Introducing parenting consultants, the answer to all your struggles.

Struggling to balance doing the school drop off, working long hours at work, and then getting dinner on the table at night?

Don’t you wish there was an HR department that could help you with that? Well now there is.

Some city finance firms are hiring parenting consultants to teach parents about things like education, sleep, and how to balance being a working parent.

Genius or madness? Holly Wainwright and Andrew Daddo can’t quite decide.

Listen in to the This Glorious Mess podcast (Post continues after audio.)

Parenting consultant Debbie Ingham runs seminars at corporate giants, like Deloitte, hustling harried mums and dads through common problems that working parents have to deal with. One of the biggest concerns,she told the The Financial Times, is maternal guilt.

Is there a Powerpoint presentation long enough to cover maternal guilt? Are there KPIs for bed times?

Ha. Debbie says she sees a lot of parents who set the bar too high for themselves and hence feel like they aren’t doing a good enough job. Employers – who take an interest in the emotional health of their employees – hire experts in provide coping skills and reassurance.

“There is a belief [among parents] that I’ve made it work, why can’t you?” she said.

(Post continues after video.)

So what to make of it all? In workplaces that offer sick leave, carers leave, paternity leave, maternity leave,  annual leave, and employee assistance programs including counselling or therapy, is it also the job of your employer to assist your parenting skills?

Holly Wainwright thinks it’s genius.

“I know that, for working parents, there are lots of issues around your work and your family.  How you get around all that? Like, ‘I really want to advance in my career, but I don’t want to work until eight o’clock every night.’ or, ‘I really want to do really well, but I can’t be in until nine today, because I’ve got to make a crazy hat.'” Holly says.

Failing your very own parenting consultant coming into your workplace, Holly reckons you could always approach the HR department for some hot tips.

“You can go to them and say…’You’re really good at managing people, and knowing how to get the best out of them. My four year old is kicking my ass, any tips?'”

Listen to the full episode of This Glorious Mess below: it’s the podcast for parents who aren’t quite Instagram-perfect: For more episodes of subscribe in iTunes, or find us on The Mamamia Podcast App: