't know um next final your gut health affects your mental health oh I've I've started looking at a lot of gut stuff because we've had belly issues and um yes it does yes yes stresses you out what is wrong with you yeah the fact the gut and brain are closely linked

and an unhealthy gut can contribute to anxiety and depression wow there you go so now I'm going to So you don't look after yourself, people. Yeah, definitely. That also includes going out and having fun. Yeah, obviously. I'm not saying, like, write yourself and cotton wool and sit in the corner. Yeah, no, that's what I'm saying. All the boring going to appointments and stuff.

Right. So these ones aren't really about female stuff, but these are kind of silly and outdated myths. So, right, myth or fact. If you eat too many carrots, you'll turn orange. I would have said fact, only because someone said, is it not like sunny July or saying like that? Oh, that's an orange.

Okay, I'm going to say, I'm going to say myth. No, it's fact. Oh, it's mean. It's rare, but eating excessive amounts of better carotene. Yeah. Founding carrots can turn your skin slightly orange. I remember that with like a sunny delight or something like that. Yeah, a kid drank so much they turned out.

Wow, whether that's true. I don't know. It was true or not better. Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. Well, I thought that this was true. That's what I've always been. Everyone in my house does it, and I hate it. It's not nice.

I'd do it myself. No, they all it. on everything, anything they can crack, they'll crack. And it's, it's, it's, it's myth, isn't it? I don't like hearing other people crack, but I do crack myself, not regularly, but yeah. No, it's a myth. It is a myth. Studies show it doesn't cause arthritis, but it might annoy people around you.

Yes, exactly that. I think I just told her in the end when it says, but they looked it up. You swallow spiders in your sleep. It better be a myth. That better be a myth. Your face went so serious. I'm not, my eyes are going to worry. Yeah, no, it is a myth.

It's a myth. There's no scientific evidence. that supports this and spiders don't actually want to call into your mouth. Well, thank goodness, because I actually do think I see that. Shaving makes your hair grow back thicker. I was always told this. It doesn't work. I did not that I was shaved, but I've tried and it doesn't work.

Well, even Spanish shave their daughters' babies' heads when they're little, because apparently it grows back through thicker. Well, it's a myth, so don't you do that. Thanks. Hair might seem thicker when growing back, but shaving doesn't change its texture or density. Ah, yeah. Maybe I'm guessing diet and health. does. Yeah, got a beer. Something else. Going outside with wet hair will make you sick.

Yes. No, it's a myth. What? Turn this off now because I've told the kids. I was going to say, I was definitely told this when I was younger, but are you telling your... All of that, yeah? I think I've said it for casing as well. Surely. Colds are caused by viruses, not cold weather or wet hair. Oh. Chewing gum takes seven years to digest. Who? Chewing gum takes seven years to digest if you swallow it. I think, yeah. I'm going to say, yeah. Nurse a miss. Basically, our whole childhood is a lie.

Chewing gum, your body can fully digest gum. It passes through your system normally. No way. Eating chocolate causes acne. I've never heard that. Well, sugar. So I'm going to say yeah. That's a myth.

Oh, that's a good one though. I don't mind that. There's no direct link, though a diet high in sugar and processed foods may contribute to break out. You can sweat out toxins in a sauna. I've heard that. I've heard that. Is it not true? Oh, what the hell?

Your liver and kidneys do most of the detoxing. Sweating just helps regulate your body's temperature. So when they say sweat, sweat it out and rub yourself up, those. It's like, oh, chase. You can go out in the rain with your hair wet. Don't worry. You can swallow chewing gum, eat loads of calories, don't worry. The five second rule means dropped food is still safe to eat.

Yes, 5, 10, 20, depends where you are. This is a myth because bacteria can transfer instantly. But hey, we've all been there. Yeah, it's exactly that. That couldn't do one because it depends where you are, who you are and what you've dropped on the floor. Yeah. It's like your life's favourite thing. You're like, no, especially if you're at home.

Not that I actually mop my floors very much. Mine are probably the worst, but yeah, no. Yeah. I love it. That was good. There's a lot of things that we've been lied to. Yeah, I hope that is true. Imagine it's not true.

and now we're confused and now it's come back to us. Well, Google says so. So, yeah, before we log off, just a reminder to book your smears in, like we said, and, yeah, continue to support us. You've had a lot of people telling you about the podcast. Thank you for watching. It's a bit weird, actually, because I don't see a lot of people anywhere. No one, I've never seen anyone.

And I've seen a few different people recently. And, yeah, it's not like, hi, how are the kids? It's like, hi, podcast. I'm like, oh, yes. Oh, nice, because I do forget this to actually go. live and people can't actually watch it yeah yeah no I do have a quick look and Liam always tells me how many people have you yeah so it is it's nice thank you for your support I'm glad you're enjoying it any feedback any ideas you've got anything to tell us stories let us know yeah so

I continue to share with friends family keep watching subscribe like comment whatever or everything means a lot to us so thanks guys thank you happy Friday Thank you.