Parenting: Finding a work-life balance

By Jil Hogan
Updated August 19 2014 - 10:08am, first published August 3 2014 - 2:11pm
All together: Ali Mountifield, Tony Smit and from left, Oscar, Hannah and Lucy. Photo: Rohan Thomson
All together: Ali Mountifield, Tony Smit and from left, Oscar, Hannah and Lucy. Photo: Rohan Thomson
Relax: The Rowe family at play, from left, Jed, 4, Ian, Ashton, 2, and Anne. Photo: Jeffery Chan
Relax: The Rowe family at play, from left, Jed, 4, Ian, Ashton, 2, and Anne. Photo: Jeffery Chan
At home: The Rowe family, from left, Ian, Jed, 4, Anne and Ashton, 2. Photo: Jeffery Chan
At home: The Rowe family, from left, Ian, Jed, 4, Anne and Ashton, 2. Photo: Jeffery Chan
Play time: Joe and Bec Sporcic with their son Eli. Photo: Jamila Toderas
Play time: Joe and Bec Sporcic with their son Eli. Photo: Jamila Toderas
Trio: Oscar, Hannah and Lucy. Photo: Rohan Thomson
Trio: Oscar, Hannah and Lucy. Photo: Rohan Thomson
Trio: Bec and Joe Sporcic with their son Eli. Photo: Jamila Toderas
Trio: Bec and Joe Sporcic with their son Eli. Photo: Jamila Toderas
All together: Ali Mountifield, Tony Smit and from left, Lucy, Hannah and Oscar.  Photo: Rohan Thomson
All together: Ali Mountifield, Tony Smit and from left, Lucy, Hannah and Oscar. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Children don't come with an instruction manual and no one tells you what to expect. Moreover, there is a flat ''no return'' policy. Jil Hogan talks to three sets of very different parents, about how the challenges of parenthood and how they manage their work-life balance.

Bec and Joe Sporcic with Eli (2)