Women Who Podcast Magazine
January 2024 issue

The Nurturing Parent

by Chelsea Pegues 

It’s not news to anyone that being a parent is a big deal. After all, it is a lifelong commitment to keeping another human being alive, healthy, and happy. Data collected by CNBC reflects that due to our ever-evolving socioeconomical climate, many individuals (1 in 5 U.S. adults, or about 20%) are choosing to have only one baby or remain childless. For those who do become parents, the experience certainly teaches us how powerful patience and empathy are; children require these virtues as they grow, learn, and absorb the world around them. Just as our kiddos evolve from infants into full-blown adults themselves, we grow as people through raising them. Throughout the challenges and demands of parenting, our skillets expand; and we may need lots of help nurturing this version of ourselves and figuring out how to navigate this new territory safely.

Enter hosts Lisa Sigurgeirson (who identifies as “Amma” on the show, which means “mother” in Icelandic) and Sareena Mullon-Merino of The Nurturing Parent podcast. Based in Canada and the U.S., respectively, these inter-generational pals met online in the summer of 2021 and discovered a mutual interest in hosting a show based on their parenting ideals and methods they’ve found success in.