To think Parenting Hell (the podcast) has become really unrelatable?

[DonningMyHardHat]

When it started back in lockdown and we were all struggling with working from home with kids, dealing with toddler tantrums, and navigating the stress and anxiety of unprecedented events; it was great.

However, in recent months I feel like it’s just not relatable to the average parent anymore. Hearing about ‘man of the people’ Rob Beckett’s 28th holiday this year, numerous concerts, trips and PR events for the kids, Josh’s second home in Cornwall etc. is all a bit grating now.

Don’t get me wrong, I fully appreciate that if I took umbrage with every piece of media created by someone more well off than myself, I’d be left with very little. (And we aren’t on the breadline by any means). But in a cost of living crisis it’s all starting to look a bit tone deaf. Two blokes complaining about how hard their lives are when the literally have nannies/very supportive families/don’t work 9-5s, and seemingly endless budgets… give me a break.

They seem like lovely blokes and I’m sure they’ve worked exceptionally hard for success, and that’s great. I just don’t necessarily want to hear about it when I’m driving to my 9-5 in my shit secondhand car.

Yes I know, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t listen’. But I can’t be the only one who used to really enjoy it who just feels a bit ‘meh’ now.

For those who like Josh - his episode on The Romesh Ranganathan Show podcast was really really funny! They seem more on the same wavelength than Josh with Rob.

I'd recommend a listen!

Agreed. It was great.

I'm glad someone else had noticed too. I used to find their podcast entertaining, but the last few episodes are turning onto an endurance test and I've taken a break. Josh perpetually whines away... and there's now way too much time dedicated to hearing about his commute into London after moving away, and it's getting a bit repetitive.

It’s very little about their kids and parenting anymore. It’s about their lives and holidays and daily whinging like commute or touring. A bit bored of it now.
Rob has massive chips on his shoulder (skiing is only for posh assholes, someone asking if he was a member of David Lloyds). We get it: you are working class, you have money now but struggle witn how others might perceive you.
most people don’t care who else is on the slopes and if they they did or didn’t ski as kids… he is desperately trying to find points why others are singling him out, sounds like most of it is in his head.

I've listened to Lou on quite a few podcasts and she does come across pretty well, she's obviously a smart woman who was used to being busy, using her brain and having some sort of status as a teacher. But I wish she would be honest and just admit that she didn't really want to back into teaching rather than pretending it's impossible for her! She could have a nanny or even just use wraparound care like the rest of us if she was that desperate to do the job again. It'd be better if she just acknowledged she has been feeling lost but not lost enough to go back into her massively stressful career when she doesn't need to financially! I know she mentioned about her colitis and I'm sure that's grim but again, I'm sure there are lots of teachers suffer with it and have to manage with sick days etc. Again, I don't blame her for not doing it but just be real! You want to use your brain and work, but in a more cushy job than teaching! Which I absolutely respect because I'm a teacher myself and if I were married to a millionaire I'd run out of my classroom and never look back 🤣. Also agree with the breastfeeding thing, sounds like she needs some counselling or something, I've got a friend who is exactly the same, very Type A and in control of everything in her life, but didn't get on with breastfeeding and it still bothers her so much even though the child is now 8. Her younger sister is now pregnant with her first and planning to breastfeed and it's clearly really bothering her that her sister might be able to do it more easily. It's such a huge issue that seems to absolutely haunt lots of women.

I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of people that won the lottery (or whose spouse became a multimillionaire) would give up the day job. No shade there!

I wonder how the podcast will progress? My kids are older, the oldest is 18 and can’t imagine yapping on a podcast twice a week about them. I think it would be embarrassing for all concerned! It obviously creates wealth for their family and I guess they are all extroverted so maybe they don’t care about that type of thing.

Today's guest is brilliant. Kamille, singer/songwriter - excellent guest.

Agreed - I’d be out the door like a shot if I won the lottery!!

Sara Cox has got in there already with a teens podcast!

Wow there is so much ‘how dare they earn money and have what I don’t have’ on here. If you listen to this without anything other than an understanding that they live a different life then you are a fool.
there are things I find funny and things I don’t. But they have a different life. They literally cannot be relatable to everyone.

I've switched off. I saw them both do stand up. Rob was terrible. Josh was good but had a warm up who was quite blue / rude and it's like, we come here to laugh about jokes about tea drinking. It was just poor booking.

Robs ego is humongous. I cringe at how he treats Josh. Josh is by far the more successful of the two also. His other podcasts have done well AND he's on live Friday night TV. Rob is a sidekick to Romesh really.

Lost its edge I think.

i actually liked both their stand ups but agree that Josh’s warm up was poor and boring. Not sure why a warm up was needed.

…Was it Dane Buckley? I love him 🤣

Yes (at least at my show)

We saw Josh with a bunch of friends in Malvern and he was so great. Loved the fact Malvern (which is a sparrowfart of a place) had two train stations! He loves a train, as we know. He came across really well - when you hear behind the scenes, as it were, about how difficult they find the work (inc Jim Rosenthal's son who was on earlier this week and was very compelling) it makes you wonder how they got so brave to get up there and give it a go! Incredible courage because they all seem so fucking angst-ridden.

I still really enjoy the pod. I too am a council estate girl made good and fairly unapologetic about it. It's this default parent and breastfeeding stuff from Lou Beckett that has given me pause recently to be a little "come on girl, if your role it to be in the home and his is to make money and put it into the family pot, then that's the job - do it as well as you'd do any job". Or get him to go part-time and stop gallivanting around the world with Romesh and take that financial hit. We cannot have it both ways.

Funny this week to hear Rob say they have a cleaner come twice a week who also does some washing yet Lou still moans about being the default parent and having to do so much when he works away. Hmm very relatable for the rest of us

Thought this too when I heard!

She's off moaning about being default parent... needing to remember PE days, which club they have when, buying teacher gifts, keeping the house tidy etc. as if its totally unmanagable. Don't get me wrong, it is tough and I sometimes drop the ball now and again, but then again, both DH and I WORK FULL TIME and have no cleaners or anything picking up that slack either! I also don't get to go on no-kids/girls holidays 4x a year either!

Lou drives me insane. Either be a SAHM and enjoy it. Or go out and work. You're in such a privileged position to be able to employ staff for childcare, cleaning, ironing etc!

Can’t remember if I’ve said this but they seem to have such low expectations of their children who are all at school now.

tears/tantrums and plain pasta should be behind them for the most part now (10 &. 8yo)

In defence of Rob (which honestly I thought was fairly impossible at this stage), he’s pretty clearly got ADHD (I don’t let know if that’s actually been confirmed) and he’s dyslexic too, so the chances of his kids having some neurodivergence is fairly substantial. There could be sensory sensitivities etc. which he might not be discussing for the sake of the kids’ privacy (wild, I know!).

Yeah you’re absolutely right. I dunno it just feels like we’re still hearing about toddlers/preschoolers.

maybe I’m being crabby as I’ve forgotten what children of that age are like

I haven’t listened to it but I’ve stopped listening to the likes of Gabby Logan and Chris Evans as they’re completely tone deaf!

Rob’s kids always sounds really spoilt to me. Lots of screaming and tantrums about Laboubous and up all hours of the night. If they have additional needs then he may as well say that, as he is talking about their private lives anyway. Agree re Lou, stop bloody whining, you’re a millionaire with loads of family help, paid help, and Rob does as much as I feel is physically possible given he’s off round the world week in and week out.

I think the podcast has done its dash.

Yes, they have become unrelatable, but that’s less of an issue if it’s still entertaining. I am a Josh fan, but it feels like he doesn’t want to be there anymore, and the banter just isn’t there.

I love the pod but they are completely unrelatable. It’s a shame as I like them both and am happy for their success but it’s often the way these celebrity podcasts go. It’s especially galling when it comes to parenting as having money makes such a practical difference when you are struggling with the pressure of work and child care.

Lou really needs to find a way of getting over not breastfeeding. I don’t think anyone really cares!?

Once their kids become tween/teenage they are going to struggle for content. Kids of that age won’t be happy to have their ‘quirks’ broadcast. In my experience girls would be even less happy about it than boys. I am going to guess that the podcast will come to a natural end then or it will have a rebrand away from the parenting.

They could honestly just rename it to “Life Admin Hell” and I would still listen and the podcast wouldn’t really need to change.
It has naturally evolved away from being so heavily parenting based, but I tend to enjoy those episodes more where they are just chatting.
Sometimes people feel they have to put a podcast into a pigeon hole of being gardening, parenting, food etc… when really I don’t think it matters so much.
I listen to Tom Allen’s Pottering one and he doesn’t constantly talk about gardens and also Alan Carr’s Life’s a beach but sometimes they barely talk about holidays at all.
I do wonder once Strictly starts being filmed if he will feel like he has the time for it anymore, which will be a shame if not.