Parent TV founder opens up about motherhood and chasing a dream

Published 2:46pm 19 February 2019

This mother of three believes that mums are the authors of their own lives and should not give up their dreams of raising children. Here are her storey and her tips to stay true to yourself.

Samantha Jockel believes that mums are the authors of their own lives and it is important that they do not give up their hopes and dreams of raising their kids.

In the lead-up to International Women's Day on March 8th, we chatted with the Clontarf mother-of-three and entrepreneur about the challenges and opportunities facing women in 2019.

Samantha says business, and a natural inclination to put your kids first, can make it easy to forget the other things that bring you joy in your life.

“We can get caught up in our kids’ lives and forget about ourselves. Kids need to see their mums living their own lives and their own dreams,” she explains.

“It makes us more fulfilled and better mums.”

Through this philosophy, Samantha has channelled her passion and energy into creating an online streaming service called Parent TV.

It provides access to professional parenting tips on a range of subjects that include children of all ages.

“One of the biggest (problems) is busyness. People just feeling there’s not enough time in the day and they’re feeling overwhelmed,” Samantha explains.

“Mums are spending two to three times more time with their kids than our stay-at-home mums did … but we have this feeling that we’re not. It’s not true.”

She says the emphasis has changed from home management done by "housewives" to kids — instead of sending the kids off to play with the neighbours, moms spend more time with them.

“We are facing challenges that no parents in the past have had to face but I think there are some things we are not getting right. It’s nobody’s fault.”

So she found a way to provide credible advice in a format that was easy for busy parents to consume, with a background in social work, small business , and social enterprise.

Information is presented in short videos which she says is more appealing than having to read a blog for 10-15 minutes.

The initiative won the Innovate Moreton Bay Successful Start-Up Award at the November Business Excellence and Innovation Awards for the Moreton Bay Region.

It now has 3000 members, plus 20 schools, 35 childcare centres and another 20 childcare centres in the United States. Even a foster care network has signed up in Texas.

“It’s not about telling people their parenting is wrong. Really small things can make a big difference for the parent and the kid,” Samantha explains.

“People will parent how they want to parent but they often want to check in.

“I see Parent TV as a check-in with some of those thoughts — is that normal? Is there something we need to look at?”

Samantha says there are a lot of parallels to running a business and having parents.

“Time can be challenging in some ways … I think people are saying that without even running a start-up — just life in general,” she explains.

“It’s important to think of the bigger picture stuff while doing the day-to-day.

“Be conscious of carving out really specific time to look at how you’re spending your time, and make decisions about that.

“We have become so consumed by things that fill the microspaces we used to have, leaving little time to think.”

But there are countless possibilities for women in 2019 and for her two daughters, this fills Samantha with optimism about the future.

“We can, in some ways, do whatever we want,” she says. “I personally have never felt I can’t do something because I’m female. It’s never defined how I think about what I can do in life.

“Everything I’ve done … no one has handed me, I’ve just gone after it. I’ve done it local, in Redcliffe, having three children, because I have access to this thing called the internet. It’s a massive leveller.

“Opportunities are whatever you want them to be, if you’re brave enough to give it a go.”