Lazy But Smart Dad Podcast

Jas is a certified makeup artist and beauty specialist who is the owner, creator, and artist of J2K Beauty based in Adelaide, Australia. Her grandparents are from India, her father from Malaysia, her mother from Mauritius, and she was born in England and grew up in Australia. Jas believes that a great parent is someone who is there for all the important moments in their child's life. In this episode, she tells me how her parents who come from different religious backgrounds overcame barriers to build a wonderful family and life together, how her generous, loyal, and supportive dad goes out of his way to help people (even those he doesn't know that well), and how her parents never pressured her and instead let her make her own decisions. She also shares with me the story of how she got her driver's license without her dad's knowledge. Her IG: @j2k.beauty

Suraiya is the owner of Crio Design House (IG: @criodesignhouse), a handmade & custom jewelry design business in Dubai. She's Sri Lankan and has been living in Dubai for almost 30 years where she has also worked as a marketing coordinator for a center for children with special needs. In this episode, she talks about how she's grateful for her mother who trusted her choices & decisions, her husband's amazing relationship with their 2.5-year-old son, and how she thinks kind boys and brave girls can change the world. She also talks openly about her tumultuous childhood, standing up to her dad to protect her mother, and how despite this experience, she tries her best to not be over-protective of her son. Her IG:@thisissuraiya, Twitter: @BoomslangSur

Malou Geenevasen (IG: @kindnesstherapy) is a psychotherapist from Amsterdam whose clients include families and kids. Although she was born in Sri Lanka, she was adopted by two caring Dutch parents when she was two weeks old. In this episode, Malou describes her dad as someone kind, reliable, trustworthy, and inquisitive and talks to me about how he embodies these qualities and leads by example. Thanks to his attitude towards always learning new things, Malou also believes that you can always keep learning no matter how old you are.  She also speaks to me about how she challenged herself to do 365 good deeds in one year and as a result, learned that kindness is all around us if we look for it. PS. One of her cats started attacking her indoor plants during our recording, which forced us to take a break.

Vraîe Cally Balthazaar (@vraie_cally_balthazaar) is an activist, feminist researcher, social entrepreneur, and presenter from Sri Lanka. She is also a mother of two little kids and she manages all of the above in a very active life. In this episode, she talks about the influence of her mother and both grandmothers on her when growing up, how her parents allowed her to make her own choices, how she credits her husband as the primary caregiver to their kids, creating a better world for her kids through activism, and the importance of switching off your phone and other distractions and reading to your kids every day. Other people and pages mentioned in this episode: Ms. Harini Amarasuriya (@hariniamarasuriya),  Ms. Amalini De Sayrah (@amaliniii), Bhumi (@bhumi.srilanka), Everystory Sri Lanka (@everystory.sl).

Savindri Perera (Instagram: @savisquishles) is an avid cook and a passionate baker who runs a successful business from home, and is constantly on the search for the best loaf of bread money can buy. She is also a qualified neuroscientist with a specification in early childhood development and languages and she is also involved in the Australia Indigenous Mentor Program. In this episode, she talks about how her dad, Mr.  Chethiya Perera, raised her and her sister by putting value in their education, freedom, and financial independence - with incredible foresight considering it was in a culture that puts the value of a woman on her marital status. 

Anjana Soni Thakur is an interior designer from Mumbai, India who is also my wife's business partner. Together they own the interior design firm, The Design Houzz, which undertakes high-end design projects for residential, commercial, and hospitality clients. Her dad, Mr. Rampal Soni, is a veritable self-made made man who came from humble beginnings and built his company into a business giant that has diversified into textiles, steel, and real estate, with over 10,000 employees. In this episode, we talk about the wisdom he used to impart on Anjana and her siblings every morning, his self-discipline when it came to food and fitness, and his powerful presence that demands respect, which had a profound impact on Anjana's own habits and lifestyle. Her website: thedesignhouzz.com

Komal "Nikki" Seth, is a PR and marketing professional from New Delhi, India. Nikki's boutique firm, "Linkin Mark", handles promotions of tourism brands from all over the world into India.  She is also a good friend of my wife and I've known her and her dad, Mr. Deepak Seth since 2005. I was always intrigued by the wonderful and friendly chemistry they have between them and so I chatted with her in this episode to find out what exactly I'd need to do today to work towards having a similar relationship with my daughter in the future. We also talk about her dad's influence on the sports she did, her social skills, integrity, and, of course, "Santa & Banta" jokes.  instagram.com/nikkikomal

Melissa Stephen is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and musician from Sri Lanka. I know her since she was born. Her dad, Mr. Tony Stephen, and my dad worked together in the hotel business in the Maldives for many years and our families were very close. Unfortunately, in 2005 Tony uncle passed away, leaving behind a huge void in the lives of those of us who knew him. Yet, even today, his three daughters, Melissa being the youngest, speak about him with such admiration and love and so I sat down with her to find out what exactly made him this special in their eyes so that I could steal those ideas for my own parenting. instagram.com/melissastephenofficial

Hi, I'm Dilshan of Lazy But Smart and this mini episode, I explain what this new parenting podcast is all about,  if it's for you, what you might get out of it, and how I got the idea for it.