Sunrise host Matt “Shirvo” Shirvington has opened up on the realities of being a busy dad-of-three and how his parenting style has evolved.

Shirvington and his wife Jessica are proud parents to three children — Sienna, 19, Winnie, 17 and Lincoln, seven.

The former Olympic sprinter revealed the nine-year age gap between his middle and youngest child provides a “different dynamic in our family, but a great one”.

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“The benefit my son gets is the independence and understanding of a more mature sibling,” Shirvington told www.20304050.best.

“There are times you have to rein it in a little bit — the teenage approach to life is very different to what we need to be teaching him.

“There’s a realisation that the decisions that are made at the tail end of those teenage years are life defining… and more risk assessed.

“They’re going at night, they’re by themselves, they’re moving across the other side of the country.”

The former professional athlete added that while he pushed the developmental milestones with his oldest two, his approach to parenting changed with his third.

“When you have older kids, you’re always thinking: ‘When are they going to eat solids…when are they going to start walking, crawling, talking’… all of that,” he said.

“You’re like, come on, come on, come on.

“But with him [Lincoln], it’s been so chilled.

“It’ll come, he’ll do it, don’t worry.

“You’re a lot more relaxed about those kinds of milestones.”

Shirvington’s mornings start at 2.30am and he thanks his wife for handling the morning routine with the kids.

While he usually his day with an early morning workout before hitting the Sunrise desk, renovations at home have meant he’s had to get a little more creative.

“My routine has changed but I still get up at the same time,” he said.

“We’ll read in bed; I’ll watch news bulletins from around the country.

“Then I’m up and going.

“I do a little body weight circuit in the morning before the show — in the change room.

“I go for a run after we come off-air.

“I keep a medicine ball in my car — I find a park and go do a workout!”

Shirvington revealed how his years of training as a professional athlete has helped build his career on TV.

Having joined Sunrise in 2023, he celebrated two years with the top-rating morning show in June.

“You can’t ever take for granted the stories that we have the honour of telling,” he said.

“In terms of skill set — Nat and I are both determined people. We’re both competitive people, we enjoy winning but we also understand we need to be better the next day to keep winning.

“That in itself is kind of like elite sport — which is helpful.”

Speaking fondly about his co-host, Shirvington says he has learned a lot from Natalie Barr.

“As soon as Nat pulls her notes out and starts writing something, I’m thinking, ‘What’s she thinking?’” he said.

“Nat is so good at the editorial on the fly — knowing what the real story is at that moment but also knowing what the story is going to be at 6pm, or the next day.”

“That’s so impressive for me and a lesson for me to learn.”