Parenting in Progress: imperfect advice for the biggest role of your life

A book of reassurance, advice and hilarious epic fails for parents and carers of toddlers to primary-school-aged kids, from the co-host of The Juggling Act podcast and a diverse range of not-so-perfect (celebrity) mums, dads and carers, who have all made mistakes!


Somewhere between the cosy depths of your uterus and the exit from your birth canal, your newborn baby loses their paperwork. You know, that booklet with all the instructions and safety precautions: when and how much maintenance they need, and what that all-important 3am error message means. Yup, you have just been handed a screaming, hormone-inducing baby (that looks exactly like your partner – ’cause procreation is fair that way), with no manual.

You spend the next few years working out how to keep them alive before they start school, then try to teach them the life skills required to keep themselves alive, before slowly and heartbreakingly letting them go.

Just when you think you’ve got it nailed, the game changes and no one explains the rules. It’s like your phone has released yet another update with no warning and you’re left trying to work out what’s different.

What could help is a book of reassurance, advice and hilarious fails that captures your experience and has you looking on the bright side. Mel Wilson, co-host of The Juggling Act podcast and former Kidspot editor, has asked a diverse range of (celebrity) mums, dads and carers to share their warts-and-all stories of parenting. The result is this frank, funny and heartfelt book – an antidote to perfect parenting and an ode to good enough!

Take a pause from parenting and enjoy shared empathy from Abby Bishop, Amanda Keller, Amber Lawrence, Cameron and Alison Daddo, Fiona Falkiner, Grant and Chezzi Denyer, Isabelle Silbery, Jess Peris, Kathy Lette, Kelly Cartwright, Manu Feildel, Merrick Watts, Michael and Jarrad Duggan-Tierney, Nazeem Hussain, Sam Bloom, Sarah Harris, Senator Larissa Waters, Sam Wood, Shelley Ware, Taryn Brumfitt, Turia Pitt, Yumi Stynes and, of course, Mel Wilson.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Imprint: HarperCollins AU
Publication date: 01/05/2024