Crash Test Mummies and Daddies, a funny, moving and surprising look at what really happens when the brave new era of ‘life after birth’ begins, premieres at 9.30 pm on September 10 on ABC2.
The six-part series produced by Endemol Australia provides a snapshot of the contemporary experience of Australian parenting and focuses on the adults as they discover and reveal the impact the baby has on their lives, relationships and self image
Five couples share the messiness, the magic, the tears and the laughter of the first four months of life after the birth of their first child.
As the parents’ needs are put on hold to cope with the demands of their newborn, the series explores the stresses and strains this in turn puts on relationships. Priorities and values shift and compromises are negotiated as the couples find themselves on the emotional ride of their lives. In the ‘confessional’ of separate mothers’ and fathers’ groups, secret parent business is exposed as the different sexes reveal their true feelings about themselves, their baby and their partner.
Each couple shares their unique and intimate experiences of life after birth within the context of broader issues such as breastfeeding, financial pressures, changing roles, familial obligations, self-esteem body image and the elusive work-life balance. The transition to becoming a parent and the day-to-day discoveries about parenthood can be a joyful experience, but it can also be a relentless and emotionally draining time of insecurity, fear and loneliness.
By sharing their experiences at this vulnerable and emotionally volatile time, these parents offer a rare insight into what really happens when that ‘bundle of joy’ comes home