Jillian Ross

Burn out

I am invincible! Did you know that?

I am that one mum who actually can make homemade baked goods each day, say ‘yes’ to every play date and birthday party invitation, keep my house clean, volunteer at school, be involved in my kids sports and in the community all while working part time. I can also get to the gym three times a week, commit to a mum’s netball team, show up at church looking put together with a tribe of children in tow, and maintain a vibrant relationship with my kids, friends, family and, of course, my husband.

Invincible I tell you! Continue reading “Burn out”

Dos and don’ts for the school holidays

The school holidays are upon us! I have found that mothers tend to either react with joy or groan (inwardly or audibly) at the thought of their kids being home for two weeks straight. There’s no judgement here ladies! Whether you’re a working mum or a stay-at-home mum school holidays have the potential to be incredibly fun….and incredibly stressful.

Continue reading “Dos and don’ts for the school holidays”

Growing up with our children

As mothers of young children, our days are full of repetitious routines from feeding, bathing and changing nappies to entertaining our children. The constant demands of caring for our little ones can leave us with little time to properly look after ourselves, including our need for social relationship with other adults. Continue reading “Growing up with our children”

Strong girls

When I initially offered to write a blog on the topic of strong girls, the first thing that came to mind was to offer advice on how to ‘handle’ strong willed girls. I have one of those. My eldest seems to be a perfect combination of both a strong will and stubbornness, which she gets from my husband and me (though I won’t reveal as to who possesses which, or both!).
But on further contemplation, I’ve decided to instead offer encouragement to all mothers of daughters. Because I think at the end of the day we would love for all of our daughters to grow up to be strong. Continue reading “Strong girls”

National Child Protection Week

Protecting our children isn’t always easy, but it is necessary.

Alex, a mum and a ChildSafe Champion, writes: “I was sexually abused as a child for many years and I don’t want the same thing that happened to me happen to my children or anyone else’s children.”

This is a confronting statement as we enter National Child Protection Week for another year. It’s a week where our attention turns to children like my son, innocent and vulnerable but with a world to conquer. It is our time to think about how we protect our children and how far we would go to protect our children and all children. As a nation, is it just making laws, and requirements? Or is there something that we, as parents, can do to take some responsibility into our own hands? Continue reading “National Child Protection Week”

Focus on fathers

If someone doing a survey asked this question, “What gives you the greatest source of happiness?”, the majority of people would say, “My family.”

If a second question was asked, “What gives you the greatest source of grief?” many people would respond, “My family?”

Family can be the greatest source of joy and also the greatest source of heart break. That is why it is so important, as a dad, to do fathering as well as we can. Continue reading “Focus on fathers”

Cultivating gratitude when life gets tough

Have you ever had one of those days, when something goes wrong and invariably it seems like everything else goes wrong and it ends up just being a ‘bad day’? There may have still been good things in there, but they seem to be overshadowed by all that is wrong. Well, I feel like I’m having one of those years! Maybe you can relate? Continue reading “Cultivating gratitude when life gets tough”