The Scummy Mummies Podcast

348: Exam Special: how to help kids with revision and stress

How much revision should our kids be doing? What if they don't get the results they want? And why isn't hiring a tutor always a good idea? Helping us answer all these questions is the brilliant Katherine Radice!

Katherine is a teacher and education expert who has helped loads of children, including her own, to get through exams. She gives us her top tips for reducing stress and tells us what kids really need from their parents during exam season.

We talk about how seriously we should take mock tests, and why starting revision super early isn't necessarily helpful. Katherine explains how to navigate disagreements between parents over the amount of work your child is doing. And what should you do if your kid is working too hard, or won't revise at all?

We finish of course with Scummy Mummy Confessions - this time involving a correction, a bottle of vodka, and a blocked toilet.

Katherine's excellent book, The Parent's Guide to Exam Stress, is out now. You can also find her on Substack.

ONLY A FEW SHOWS TO GO! Last chance to see our Hot Mess show. This week we're in Ireland - Galway, Dublin, Derry and Belfast. We're also going to Liverpool and Woolwich.

After that it's our Christmas tour! And in 2026 we're back with a BRAND NEW show - ON THE EDGE! Go to scummymummies.com for dates and tickets.

WE HAVE A SHOP! Visit scummymummies.com for our ace t-shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts. FREE UK DELIVERY!

We're on Instagram and Facebook @scummymummies. If you like the podcast, please rate, review and subscribe.

Thank you for listening!
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What's the best thing about being in your forties? What are the benefits of getting an AuDHD diagnosis? And what's the worst thing Helen's ever done to Ellie on stage? Helping us to answer all these questions is the hilarious comedian Thanyia Moore!

We reminisce about the first night we all met, and worry about what's happened to local Catford legend Fritz. Thanyia tells us why she has a problem with the word "confidence". We discuss how finding out she has autism and ADHD has helped her understand her past, and what she wants from life in the future.

Plus: a modern etiquette dilemma. Ellie and Thanyia disagree - whose side are you on? We finish with some juicy Scummy Mummy Confessions that involve keeping a secret from your sister and getting grassed up by your own son.

For more from the terrific Thanyia, follow her on Instagram @thanyiamoore.

NINE SHOWS TO GO! Last chance to see our Hot Mess show. We'll be in North Finchley this week, then next month it's our big Irish tour - we're coming to Galway, Dublin, Derry and Belfast. We're also going to Liverpool and Woolwich.

After that it's our Christmas tour! And in 2026 we're back with a BRAND NEW show - ON THE EDGE! Go to scummymummies.com for dates and tickets.

WE HAVE A SHOP! Visit scummymummies.com for our ace t-shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts. FREE UK DELIVERY!

We're on Instagram and Facebook @scummymummies. If you like the podcast, please rate, review and subscribe.

Thank you for listening!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Which phase of raising a child is the hardest? Are any of us the kind of mum we thought we'd be? And are there any lessons women can learn from men when it comes to saying sorry? Helping us answer all these questions is the amazing Em Clarkson!

This episode was recorded at Big Feastival in August, in front of a live tent-based audience. We discuss Em's political activism and how she's finding motherhood. There's also some chat about exercise, and how you know if running is right for you.

We end as always with some Scummy Mummy Confessions, this time involving an embarrassing incident abroad and some festival mishaps.

Many thanks to Em for joining us on stage for this one. Follow her on Instagram @em_clarkson.

There are only FOURTEEN Hot Mess shows to go! See us in IRELAND next month - we're coming to Galway, Dublin, Derry and Belfast. We're also going to Liverpool, Chipping Norton, Aldershot, Maidenhead, Guildford, Colchester, Woolwich and Finchley.

After that it's our Christmas tour! And in 2026 we're back with a BRAND NEW tour - ON THE EDGE! Go to scummymummies.com for dates and tickets.

WE HAVE A SHOP! Visit our shop or our ace t-shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts. FREE UK DELIVERY! scummymummies.com

We're on Instagram and Facebook @scummymummies. If you like the podcast, please rate, review and subscribe.

Thank you for listening!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She's back! We are joined for this episode by Helen Russell, the brilliant author of The Year of Living Danishly and now a fantastic new novel.

Helen tells us why she's decided to return to her native Britain after more than a decade of living in glorious Denmark. We compare and contrast life in the two countries, plus English village life versus trying to survive in Catford.

We discuss Helen's hilarious and highly relatable novel Laura Clark is Away From Her Desk, which is out now. We talk about how hard it is to switch from writing non-fiction to novels, and Helen shares her top tips for getting that first draft finished. There's also some chat about the best novels we've read lately, including All Fours and Yesteryear. Plus, we live workshop a new idea for a comedy sketch that involves Miserable Steve being a donkey.

We finish, as always, with Scummy Mummy Confessions, involving having sex, not having sex, and a very unpleasant mystery.

Helen Russell is just a bloody delight so follow her on Instagram @mshelenrussell.

**COME AND SEE US LIVE!** Less than 30 performances of Hot Mess to go! We're coming to Gloucester and Sevenoaks this month. Then off to Newcastle, Northallerton, Harrogate, Chipping Norton, Aldershot, Colchester, Guildford, and Finchley. In the first week of November we're doing a big road trip around Ireland - hope to see you there! Dates and tickets from scummymummies.com.

WE HAVE A SHOP! Visit scummymummies,com for our ace t-shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts. FREE UK DELIVERY!

We're on Instagram and Facebook @scummymummies. If you like the podcast, please rate, review and subscribe.

Thank you for listening!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we celebrate the kids going back to school. Join us as we sit down for a nice cup of tea and a catchup for the first time in six weeks.

We talk about what we did on our holidays, our differing laundry strategies, and a show on Netflix that Ellie hates yet watches compulsively. It's more fun than it sounds. (This episode, not the show.)

It's a bumper crop of confessions this episode as we share the stories from our Big Feastival gig.

Helen announces some exciting personal news, and we exclusively reveal the title and theme of our new stage show, coming your way in 2027...

The Wall Calendar Planner we mention is from Lucky Day Press luckydaypress.com and the hiking trip Helen went on was through Much Better Adventures and Live Breathe Hike.

In the meantime, you can come and see us perform Hot Mess - less than 30 shows to go! We're coming to Gloucester and Sevenoaks this month. Then off to Newcastle, Northallerton, Harrogate, Chipping Norton, Aldershot, Colchester, Guildford, and Finchley. In the first week of November we're doing a big road trip around Ireland - hope to see you there! Dates and tickets from scummymummies.com.

WE HAVE A SHOP! Visit scummymummiess.com for our ace t-shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts. FREE UK DELIVERY!

We're on Instagram and Facebook @scummymummies. If you like the podcast, please rate, review and subscribe.

Thank you for listening!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.