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EXCLUSIVE: David Campbell shares his refreshingly real parenting philosophy

Now this is a mantra we can get behind.
David Campbell with The Australian Women's Weekly
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As a father of three with a busy career on breakfast TV, David Campbell knows all too well about the struggle of the mythical โ€œjuggle.โ€

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In an exclusive interview with Now To Love, the proud father of son Leo, 10, and twins Billy and Betty, both six, who he shares with wife and producer Lisa Campbell, admits that while family life with three little people is โ€œwildโ€, heโ€™s learning to live in the moment and be kinder on himself.

โ€œItโ€™s such a privilege to raise humans, it really is. Itโ€™s very hard, very stressful but Iโ€™ve been taught a lot,โ€ David Campbell tells us.

โ€œThe experience of watching people grow in front of your eyes and help mould them into better citizens is something that is so special. You take it for granted as a parent all the time, I did just this morning, but Iโ€™m trying to be present and remind myself about how great this time is,โ€ he reflects.

For the Today Extra star, his go-to parenting mantra is something that will resonate with burnt-out mums and dads everywhere โ€“ weโ€™re all just trying our best.

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โ€œI think when youโ€™re a parent, everyone is just doing their best! A lot of people feel a lot of shame that theyโ€™re not living up to the expectations of how people parent on Instagram, or blogs, or this book says thisโ€ฆ But I think weโ€™re slowly letting that go now and just doing our best.

โ€œItโ€™s a long marathon. Keep going and give yourself a break! We forget how important it is just to be in their life,โ€ he says.

David, with wife Lisa, oldest son Leo and twins Billy and Betty, says parents need to be kinder on themselves.

(Image: Instagram)

The 47-year-old also says itโ€™s important to acknowledge the tough times โ€“ no matter how challenging they may be.

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Youโ€™ve got to take the trenches for what they are, youโ€™ve just got to be in them. Itโ€™s OK to be like: โ€˜This is too much, this is too hard. Iโ€™m drowning here.โ€™ Itโ€™s good to say those words out loud because I come from, my family was a family where theyโ€™d never complain and then theyโ€™d just get angry about it.

โ€œJust let it out! It doesnโ€™t hurt anybody to say the words. Let it out and then itโ€™s gone and then you just move on.โ€

The presenter lights up when he touches on his three kidsโ€™ distinct personalities.

โ€œLeo looks like Lisa and has her intelligence and both of us empathy but reminds me at the moment of me at his age. Ten is a very beautiful, very fragile age for a boy. It can be very emotional because theyโ€™re not quite a teenager yet or a tween yet but theyโ€™re not a kid anymore,โ€ he muses of his eldest child.

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โ€œBilly is go, go, go and then super emotional if something goes wrong and then go, go, go again,โ€ he chuckles of his youngest son.

โ€œIโ€™ve not experienced a human like Betty before.โ€

(Image: Instagram)

As for his only daughter Betty, David says she is truly one of a kind.

โ€œIโ€™ve not experienced a human like Betty before. She is brutally honest, super bright, doesnโ€™t take any prisoners, extremely funny and very creative. Itโ€™s so wild having someone like her in the mix. Itโ€™s like working with a comedian โ€“ she will push everything until the joke is dead and sheโ€™s howling on the floor,โ€ he admits.

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Of all his children, David suspects it will be Betty who follows in his showbiz footsteps.

โ€œIt would be unusual for Betty to become an accountant! If sheโ€™s not somehow in showbiz or leading a group of people [I will be surprised]. She said to me the other week she wants to be a mermaid president that lives in Hawaii,โ€ he laughs.

David and Lisa have been married since 2008.

(Image: Instagram)

Indeed Davidโ€™s career in the entertainment industry spans decades and thereโ€™s almost no element he hasnโ€™t made a name for himself in โ€“ from acting, hosting, signing โ€“ David is a born performer with a wealth of experience.

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Having spent years on noisy stages and sets and with his career depending on his hearing, the father-of-three has decided to team up with Hearing Australia to help raise awareness around hearing loss.

With one in four older Australians never recalling if theyโ€™ve ever had a hearing test, David wants to encourage people to start testing their hearing sooner rather than later.

โ€œIf youโ€™ve been working on construction sites or a tradie, I would suggest you do it. If you have come back from the services you should be looking at it. If you work in the entertainment or art industry or have been to lots of music gigs โ€“ you should get tested,โ€ he explains.

โ€œItโ€™s a long marathon. Keep going and give yourself a break! We forget how important it is just to be in their life.โ€

(Photo: Alana Landsberry/Are Media Syndication)
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Having recently had his first hearing test, David admits he was a little nervous for his results but was relieved to find out he only had some โ€œmild damage.โ€

Now the star wants to use his platform to help breakdown the stigma around hearing aids and hearing tests.

โ€œThereโ€™s muscles and bones in your ear, they will wear out. I consider it like going to the dentist or optometrist, it should be something weโ€™re doing at least once a year or at a certain ageโ€ฆ Working it into your health checks,โ€ he urges.

โ€œThere should be no stigma or shame around it. I think weโ€™re so worried because everyone remembers what hearing aids used to be like way back in the day and theyโ€™re very small and subtle now.โ€

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