Listen: Mandy and Kate, hosts of 'Too Peas in a Podcast', discuss the joys and challenges of additional needs parenting
By Georgia FreeFriday 3 Dec 2021Hope BreakfastPodcastsReading Time: 2 minutes
Parenting kids with additional needs can be an extremely lonely and isolating experience. Many children need round-the-clock care, which can make maintaining friendships and social connection difficult. Enter: Too Peas in a Podcast.
Kate Jones and Mandy Hose, who are both mums of twins with additional needs, met 15 years ago. They quickly became friends, realising they could understand each other’s situations more than anyone else.
In 2019, knowing there wasn’t enough conversation around parenting multiple children with disabilities, Mandy and Kate started Too Peas in a Podcast. The goal? Find 30 listeners.
Source: Too Peas In A Podcast Facebook
Two years (and 178 episodes) on, they have created a vibrant community of thousands of parents going through similar experiences – which is vital for support and connection.
“You just need a couple of friends. You don’t need a whole gang,” Mandy and Kate told Hope Breakfast.
“It may not be people who have the same diagnosis as you, but they’re people who understand what it’s like to be different to the women at the school gate.”
And, if you’re wanting to support parents of kids with additional needs, Mandy and Kate had simple advice: invite them over, cook dinner and be a listening ear.
“When you live with a child with a disability, it’s absolute exhaustion.
“Just sit with that person, and help. Don’t offer to help, actually help.”
Listen to the full interview with Mandy and Kate in the player above.
Too Peas in a Podcast is available now. For more information, including details on Kate and Mandy’s book The Invisible Life of Us, visit their website.