PARENTALITÉ
LIFESTYLE
Parentalité is a new show about raising kids in France, the French parenting style, and how to balance it while still holding on to our anglophone traditions.
The show is produced by Message Paris , an association for English speaking parents and caregivers based in Paris and Île-de-France, and ARBL Murray at World Radio Paris.
Hosted by Joelle Benoliel and Rachelle Chapman
Papas in Paris: Fatherhood, Community, and Partnership As a Foreigner in France.
Is it hard to move to a foreign country, build community, raise kids? The short answer is yes, but it’s worth it. Parentalitè co-hosts Joelle Benoliel and Rachelle Chapman discuss the art of community building with Jeffrey Paul Coleman. Jeffrey is a career coach, family man and co-host of the Papas in Paris podcast.
We talk with Jeffrey about fatherhood in France, multiculturalism and staying connected to your family and yourself. Jeffrey runs a 1 day parenting retreat for people in and around Paris looking to deepen their connection with their kids and build tools to connect with themselves.
Learn more about his parenting retreat event here. https://rooted-parenting.lovable.app/
You can find Jeffrey’s substack here: https://jeffreypaulcoleman.substack.com
You can email Jeffrey at jeffrey.paul.coleman@gmail.com
Hosted by Joelle Benoliel and Rachelle Chapman
There is a forest school in France! Parentalité hosts Joelle Benoliel, Rachelle Chapman interview 🎙️ Garrett Smith founder of the Wander and Wonder Nature Club about forest schooling or nature schooling 🍃, the concept, where it came from and bringing it to France.
Garrett lead forest school programs across the United States and Europe for many years before him and his family settled in France. His approach is rooted in a simple conviction: young children learn best when they are free to move, explore, and wonder in the natural world. His pedagogy blends the rigor of established forest school traditions with a child-led, observation-based approach — one that honors each child’s pace, follows their curiosity, and trusts the wisdom of unstructured time in nature.
🌐 To Find Out More Go To: https://www.wanderandwonderclub.com/about
Parentalité is a collaboration between Message Paris 👶🏻👦🏻👧🏻, an association helping anglophone parents and caretakers of children connect in Île de France, and World Radio Paris. 📻 ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn produced this episode for World Radio Paris.
To find out more about Message Paris, go to https://www.messageparis.org
To find out more about WRP or donate, visit https://worldradioparis.org/donate/
Hosted by Meg Gerner, Joelle Benoliel and Rachelle Chapman
School is in session on this episode of Parentalité as hosts Joelle Benoliel, Rachelle Chapman and Meg Gerner chat with our guest Derek Ferguson, Scottish dad and director of The Roaming Schoolhouse.
TRS offers after-school enrichment, spoken entirely in English, for bilingual students. We discuss the evolution of TRS, and its mission to make learning in English fun and engaging. We also touch on some of the particularities of the French education system, and the challenges of getting your child into college/lycée with international sections.
Parentalité is a collaboration between Message Paris, an association helping anglophone parents and caretakers of children connect in Île de France, and World Radio Paris. ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn produced this episode for World Radio Paris.
To find out more about Message Paris, go to https://www.messageparis.org
To find out more about WRP or donate, visit https://worldradioparis.org/donate/
Hosted by Meg Gerner, Rachelle Chapman and ARBL Murray
These are a few of our favorite things! Paris can be a great place in winter with kids IF you know where to look for things to do! Joelle Benoliel, Rachelle Chapman, and producer ARBL Murray talk about some of their favorite things to do during the holidays with kids from toddler to teen.
To find out more about Message Paris, go to https://www.messageparis.org
To find out more about WRP or donate, visit https://worldradioparis.org/donate/
Hosted by Meg Gerner, with guest Sarah Oudet
On this episode of Parentalité we talk about the science and culture of raising bilingual children. Sarah (Cheang) Oudet a researcher in the field of autism, bilingualism, and both cognitive and communicative development. As someone who is also raising bilingual kids in France she is uniquely qualified to demystify some of our questions and assumptions around learning multiple languages in general and for nerodivergent kids. Meg Gerner is our host this week.
Sarah will be the guest speaker at “Fostering Bilingualism: Supporting Your Child’s Language Journey” an event on November 5th 2025 at 8:30pm CET, created by Message Paris. For tickets to this event visit https://www.messageparis.org/event-details/fostering-bilingualism-supporting-your-childs-language-journey
Parentalité is a collaboration between Message Paris, an association helping anglophone parents and caretakers of children connect in Île de France, and World Radio Paris. ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn produced this episode for World Radio Paris.
Hosted by Joelle Benoliel, Meg Gerner, and Rachelle Chapman with guest Anshita Gupta
This Fall on Parentalité, we are celebrating Diwali with Indian Pastry Chef Anshita Gupta. Anshita is classically trained in French pastry but decided to worlk in Indian pastries and American style layered cakes. Anshita tells us all about what it is like to reinvent your career during motherhood, she started in tech and left that field for baking! We talk about what it’s like living as an expat from India, raising a son in Paris, and how to balance the family culture from India with French culture. Anshita also lets us in on what she thinks are the most authentic Indian restaurants in Paris. And of course we all get a crash course in Diwali, what to eat, what to wear, and where to be.
You can sign up for the Paris Diwali Festival with Message Paris here.
You can find out more about the amazing offerings of Anshita Gupta on her website or on Instagram.
Parentalité is a collaboration between Message Paris and WRP. This episode was produced by ARBL Murray and recorded in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
Hosted by Joelle Benoliel, with guest Kleidi Jeen
In this episode, Joelle Benoliel interviews Self-Care Strategist Kleidi Jeen about how to regulate your nervous system in the face of starting a business, being a parent, living in Paris, and keeping yourself mentally healthy. We learn about Kleidi’s journey from Louisiana to Paris, and with Joelle she goes over a few strategies and practices to ward off overwhelm.
Kleidi is a “Self-Care Strategist for Creatives Who Launch.” She uses her SUNDAE approach to help creatives start their brand or business.
You can find out more on the SOFT SUNDAE website, or follow Kleidi on Instagram at @softsundaestudio.
Hosted by Meg Gerner and ARBL Murray, with guest Romy Treneer
In France coming back to school, and back to work after the summer vacation is a very important time of year. The French refer to this part of the year as “rentrée.” We decided to take a deep dive into the French school system with Romy Treneer who raised two children in Paris while teaching in the French university system before embarking on a career in the corporate sector.
Hosted by Joelle Benoliel and recorded in Paris.
This month we learn about the history of the parks and playgrounds in Paris with special guest Adam Levy, who talks about the idea behind creating play centered spaces through-out the age of industry. Later, Joelle, Rachelle, and Meg, talk about their favorite parks and picnic spots in Paris.
For those with kids or just looking for a great place to picnic “like a Parisian,” enjoy the secrets gardens in the latest episode of Parentalité.
This show is a collaboration between World Radio Paris and Message Paris, an association supporting anglophone parents and caretakers of children in the Paris region.
Check out the full list of our park recommendations here