What happens when a childhood spent on a cattle station shapes the way you parent on the Gold Coast?

In Episode 11 of This Mamma Chats, I sit down with Laura Beveridge, a mum of two boys who grew up on her family's cattle station near Charters Towers. She now runs a construction business on the Gold Coast with her husband Jesse, around 1,500 kilometres from her family.

Laura shares what it was like being homeschooled by her mum alongside her four siblings, from radio lessons through distance education to doing jobs every morning and helping host Contiki tour groups on the station every winter. We talk about the work ethic and people skills that upbringing gave her, starting boarding school at 13, and how she is passing those values on to her own boys.

We also chat about moving away from "you'll be right" parenting towards a firm but fair approach that makes room for feelings, why resilience and emotional regulation matter more for school readiness than counting to ten, sharing the load with a hands-on dad and wanting to raise gentlemen. Laura is also really open about being hard on herself, living with ADHD, postnatal depression, holding on to her identity and building a village when your family is far away.

This is such an honest, warm conversation, and I think a lot of mums will see a bit of themselves in Laura's story.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but for many families, that village is not always easy to find.

In Episode 10 of This Mamma Chats, I talk about the role a great early learning centre can play not just in a child’s life, but in the life of the whole family.

A good centre can become a place where parents feel known, supported and understood. Educators can become trusted people to talk to, children can build strong relationships outside the home, and families can connect with a wider community going through many of the same stages.

For me, early learning should never feel transactional. It should feel like a partnership between families and educators, with open communication, trust and a genuine understanding of the child as an individual.

I talk about the value of having people around you who know your child, can celebrate their progress, help you through challenging stages and sometimes simply reassure you that what you are experiencing is normal.

Because while early learning is about children, a really great centre has the opportunity to support the whole family too.

Technology is part of our children’s world, but what role should it actually play in an early learning centre?

In Episode 9 of This Mamma Chats, I talk about the use of technology in early childhood settings and why I think we need to be really intentional about when, how and why it is being used.

From screens and tablets to taking photos, documenting learning and using digital tools behind the scenes, technology can have a place in early learning. But for me, it should never replace the things young children need most: play, movement, relationships, conversation, creativity and real-world experiences.

I also talk about why my expectations around technology at kindy can be different to the choices I make as a parent at home. Children already have plenty of opportunities to engage with screens outside of care, so I believe early learning environments have a responsibility to protect space for hands-on, child-led learning wherever possible.

This episode is not about saying technology is all good or all bad. It is about finding the balance and making sure every digital tool being used actually has a purpose.