The Teal Bindi Podcast Shruti Murali

Raising a tiny human brings along with it reshuffling of priorities, changing responsibilities and a permanent interconnectedness with another life. Countless parents will agree that something simple like a hot cup of coffee in silence which we took for granted is now a source of immense happiness! What does this pursuit of happiness look like for us as parents? What are the roles of self care and self expression in this pursuit and how can we learn to start taking ownership of our own happiness?  

We explore these questions and more with Raksha Raghavan who brings her experiences and perspectives as a parent to a spunky four year old. Raksha is a programmer by profession, a crochet artist and an active breastfeeding mother supporter. She helps countless mothers as an admin of Breastfeeding Support and Information UK, an expert led group for breastfeeding support in the UK.

An empowering birth experience should be the start to every parenting journey but the reality is most births leave mothers feeling disempowered. A traumatic birth experience is one where the mother didn't feel respected, heard or cared for. These traumatic experiences significantly alter many things that follow - including the mother's mental health, her relationship with her partner and child as well as her own belief systems. We talk to Mihika Marvinkurve, who went through a traumatic birth followed by a positive, empowering one. We explore why and how birth trauma is normalised, the importance of gentle and positive births and some ways in which mothers can cope with traumatic birth experiences.

Mihika is a mother to two lovely girls, a beauty vlogger and a VBACtivist.  She shares fun and honest snippets of her parenting journey on her Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/mihika_mavinkurve/ 

Parenting comes with a lot of 'stuff', doesn't it? From diapers to toys, we are constantly buying and consuming as a parent. How can we make choices that are better for the environment? We explore this idea with Anjee Bhatia, a professional baker and artist who has adopted a sustainable lifestyle which has helped her make some sustainable parenting choices. Anjee simplifies the daunting term - sustainability, by giving us an insight into her choices and journey, we talk about some common mindsets around reusing and repurposing and touch upon some steps that we could start with to begin our sustainable journey.

This is a simple, beginner-parent-friendly introduction to the world of sustainable parenting! 

Parenting can get mundane after day after day of chores, diaper changes and routines. How can we break this rut and create fulfilling experiences with our children and engage them with our presence? We explore this idea deeper with map designer and parent to a green-eyed toddler, Arun.

Arun talks to us about how he approaches communication with his child, we explore what holds us back from having fulfilling moments with our children and shifting mindsets with respect to our children’s needs.