In this episode of Untidy, Matilda and Hannah chat with the unshockable Cath Hakanson, a globally renowned sex educator and founder of Sex Ed Rescue, Sex Ed Shop, and the podcast Sex Ed for Tween Parents.

Cath has helped over a million parents around the world talk to their kids about sex, bodies, gender, and relationships. Her mission is to make these conversations less cringey, more confident, and just a normal part of growing up.

Cath unpacks how to move from the early “naming body parts” phase into the next chapter: helping tweens and teens navigate puberty, privacy, porn, pleasure, consent, and that glorious age where everything is “weird and embarrassing.”

Cath’s advice is simple but golden: focus on tiny, everyday chats, drop the shame, and let your kids know you’re a safe person to ask anything. Because if they can talk to you about sex, they can talk to you about anything.

Whether you’re at the start of the puberty rollercoaster or halfway up the climb, this conversation will leave you feeling better equipped, less squeamish, and seeing sausages in a whole new light.

References mentioned in the show:

• Sex Ed Rescue — Cath’s website with parent guides, book lists, and resources
• Sex Ed for Tween Parents Podcast
• Amaze — short, age-appropriate sex ed videos for kids and parents
• The New Zealand “Keep It Real Online” campaign — including the viral ad Porn Stars at the Door
• Cath’s recommended reading list/book resources
• Tricky Chats Parenting Course
• Parent site: https://thelightproject.co.nz/
• Teen site: https://www.intheknow.co.nz/
• How to talk to young people about pornography – NZ Classification Office

If you’re enjoying Untidy, the best way to show your support is by tapping the ‘+ follow’ button in your podcast app and subscribing on YouTube! That way, fresh episodes will always be ready and waiting for you. Help us to keep building this supportive community — share an episode with a mate, and chuck us a 5-star review — it helps more people find our Untidy, unfiltered, and relatable chats. Thank you for listening, contributing and supporting this independent production! We’re grateful to have you here! — Hannah & Matty xx

Don’t forget! Untidy is made for YOU — the people right at the heart of this steaming hot mess! Follow the show and DM us on Instagram @untidypodcast or email hello@untidypodcast.com. Your stories and ideas to help shape the show! Find us online at Untidy podcast. Find Matilda at @matootles and get your copy of The Feel Good Guide. Find Hannah at @hannahedavison and her My Big Moments children’s books at @mybigmoments. Enter code UNTIDY at checkout for 10% off your order.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Untidy, Matilda and Hannah discuss an experience every parent will relate to. When you love your kids to bits, but they’re pushing you to the edge of your coping capacity.

Hannah and Matilda unpack those big parenting moments: the ones that make you question if anyone else’s kids are losing it like this, or if it’s just yours, and what does that mean about you as a parent? They talk about handling everyone’s explosive emotions, the guilt and grief that comes with it, and how to hold space for both.

There’s wisdom, laughter, and a bit of ugly-toilet-cry catharsis. From smashed rocks and frazzled nerves, to honesty, empathy, and the radical act of letting your tears come out, this episode is a reminder that love doesn’t need to look perfect, but it’s always doing its best.

Plus, Hannah remembers holding a bus hostage in Peru, and decides to carry over ‘air fryer’ news for another time ...

Take care out there, people. You’re doing a better job than you think.

References mentioned in the show:

• Matty’s crying music recommendation: Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight on Spotify
• Hannah’s crying music recommendation: Cellomano on Spotify
• Melody Thomas’s crying music playlist: PEACE on Spotify
• Melody Thomas’s crying music playlist: Ugly Cry on Spotify

If you’re enjoying Untidy, the best way to show your support is by tapping the ‘+ follow’ button in your podcast app and subscribing on YouTube! That way, fresh episodes will always be ready and waiting for you. Help us to keep building this supportive community — share an episode with a mate, and chuck us a 5-star review — it helps more people find our Untidy, unfiltered, and relatable chats. Thank you for listening, contributing and supporting this independent production! We’re grateful to have you here! — Hannah & Matty xx

Don’t forget! Untidy is made for YOU — the people right at the heart of this steaming hot mess! Follow the show and DM us on Instagram @untidypodcast or email hello@untidypodcast.com. Your stories and ideas to help shape the show! Find us online at Untidy podcast. Find Matilda at @matootles and get your copy of The Feel Good Guide. Find Hannah at @hannahedavison and her My Big Moments children’s books at @mybigmoments. Enter code UNTIDY at checkout for 10% off your order.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Untidy, Matilda and Hannah are joined by friend of the show, former co-producer, and fellow podcaster Melody Thomas. Melody is the co-creator and host of The Good Sex Project podcast and BANG!, among many other great shows. She joins the girls in bed, for a conversation about the radical act of lying the f*ck down.

Prompted by Melody’s viral Substack essay The Radical Act of Lying the F** Down, the trio explore what it means to step off the treadmill of productivity and listen to your body before it breaks. They talk about guilt, capitalism, motherhood, and why stopping to rest and nest can feel both terrifying and liberating.

From the sign that read “Humans Resting: Do Not Disturb” above a Houghton Bay lodge, to rediscovering creativity through stillness, this conversation is both a permission slip and a challenge: an invitation to reclaim rest not as indulgence, but as a necessity and as resistance.

References mentioned in the show:

• Melody’s Substack piece, The Radical Act of Lying the F** Down
• The Good Sex Project podcast on Spotify
• Find The Good Sex Project on Instagram @goodsexproject
• Find Melody on Instagram @melodyrules
• Melody’s crying playlist: PEACE on Spotify
• Melody’s crying playlist: Ugly Cry on Spotify
• Adrienne Maree Brown website
• Adrienne Maree Brown on Instagram @adriennemareebrown

If you’re enjoying Untidy, the best way to show your support is by tapping the ‘+ follow’ button in your podcast app and subscribing on YouTube! That way, fresh episodes will always be ready and waiting for you. Help us to keep building this supportive community — share an episode with a mate, and chuck us a 5-star review — it helps more people find our Untidy, unfiltered, and relatable chats. Thank you for listening, contributing and supporting this independent production! We’re grateful to have you here! — Hannah & Matty xx

Don’t forget! Untidy is made for YOU — the people right at the heart of this steaming hot mess! Follow the show and DM us on Instagram @untidypodcast or email hello@untidypodcast.com. Your stories and ideas to help shape the show! Find us online at Untidy podcast. Find Matilda at @matootles and get your copy of The Feel Good Guide. Find Hannah at @hannahedavison and her My Big Moments children’s books at @mybigmoments. Enter code UNTIDY at checkout for 10% off your order.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.