45 episodes
Dear Daughter BBC World Service
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- Society & Culture
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4.9 • 77 Ratings
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Namulanta Kombo and parents from around the world build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice and extraordinary personal stories in letters to your daughter, the daughter of friends and relatives, your future daughters or the daughters you never had. What do you want to say to your children? What family stories will help them in their lives? What’s your best advice? Our award-winning parenting podcast is back for season three.
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter - and please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice
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A public apology from a besotted mother
Malini has a lot of regrets about her parenting - but her daughter Raji remembers things differently.
Malini raised her family in a big multigenerational household in India, with relatives coming and going and little privacy for anyone. She and her mother-in-law were both strong personalities, and sometimes her daughter was caught in the crossfire.
Malini writes a letter to Raji about her regrets over the past. Was she too strict? Was she too possessive? Did Raji decide to move away to get away from the civil war at home?
But Raji responds with a letter of her own.
Letter writers: Malini and Raji
Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter
And please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice -
It’s just hair, with Joy Kendi
Joy Kendi doesn’t want her hair to define her – so she shaves her head.
Joy is an influencer in Kenya who’s known for her personal style – sometimes she has tight curls, sometimes long braids or a perfect afro.
But she wasn’t always so confident in her appearance. Growing up in the US, she wanted to look like the other girls around her, and didn’t know how to take care of her natural hair.
She joins Namulanta in the studio to talk about all things black hair – the salon experience, the surprising history of cornrows, and why showering with a bald head is the most liberating feeling on the planet.
Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter
And please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice -
Moving on
Mary receives a menacing message and decides to leave her home.
Mary has lived in Florida ever since her university days. It’s where she fell in love, met her Taiwanese husband, and had two children. With hopes of her children growing up and going to college in Florida, Mary thinks she’ll live there for the rest of her life.
But that all changes when, at 40 years old, Mary receives a menacing message that makes her move her Asian-American family 2,000 miles across the country. Race, neighbours and starting a new life at 40 – what happens when you no longer feel welcome in your home town?
Letter writer: Mary
Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter
And please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice -
The dating to-do list
Wen is raised believing sex is taboo but knows she must change for her daughter’s sake.
Her grandmother was ashamed to talk about it. Her mum and dad had to visit the biology section of the library to find out how to do it. Wen wants to create a safe space at home to talk more openly with her daughter.
Letter writer: Wen
Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter
And please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice -
The people-making business with Janine Harouni
New mum Janine Harouni is anxious and lonely, so why do the other mums online look so happy?
She was performing stand-up comedy while 40 weeks pregnant, but now there's a whole other set of challenges. On social media, she sees pictures of pregnant models who don’t appear to gain weight. Nobody seems to talk about the gross parts or the difficult parts. She’s exhausted and full of worry. Then a surprise family DNA test changes her perspective on motherhood.
Letter writer: Janine Harouni
Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter
And please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice
(Janine Harouni image credit: Matt Stronge) -
The perfect trap
Anna fights her eating disorder, knowing she needs to be healthy if she wants to be a mum.
She spent half her life dealing with the condition, until she was finally diagnosed and treated. Now she is working on getting better, trying to appreciate the joys in life again, and regain the spark she feels she lost. She writes a letter to her future daughter about how to avoid the “perfect trap” in which she found herself.
Letter writer: Anna
Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?
If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.
Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter
And please leave ratings and reviews.
You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice
Customer Reviews
Meaningful and wonderful podcast
I LOVE this podcast, as a woman I feel like life is often against us or things are sometimes harder and this podcast touches on so many important issues that face us women. Every episode is interesting and so meaningful and I’ve learnt so much about myself and others by listening to it. Thank you
Dear Daughter.
Gosh! Where do I start.
I’m a grandma a mother a sister etc brought up in the 60s in a small village, near a lovely City in England. Born into a fantastic and huge family with generations of hard working relatives from Lancashire. I’m white/ British.
Ever letter I’ve listen to is full of life. Normal stuff. About being a child a woman, how we question everything internally and very rarely talks about good stuff, about real issues and real questions.
These issues or questions or thoughts that our poor mother will have definitely had anxieties about, yet we never shared.
This is very sad.
We can make a difference by talking and listening to each other.
The reason I felt I had to send a review?
I’m advising all my friends and family to listen to these wonderful thoughts of articulate and strong women from all over the different cultures and countries.
Birds and the Bees just one of these letters and it’s in my head as it’s the latest episode for me to hear.
So insightful, filled with love and written as a guide to her strong independent 4 year. A massive letter for her to read from her Mum Daisy.
A letter that is so important and for when she is ready and questioning this often scary and also exciting stage of her life
So perfect.
I will take so much from this information Daisy. But not just this, from every story.
Thank you. From Lynn.
#deardaughter
Women being wise caring articulate and helpful.
Where can I hear the ‘advice one liners’ like ‘watch the boy bands whilst they are still young and beautiful’ and ‘don’t bother planting small flowers’. Such good advice. But I don’t know where that came from. I want to collect 50 of them for my daughter project.