Patty Sullivan has spent 20 years entertaining kids on TV, but says raising a family takes help

In person, Patty Sullivan exudes the same youthful energy she brings her role as a host on CBC’s flagship morning program, Kids’ CBC. The day we meet happened to be Sullivan’s birthday, but the 46-year-old will celebrate a birthday of a different kind on April 4 — 20 years as an entertainer on children’s television.

Two decades is a long time but Sullivan, who started as a co-host on TVOKids in 1994 and joined CBC in 2007, says she still loves her work.

“I think I have a great job because I’m able to educate, entertain, and be a role model,” says Sullivan. “And I can say I’ve kind of raised a generation of kids. I meet 20-somethings now and they say, ‘Oh, I watched you when I was 8.’”

These days Sullivan is also busy raising her own kids. Married to actor, writer and producer, Michael Kinney, the couple has two girls, aged 7 and 3. Sullivan says although her job is irregular, the upside to being in the same industry as her spouse is they both understand work can’t always be 9 to 5. “We’ve got a calendar with lots of notes and schedules; I’m going this way, you’re going that way,” she says. To make it work, Kinney might work from home early in the day, then collect their daughter from school. Or if he is on deadline, Sullivan will pick up the slack.

Sullivan admits she and Kinney balance their work/home life with a lot of support, including the help of her mother. “I don’t know how people who are on their own do it,” she says. “I’m already pulling my hair out — and I’ve got help.”

Sullivan’s mother will babysit so Sullivan and Kinney can go out as a couple, or if the host has an extra day of filming. “Having that support system is huge.”

Sullivan works in the CBC studios three days a week. When it comes to her family’s hectic schedule, the children’s host says she she’s getting better at focusing on one day at a time — in small doses, so as not to get overwhelmed. On her days off she does what many moms do: she takes her youngest daughter to gymnastics, puts her down for an afternoon nap, picks up her eldest daughter at the school bus stop.

In addition to her work as a host, Sullivan is now a writer and associate producer at Kids’ CBC. She will often play segments for her kids and stand back to absorb their reactions. “It’s kind of like having my own in-house focus group,” she says. Sullivan admits her daughters are very honest and not concerned for her ego, “Sometimes they say, ‘I don’t want to watch you, mommy.’”

Sullivan says having children who are now a similar age to her viewing audience has changed how she views her role. “I see things as they do,” she says. “So if a young child is afraid to come up and say ‘hi,’ or they’re having a meltdown, because I am a parent, I can relate.” Sullivan says it helps her to interact with both the kids and their parents better. “Whereas before I was just the kid’s host — now I’m a bit about the kids and the parents.”

As she reflects on her 20 years in the industry, Sullivan recognizes that the landscape has change significantly since her days on TVO. Nowadays, children’s television can be consumed 24-7 through specialty channels, online programming and iPad aps. But Sullivan says one thing that hasn’t changed is parents’ desire for quality and education. “Education is huge and it’s never going away,” she says. “Even if my daughter wants to watch something taboo — on another network — that’s OK, as long as she’s getting a positive message out of it.”