Life Lately: How to handle toddlers saying difficult things like saying “I don’t love you”

We are BACK dAlings and honestly… we've had a week 😔💜

Some weeks you're absolutely smashing it. Other weeks your car gets towed mid-facial, you reverse into a stranger's car, and your toddler looks you dead in the eyes and says "I don't love you." This is one of those weeks for Dena...😭😭😭

Alicia's not doing much better 😅 Health anxiety has been quietly taking over her nights, and this week it got bad enough that she left a dinner party before the mains even arrived. She also opens up about the International Women's Day speech she gave at Queen's College, Melbourne Uni — and how writing it all down reminded her of just how much she's actually survived 🥹

Plus: the au pair conversation Dena's been too scared to have publicly (YES and don't judge her!!), why resilience is sometimes just exhausting, and the parenting repair moment that hit different 😢

This is the episode for anyone who's ever felt like they're failing at everything all at once, and needed someone to remind them they're not. Love you dAlings SO much 💜

1:52 — Dena's disaster week: towed car, a free facial, and a $680 bill

8:00 — "I don't love you" — Maya's bedtime rejection and Dena's ADHD trauma spiral

13:22 — Alicia's mum guilt: yelling at Isla for an accidental wee (and the repair)

19:55 — Alicia's Queens College speech — resilience, rejection and the women who lifted her

30:32 — Learning to receive compliments & knowing your own worth

32:45 — Health anxiety spiral: how Alicia talked herself out of a dinner party

38:30 — Dena opens up about having an au pair — $300/week and why it saved her family

44:43 — Recommendations: home organisation, Gemma La Prê lip stains & more

47:57 — Life Academy hits 1 million downloads + exciting things coming for you dAlings

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https://www.instagram.com/denaamy

https://www.instagram.com/aliciabanit

https://www.instagram.com/lifeacademythepodcast

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Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/957273649851434/

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Recs/Homework:

Au Pairs Australia: Search the Facebook group to find your match. Do your due diligence: police checks, working with children's card, trials!

Organised Abode (Belle): Melbourne-based home organiser who will change your life. Can't get Belle in? Clear out your wardrobe and donate. Best feeling ever ✨

Gemma Lepre French Kiss Lip Stain: The lip stain that does NOT budge. Find them on Instagram 💋

Therapy: Alicia's finally committing. Don't wait, dAlings 🙏 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices