How Ben Fordham found a nanny for his kids at Bunnings

Radio broadcaster Ben Fordham and his journalist wife Jodie Speers reveal how they came up with an unusual solution to their childcare juggle in the aisles of a hardware store.

Jodie Speers and Ben Fordham say their unconventional work hours are actually really well-suited to having a young family. (Picture: Daniel Nadel)

Who is going to look after the kids while we are at work? It’s a conundrum plenty of working parents can relate to. But the answer is not always as unconventional as the one Ben Fordham and Jodie Speers came up with last winter.

2GB Breakfast host Fordham tells Stellar On Friday that when his wife Speers returned from maternity leave to resume her role presenting 7 Early News in August, they set out to organise care for their three children, Freddy, 6, Pearl, 4, and Marigold (“Goldie”), 1.

“We just needed someone to be a human smoke alarm from 3am to 6.30am, till Jodie got home in the mornings,” Fordham explains.

Then he remembered that six months prior, he’d been captivated by Pam, a grandmother he’d met in line at his local Bunnings and who had charmed him with her charisma and zest for life.

“The crazy hours are actually really well-suited to having a young family.” (Picture: Instagram)

In typical Fordham fashion, he had asked for her number, thinking he might want her as a guest on his top-rating radio show. Now he realised she might be the perfect person to help look after his children.

“Most people use an agency to find babysitters,” he tells Stellar On Friday. “Not me. Needless to say, Jodie was a bit sceptical. But the minute she met Pam she was convinced.”

Now, at 3am every weekday morning, Pam or her daughter arrive just as Fordham and Speers head off to their respective jobs.

“I’m surprised how much I’m really enjoying the hours,” says Fordham, who listens to the 3am news before heading to his local bakery for a coffee on his way into the studio. “And with Jodie back at work we are both up at the same time, so we can see each other in the mornings and give each other a pep talk before work.”

Speers, who also recently completed a postgraduate degree in criminology, adds that despite the fact she has three children under seven, she’s energised by her return to work.

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“I love sharing information and telling stories,” she tells Stellar On Friday. “I think there is huge value in that, especially during a pandemic. It’s been a huge year in news, one we’ll remember for a long time to come.”

As for how she and Fordham are handling their chaotic schedule, she says it is ultimately a win-win. “The juggle may seem chaotic from the outside and sometimes it is – but the crazy hours are actually really well-suited to having a young family.

“The kids are asleep when I go to work, and I’m home in time to make their breakfast and do the school and preschool run.”