Terry Prone has “always been very good to tell people to shag right off”, she explains. It’s a skill which has stood the communications expert and author in good stead. And one she believes is “a very important skill that women need to have”.
“Women need to stop being patient and gentle and accepting”, she says, when it comes to dealing with unwanted commentary or being asked unacceptable questions about parenthood. So naturally on hearing this, Jen tests the water, and launches straight in with the sort of probing question someone else might not get away with. How will Terry respond?
In this episode of Conversations with Parents, Terry Prone, who is mother to Newstalk’s Anton Savage, discusses with Jen Hogan what it was like to be a working mother at a time when domesticity was considered the norm. She explains why she breastfed (“the slut’s option”), and why she believes her very relaxed approach to parenting, ultimately led to Anton being a daredevil.
“There was no risky pastime that he didn’t embrace”, she says.
‘The hardest thing about being a parent is being unavailable to my kids because I have to work so hard to feed and clothe them’
‘I believe my nephew may have ADHD or autism, but his parents won’t discuss it’
How technology created a ‘recipe for loneliness’
The Care Dilemma by David Goodhart: A book about the vital unpaid care work that makes society tick will antagonise many readers
The Communications Clinic chairman also discusses why she never attended any of Anton’s parent-teacher meetings. And how she parented in the wake of a catastrophic car accident.
So, how does Terry handle the challenging and often non communicative – or downright oppositional - teenage years? She shares her own secret to turning things around.
Plus, she explains why she regrets allowing Anton to be photographed and part of her “publicity act”, adding, “I believe very strongly that reasonably famous people, but anybody, shouldn’t put your kids up on Instagram”. And she tells Jen in no uncertain terms exactly what she thinks of online communities.
And there’s Terry’s highs and lows of motherhood, the nightmare that plagued her dreams, and her views on modern parenting phenomena.
Listen to this episode of Conversations with Parents on the player above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
