An almost Perfect Mother – New Podcast series with Isabelle Roskam

26.04.22

We are delighted to be launching our new podcast series An almost Perfect Mother featuring Isabelle Roskam, professor of development and parenting psychology at the University of Louvain, Belgium. Isabelle specializes in child behavioral disorders and parental burnout.

The weekly program covers many issues of concern to mothers including The perfect mother syndrome and the consequences of that, not just on children but the entire family.

Isabelle explains to Laurence vanden Abeele, presenter of the show and Head of MMM Belgium, how society asks a mother to raise her children as if she had no job, to work as if she had no children, and to look like a woman who has no children and no job.

Another topic the program looks at is Parental Burnout – is it a buzzword or a reality in parenting today?

The role of the father also comes under the spotlight, because parenthood obviously involves not just the mother but the father too. Isabelle tells Laurence how important it is for the father to take his place as a responsible family man, even in cases of separation.

Happy parents, happy children! tackles the key question of whether a happy mother has a more fulfilled child. Isabelle emphasizes that we tend to think only about the wellbeing of the children, forgetting that the wellbeing of the parents is just as if not more essential.

Listening to the Podcasts

Broadcast in French, you can hear the full interviews by clicking here.

Say tuned for more!

Our thanks to LouïZ Radio for the use of their studio.

If you are interested in the topics discussed and would like to learn more about the burn-out prevention tool created by Isabelle Roskam and Moïra Mikolajczak, please visit their site.

 

Most read articles

The New EU Gender Equality Roadmap : A Call for Inclusion of Mothers

04.03.25

The European Commission’s initiative on a new Gender Equality Roadmap post-2025, marks a significant step forward in addressing gender disparities across the European Union. Make Mothers Matter (MMM

Lire plus

Sharing is caring:
equal parenting, a path to social cohesion?

27.01.25

UN New York, UN Commission on Social Development – Register now to our virtual side-event for a discussion on how a more equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work

Lire plus

Be Family launch event: placing work-life balance at the heart of workplace policies

05.12.24

Make Mothers Matter co-presented the official launch of Be Family in Paris, a movement aimed at bridging the gap between personal and professional life for working parents. This first event,

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

Latest News from MMM and its Network

Make Mothers Matter on RTBF’s Tendances Première: The State of Motherhood in Europe

16.09.25

Make Mothers Matter was recently featured on Belgian public broadcaster RTBF’s Tendances Première radio show to present the findings from our latest report, The State of Motherhood in Europe 2024. The discus

Read more

Europe Must Listen to Mothers: Our landmark report heads to the European Parliament

28.08.25

On 22 September 2025, the voices of mothers will take centre stage in Brussels. For the first time, Make Mothers Matter (MMM) will present its State of Motherhood in Europe report at the European Parliament, ur

Read more

Mothers: The Missing Link in Child Rights Discussions?

01.08.25

UN New York – Following the Human Rights Council's 2025 Annual day on the rights of the child – which focussed on Early Childhood Development – a resolution on that same topic will be tabled at the 80th U

Read more

Human-Centred Strategy: Care at the Core of Sustainability

29.07.25

UN New York – UN New York – On 16 July, we hosted a side-event at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) titled Unpaid Care at the Core: A Catalyst for Achieving the SDGs. The event aimed to highlight the

Read more

Empowering Mothers, Advancing Rights: MMM at HRC59

14.07.25

UN Geneva - The UN Human Rights Council provides a crucial platform for advocacy and engagement on key human rights issues that affect mothers. This overview highlights MMM’s engagement at the 59th session of

Read more

Intergenerational Solidarity in work-life balance and childcare

13.07.25

MMM was invited to speak at AGE’s annual conference, which focused on contributing to the EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness. The event explored a range of key areas, including the labour market, healt

Read more