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This week, Dean and Sara are back with a very honest, very funny catch-up after Dean’s 40th birthday weekend in Wales - featuring changed plans, live music, a lot of drinks, and one unforgettable caravan sofa incident that he may never live down. They also chat about a parenting dilemma after Ruby loses someone else’s toy and has to tell the truth, leading to a bigger conversation about honesty, gentle reactions, and helping kids feel safe enough to own up when they make mistakes. Sara then opens up about her health and body confidence journey since January 2025, sharing the reality of trying to lose weight and feel better after having children, the impact of stress, sleep, alcohol, quick fixes, and the slow process of building healthier habits. From Dry January and setting boundaries with drinking, to group PT, food changes, insomnia, mum guilt and learning to put herself first, Sara speaks honestly about how hard it can be to find time for yourself as a parent. Funny, raw and relatable, this episode is about big birthdays, parenting wins, body image, better habits and why sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference.

Dean is turning 40, so Sara puts him in the hot seat with 40 questions for 40 years. From coffee addictions and dad phrases to parenting regrets, relationship chaos, midlife crisis chat, caravan traditions, childhood memories, and what Dean is most proud of, this episode is full of honest reflections, ridiculous tangents, and classic Dean-and-Sara banter. They also dive into life before kids, how parenting changes you, and why turning 40 might actually be Dean’s best decade yet. A funny, reflective, and very unfiltered birthday episode

Ever wished you could redesign yourself as a parent from scratch? This week, Dean and Sara get refreshingly honest about the traits they're still working on, from Sara's struggle to slow down and be present, to Dean's battle with overstimulation (yes, the gymnastics bar gets a mention). They debate whether kids need to respect you, like you, or both, and play a round of parenting Would You Rather that gets surprisingly deep. Oh, and there's some big news at the end...

This week, Dean and Sara debrief after a full-on family meltdown when a sibling argument ends with one daughter yelling “I hate you” and a slammed door literally breaking the frame. From there, things spiral into a brutally honest chat about parenting pre-teens, discipline, sibling conflict, emotional outbursts, and whether you should ever remove a kid’s door. Then, because no domestic drama comes alone, they get into the big one: household chores, mental load, gender roles, resentment, and why one person’s “I’ll do it later” is another person’s final straw. Honest, funny, sharp-tongued and painfully relatable.

This week, Dean and Sara are all over the place in the most relatable way possible. From being personally offended by the price of a professional car clean, to the stress of waiting for their daughter’s secondary school place, to debating whether the six-week summer holidays actually still work for modern family life, this episode is honest, funny, and slightly unhinged. They also chat about Dean’s new family road trip game, why school decisions feel so high-stakes, and whether changing school holidays would help parents or just make everything worse.   If you want to check BoredGame out : Fun Dad Games

What is something nobody warned you about before you had kids? The responses were honest, funny, and at times… brutal. In this episode, we unpack the realities parents say no one prepares you for - the relentless worry that never switches off, how every stage is hard (not just the baby years), the constant mess and mental load, the financial pressure, the loss of privacy, the strain on relationships, and the identity shift that comes with becoming “mum” and “dad.” We also share our own recent experience with primary school group chat drama - and how quickly modern parenting can escalate in ways we never saw coming.

It is the parenting topic that turns calm people into control freaks. Phones. Dean and Sara are right in the thick of it with an 11 year old and the pressure is properly ramping up. They get into the real stuff parents are dealing with right now. Dopamine hits, scrolling, attention spans, school rules, the social pressure of being the only kid without one, and the big question of whether you can make a smartphone work without it taking over. Expect honesty, sarcasm, a few uncomfortable realisations about adult screen time, and practical ideas from other parents who have already been through it.

You sent them in and we weren’t prepared for how relatable they were. In this episode, Dean & Sara read through your anonymous parenting guilt confessions and talk honestly about why so many parents carry the same quiet thoughts but never say them out loud. Some are funny, some uncomfortable, and a few spark a bit of disagreement. The goal is simple. Less judgement, more honesty, and maybe feeling a little less alone in the process. Plus, You Be The Judge returns with a school situation that raises serious questions about privacy and boundaries. Relatable, honest and unfiltered parenting chat.

It was meant to be a wholesome Christmas break… until Sara had a full-on “menti B” and Dean got personally offended at the idea of her driving off for two weeks. Once we’re back from the brink (and a farm-pod reset), we tackle the most unexpectedly controversial parenting topic we’ve ever posted about: kids’ sleepovers. We get brutally honest about what actually worries us: not just safeguarding and “you don’t really know anyone,” but also sleep deprivation, phones/iPads, dodgy late-night content, friendship fallouts, and why some parents are fine with sleepovers only if it’s at their own house. Plus: the code word idea we genuinely rate… and Dean’s traumatic sleepover story that should’ve stayed buried. If you’re navigating sleepovers with primary-school kids, starting secondary school, or just wondering what the hell the “right” call is—this one’s for you.

Dean and Sara do a brutally honest run-through of the parenting milestones that actually matter (and the ones we all pretend we’ve nailed). From starting reception basics like toilet training, getting dressed, and tidying up without a full-scale protest, to starting secondary school with reading confidence, sport, emotional resilience, and actually being able to hold a conversation without hiding behind WhatsApp. Then it gets spicy with this week’s You Be The Judge: if your 10-year-old wants to invite every girl in the class to her birthday… except one mean kid - do you respect your child’s boundaries, or is it cruel to exclude a single child? Relatable, sarcastic, slightly chaotic - standard service.

You told us the parenting beliefs you refuse to budge on, your total non-negotiables, and we’re debating them properly. After surviving Christmas Jumper Day chaos, we get into your strongest takes: no major life decisions in the first year after having a baby, whether kids should hit back if they’re hit, the whole united front thing (and why it falls apart in real life), sleep training, counting down discipline, TVs in bedrooms, and the never-ending argument about food rules and “picky eaters.” Plus: You Be The Judge: in-laws who say they want to see the kids but never invite you over. Do you stop hosting, or keep the peace?

Dean and Sara are weekly for now (for their sins), and this episode they’re dragging modern parenting trends straight to the bin. From gender reveal parties and pre-teen skincare “glow ups”, to phones in primary school and screens before the school run, they’re asking: are we all just sleepwalking into raising addicted, anxious mini adults? They also get into the pressure of kids “choosing” their secondary schools, OTT advent calendars that are basically 25 days of presents, and the ever-present “Mama needs a wine” culture now that Sara’s taken a long, hard look at her own relationship with booze. Plus, Dean has a go at shouty sideline sports parents, there’s a Movember moustache mishap, and in this week’s “You Be The Judge” Sara puts Dean on the stand over one very serious domestic crime: doing a poo with the bathroom door wide open. If you like your parenting chat honest, sweary, a bit judgy (but self-aware) and genuinely useful, this one’s for you.

In this episode, Dean and Sara tackle two big parenting headaches: whether kids should be watching I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! (and all the adult chat that comes with it), and the growing pressure around Christmas.   They chat about what age they let their girls watch the show, how much of the jungle drama and sex talk is suitable for little ears, and whether Dean could actually survive the trials himself. Then it’s onto Christmas: the unseen mental load, how much to spend on presents, whether siblings need equal-value gifts, if Santa should get all the credit, and whether we’re accidentally raising kids to expect too much.   They finish with a listener dilemma: a 21-year-old son’s girlfriend who eats, stays over, but never says hello or thank you. Is Mum being unreasonable, or is it just bad manners?   Perfect for anyone juggling screen time, Christmas pressure and grown-up kids with partners – with plenty of laughs (and a few savage truths) along the way.

This week, Dean and Sara wade back into the wonderful, chaotic, emotionally charged swamp that is the mental load - and they swear it’s a discussion, not an argument… despite already having an argument about the argument earlier that morning. With no guest to interrupt them, it’s full unfiltered Dean vs. Sara energy as they unpack: 🔥 What’s Inside This Episode Why mums often end up the default parent (and why Dean sometimes forgets the tumble dryer even exists) Emotional vs. financial responsibility - the invisible tug-of-war How “helping” isn’t helping if it’s your house too Childcare, societal expectations, and why breakfast clubs are both a blessing and a sad indictment of modern family life The constant project management mode of parenting The big question: Should society adapt work to fit parenting instead of forcing parenting to fit work? Why Sara dreams of a world where she can actually cut toenails on time Why Dean would absolutely leave washing up for 24 hours without blinking   Here's where you can find us on our other socials... Instagram: 👉 Dean 👉 Sara 👉 Fun Dad Dean & Wife: Unfiltered Podcast YouTube: 👉 Fun Dad Dean & Wife: Unfiltered Podcast TikTok: 👉 Dean 👉 Fun Dad Dean & Wife: Unfiltered Podcast   Sign Up for Our Parenting Unfiltered Newsletter: 👉 Subscribe Here

Half-term’s over and the house is loud again. Dean stayed home for football duty while Sara hid in a rain-lashed caravan with the Halloween-hating six-year-old - guess who actually parented? We swap notes on one-on-one time vs the chaos of two kids, then play Fact or Fiction with research-ish claims about family dinners, letting kids win, boredom, late nights, and whether dads doing housework really changes daughters’ ambitions. Also on the docket: the roast dinner that turned into a row (Celine Dion at full blast may have featured), a mini-war over swearing rules, and You Be The Judge: should Dean take our anxious 11-year-old to her first West Ham match? It’s relatable, honest, sarcastic, and just enough stats to sound clever without being boring.