Caring for a child is a role that will include both rewarding and difficult times. It is a long-term journey. Caring for a child with CP is even more so, with extra challenges, that may require you to adapt to new situations and information.
Every child, parent, carer and family unit is different. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to parenting, but we’ve found some really helpful podcasts with some hosted by expert, many featuring personal stories, advice and tips and tricks to help you navigate parenting or caring for a child with CP. Some of our suggestions are the most popular cerebral palsy podcasts, while others are broader health-based podcasts which you may find helpful.
These podcasts are easy to listen to on your online device, and the beauty of podcasts is you can listen while you tackle other tasks like doing the daily household chores.
1. 7 things raising a child with CP has taught me
In this episode of the Authentic Parenting podcast, Danny Ozmet the producer of this podcast shares his fatherhood journey and some things he has learned through raising a child with cerebral palsy for the past 10 years.
2. Let’s Talk CP - Cerebral Palsy Foundation
This cerebral palsy podcast from the Cerebral Palsy Foundation aims to connect the CP community one podcast at a time with “Let’s Talk CP.” The podcast hosts get real with families, clinicians, and researchers asking the questions you want to know about your CP journey.
3. Helping parents with children who display challenging behaviour
The BMJ Podcast is from the British Medical Journal, and in this episode they discuss how parents can be supported when a child displays behaviour that may require medical intervention.
They discuss topics such as what is and isn't normal behaviour, the experience of parents seeking support for their child's challenging behaviour, and assessment and treatment options.
4. ParentWise - Literacy development in children with cerebral palsy
ParentWise is a cerebral palsy podcast from Cerebral Palsy Alliance, specifically for parents of a child who has a disability. In this particular episode, Speech Pathologist Alana Bain, discusses topics such as how parents can support their child if they struggle with their literacy. We also recommend checking out some of their other episodes on all aspects of parenting a child with a disability.
5. Sleep featuring Professor Harriet Hiscock
Sleep plays an important part in your child’s ability to thrive. It is important for health, wellbeing, learning and growing, and restores their body physically. This podcast from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute features Professor Harriet Hiscock and Associate Professor Emma Sciberras, who explain how to identify sleeping problems in your children, from infancy to secondary school and gives you easy-to-understand steps to improve their sleep cycles and overall health.
6. What to do when the poo just doesn't move
Constipation is a common problem for many children with cerebral palsy. The cause is not always clear and may vary from child to child. It may be due to reduced mobility, certain medications, not enough fluid intake or related to difficulty eating enough fibre.
In this episode of the Kids Health Info podcast from the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, experts in children’s health discuss constipation in kids, how to recognise if it’s a problem, how you can treat it at home and bust some common myths. The have a range of episodes based on the popular Kids Health info sheets produced by the hospital, which you may also find useful.
We hope that you find some of the podcasts helpful in caring for a child with cerebral palsy. Do you have a favourite podcast that tackles cerebral palsy and the associated challenges? We’d love to hear about it! Please get in touch with us at info@cerebralpalsyaustralia.com and we’ll look into including it on our website.