Podcasts by What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms
When you're a parent, every day brings a "fresh hell" to deal with. In other words, there's always something. Think of us as your funny mom friends who are here to remind you: you're not alone, and it won't always be this hard.
We're Amy and Margaret, both busy moms of three kids, but with completely different parenting styles. Margaret is a laid-back to the max; Amy never met a spreadsheet or an organizational system she didn't like.
Further podcasts by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson
Podcast on the topic Kindererziehung
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HOLIDAY BEST OF: Handling the Holiday Craziness as a Mom from 2023-12-11T10:30
We’re in Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa Countdown! To keep you company while you slowly lose your mind, we’re re-running some of our favorite holiday episodes. This week we're revisiting "Handling the ...
ListenFresh Take: "The Girl Next Door Podcast" on Setting Boundaries from 2023-11-24T10:30
How can we set reasonable limits for our kids without negotiating every single time they're tested? Erica Ladd and Kelsey Wharton, co-hosts of "The Girl Next Door Podcast," discuss tips for setting...
ListenDoes Having Kids Ruin Your Marriage Forever? from 2023-11-22T10:30
Have you and your spouse slipped into "angry partners at the 24/7 daycare" mode since your baby was born? Here's why relationships change after kids, and some real solutions that can help us get th...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Robyn Silverman on How to Talk to Kids About Anything from 2023-11-03T09:30
How do we talk to our kids about all the complicated topics our world presents them with? Dr. Robyn Silverman, child and teen development specialist, is the author of the bestselling book How to Ta...
ListenAsk Margaret: My Spouse and I Disagree About Bedtime from 2023-10-16T09:30
What do we do when we disagree with our parenting partners about bedtime routines for our little ones? Here's how to get on the same side of the net against this issue.A listener writes: "My husban...
ListenWe're Still Cringing from 2023-10-11T09:30
Whether it's the dreaded email sent to the wrong person or greetings gone wrong, we've all got moments we can't stop playing in our heads over and over. Here are some of our cringiest moments.Amy a...
ListenAsk Amy: When Kids Have Negative Self-Talk from 2023-10-09T09:30
How can we support our kids' self-esteem when they take their frustrations out on themselves? Amy offers some tips for helping kids express frustration without getting down on themselves in the pro...
ListenKeeping Up with Friends Without Kids from 2023-10-04T09:30
Why do we find it hard to stay connected to our friends without kids? Does the total separation of our daily experience, once we become parents, mean those friendships cannot remain the same? Allis...
ListenTeaching Kids About Money from 2023-07-26T09:30
Teaching kids about how money works feels ever more important in a world where we pay for things by waving our phones, and where a couple of taps brings us anything we want to our doorstep twenty-f...
ListenAsk Margaret: Ground Rules for House Guests from 2023-07-24T09:30
How do you host relatives in your home in a loving and generous way without becoming overwhelmed? Margaret explains that hosts, not guests, get to make the rules for timing and length of their visi...
ListenThe Best Advice for Dealing with Teenagers from 2023-06-28T09:30
How do we raise healthy, loving, polite, and appreciative teens? Is it humanly possible? From remaining "passively available" to taking our adolescents' seemingly trivial problems seriously, our li...
ListenFresh Take: Rainesford Stauffer on Rethinking Ambition from 2023-06-16T09:30
Why do we as women get accused of too much or too little ambition, but never the right amount? And why are mothers expected to let go of all nonfamilial ambitions once they become parents?Rainesfor...
ListenFresh Take: Jamilah Mapp and Erica Dickerson of "Good Moms Bad Choices" from 2023-06-09T09:30
What do we do when we don't fit the "perfect mom" mold? Are we still good mothers even if we don't? Jamilah Mapp and Erica Dickerson are the co-hosts of the Good Moms, Bad Choices podcast, and the ...
ListenAsk Margaret: My Kid Is Afraid of Storms from 2023-05-29T09:30
What do we do when our kids ask us to explain scary things like natural disasters, accidents, and bad news? A listener in our Facebook group asks:"My 5yo is afraid of naturally occurring phenomena....
ListenFresh Take: Sara Petersen on Mommy Influencer Culture from 2023-04-28T09:30
Why do the "momfluencers" who post perfect pictures of their crisply dressed children in lavender fields hold such a sway over us, and what can we do about it? Sara Petersen, author of the new book...
ListenIs This Supposed to Be More Fun? from 2022-11-30T10:00
Do us a solid! Take our listener survey at bit.ly/whatfreshhellsurvey. When parenting feels like all work and no play, we may resignedly think "Well, that's the way it's supposed to be." But if you...
ListenFresh Take: Yael Schonbrun on "Work, Parent, Thrive" from 2022-11-25T10:00
Why does it feel like our career and our family are pulling us in different directions and making it hard to be fully present in both arenas? In her new book Work, Parent, Thrive: 12 Science-Backed...
ListenFresh Take: Wendi Aarons on Growing Older, Wiser, and Louder from 2022-11-18T10:00
Self-declared late-bloomer Wendi Aarons is an award-winning humorist, writer, and author who's written for McSweeney’s, The New Yorker Daily Shouts, US Weekly, and BuzzFeed. Her new book, "I'm Wear...
ListenFresh Take: KC Davis and the Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing from 2022-05-06T08:00
KC Davis is the creator of the mental health platform Struggle Care, where she shares a revolutionary approach to self and home care for those dealing with mental health, physical illness, and hard...
ListenBEST OF: Let It Go? Or No? from 2022-05-04T08:00
This week we're revisiting one of our all-time favorite episodes, in which we review listener grudges, large and small, and deciding once and for all if those listeners should let it go, or no. Let...
ListenFresh Take: Iris Chen on "Untigering" from 2022-04-29T08:00
Iris Chen was raised in the "tiger parenting" model, and began her parenting journey using similarly authoritarian and strict tactics– until she considered whether there might be another path, an a...
ListenBONUS: What We're Watching, Reading, and Listening To from 2022-04-28T08:00
In this bonus episode, Amy and Margaret discuss what they read, watch, and listen to between recording episodes of "What Fresh Hell." It involves stuffy upper class drawing rooms, brushes with deat...
ListenPeer Pressure from 2022-04-13T08:00
When we imagine peer pressure, we imagine coming to the rescue by slapping drugs and alcohol out of our kids' hands after their friends undoubtedly tell them they should definitely try some. But pe...
ListenAsk Amy: Helping Kids Deal With Comparison and Envy from 2022-04-11T08:00
Ever have a kid with a long face in the back seat at school pickup because they were NOT chosen as "Student of the Week"? A listener emailed us to ask: How do you help your kid work through compari...
ListenFresh Take: Cat and Nat on Being Mom BFFs from 2022-04-01T08:00
Cat and Nat have been friends since they were teenagers, but grew closer after becoming parents and confiding in each other about the more taboo topics of parenting. Once they decided to bring the...
ListenSpoiled Kids (And How Not To Have Them) from 2022-03-30T08:00
We’ve all witnessed other people's children behaving as if they were king or queen of the hill. Sometimes it's even our own kids who are behaving abominably at Applebee's.But what exactly makes a k...
ListenAsk Amy: My Kid Is Dealing With a Bully from 2022-03-28T08:00
At some point most kids will deal with a bully. But what happens when the bully is your kid's former friend? A listener wrote in to ask:At what point, if ever, do I attempt to help my eight-year-...
ListenFresh Take: Bobbi Rebell on Raising Financially Aware Kids from 2022-03-25T08:00
This week we're talking with Bobbi Rebell, author of the new book Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart. Bobbi is als...
ListenToxic Positivity from 2022-03-23T08:00
“God never gives you more than you can handle.” “Look on the bright side.” “It could be worse.” These are platitudes we’ve all heard and we all know are (to say the least) less than helpful. So why...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Kid Hates Getting Their Hair Washed! from 2022-03-21T08:00
Water + soap + wriggly bodies = a giant puddle on the bathroom floor! And that's when the kids LIKE taking baths. What if they absolutely dread it? This this week's question comes from Lauren on ou...
ListenFresh Take: Abby Medcalf on Relationships That Work from 2022-03-18T08:00
Abby Medcalf is the author of the #1 Amazon best-seller, “Be Happily Married, Even if Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing,” and the host of the “Relationships Made Easy” Podcast. She talks in this Fresh ...
ListenKid Crushes and Dating from 2022-03-16T08:00
"My kid says she's dating someone, and she's 9!" Before you send in the cavalry, take a second to learn about all of the different ways kids express affection for one another and how to talk to the...
ListenAsk Amy: How Should I Deal With Comments About My Kid's Size? from 2022-03-14T08:00
Here at What Fresh Hell we say there's no reason for anyone to comment on another person's size in a conversational setting. Ever. Including women who are (or who might appear) pregnant, and also i...
ListenFresh Take: Sara Dean on Thinking Bigger from 2022-03-11T09:00
Sara Dean is the host of The Shameless Mom Academy podcast, which inspires women and moms to live bigger, bolder, and braver #everydamnday. In this episode, we discusshow to turn our struggles into...
ListenGrudges Held, Grudges Kept from 2022-03-09T09:00
Is it rational to still be mad about that time in second grade when the kid right in front of you took the last sprinkles at the ice cream social? Is it reasonable to think just a little less of yo...
ListenAsk Margaret - Should I Take My Kids to Disney World? from 2022-03-07T09:00
Listeners have been discussing their trips to Disney World on the What Fresh Hell Facebook Group, and Jillian posed this question: "I’d love to hear a Disney episode: if you’ve been, if you are Dis...
ListenFresh Take: Amee Severson on Intuitive Eating For Our Families from 2022-03-04T09:00
Our society connects thin bodies not just with better health, but with greater happiness. And many of us have been duped into believing that the rewards of eternal thinness are available to anyone ...
ListenBeing "Safe Spaces" For Our Kids from 2022-03-02T09:00
We know we have to be our kids’ soft place to fall. We understand why they absolutely fall apart after a long day at school. But does it really have to be Mom who always gets the worst of it? Our ...
ListenAsk Amy: The Kids Make Me Nuts While I'm Driving! from 2022-02-28T09:00
Does your kids' chatter in the back seat work your last nerve? You may identify with this week's question: I feel like your wisdom could help me with the dreaded evening commute. I have a job that ...
ListenFresh Take: Taylor Harris on Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown from 2022-02-25T09:00
Taylor Harris is a writer and mom of three living in Pennsylvania. Her first book, THIS BOY WE MADE: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown, is the story of A Black mother bumping...
ListenAsk Margaret - When Should My Kids Start Sharing a Room? from 2022-02-21T09:00
This week's question comes from Sheila: "I have a 15-month-old and an almost 3-year-old. The 3-year-old has been in a toddler bed in his own room since he was 18 months old. The 15-month-old sleeps...
ListenFresh Take: The Dumb Dads from 2022-02-18T09:00
Evan Kyle Berger and Kevin Laferriere, better known as "The Dumb Dads," are stay-at-home dad comedians who've been featured on Momsplaining with Kristen Bell, Ellen, Today and Good Morning America ...
ListenAsk Amy: How Much Complaining About the "Invisible Workload" is Allowed? from 2022-02-14T10:00
How can you talk about the division of labor in your home– particularly if you're the one doing most of that labor– in a way that's less complain-y and more effective? Listeners can email us their ...
ListenFresh Take: Masha Rumer on Parenting As An Immigrant from 2022-02-11T09:00
Masha Rumer is an award-winning journalist and immigrant from the former Soviet Union who is now raising two children in California. Her new book, PARENTING WITH AN ACCENT: HOW IMMIGRANTS HONOR THE...
ListenThings Change, And That's Okay from 2022-02-09T09:00
Sometimes all the "treasure every moment, Mama" content can make us feel like it's all downhill from here, that each year of parenting becomes a little less special. This suspicion is confirmed whe...
ListenAsk Margaret - What Kind of After-School Routine Should I Be Following? from 2022-02-07T09:00
Are the after school hours intense ones at your house? Whether you have pre-schoolers or high-schoolers you can probably relate to this question from Patti: "Can we talk about after school routines...
ListenFresh Take: Kat Vellos On Friendship and Connection from 2022-02-04T10:00
How is it possible to find ourselves lonely in the midst of crazy-busy lives? Why does adulthood mean you only see people you really like twice a year? How did friendship get so complicated? Kat Ve...
ListenBack to Ones (And Why They're Better Than Goals) from 2022-02-02T10:00
We've long been proponents of a "back to one" instead of a goal. On a movie set, the assistant director yells "Back to one!" after a take of a scene, so that everything can be perfectly reset to it...
ListenAsk Amy : I Accidentally Created a Toddler Screens Monster! from 2022-01-31T10:00
I have created a 2-year-old screens monster! This week he and I have been sick with fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. (I also have a 6 month old who has miraculously stayed healthy.) My typically scre...
ListenFresh Take: Cara Harvey on Real Productivity from 2022-01-28T10:00
Cara Harvey is a mom empowerment coach who provides women with the tools, resources, and community to empower themselves, find their happiness, and live a life by design. Her new book is THE 15-MIN...
ListenDealing With Uncertainty as a Parent from 2022-01-26T10:00
How do we prepare for a future that isn’t clear? How do we prepare our kids for their future when what that might look like is also unclear? Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of the parenting jou...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Child is So Rude to Me! from 2022-01-24T09:00
If you have a kid who used to gaze at you with adoring eyes and now looks at you as if everything you say is the dumbest thing they've ever heard, you can probably relate to this week's question: M...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Lynyetta Willis on Breaking Out of "Stable Misery" from 2022-01-21T09:30
Dr. Lynyetta Willis is a psychologist and family empowerment coach who helps smart, successful women (and their families) stop the unhelpful patterns that keep them stuck, so they can create more j...
ListenThis One Thing Is Saving Me Right Now from 2022-01-19T09:30
What’s getting you through right now? A TV show? A candle? A coffee mug warmer? A podcast and a brisk walk? We asked our listeners for one thing that’s working for them right now, and from workouts...
ListenAsk Amy: What's It Like To Have a Kid Away At College? from 2022-01-17T10:00
If you've got a high schooler who's starting the college process– and the part you're most dreading as a parent is drop-off day– you will probably identify with this Question of the Week: Hey ladie...
ListenFresh Take: Meghan Leahy on How To Really Connect With Our Kids from 2022-01-14T09:00
Meghan Leahy is the "On Parenting" columnist for The Washington Post and a certified parenting coach. She's also the author of PARENTING OUTSIDE THE LINES: FORGET THE RULES, TAP INTO YOUR WISDOM, A...
ListenPandemic Decision Fatigue from 2022-01-12T09:00
We didn't think we'd get stuck here again, but here we are, in Pandemic: Omicron Edition.We're finding this round particularly exhausting because any semblance of consistency in guidance, advice, o...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Boys are Bathroom Destroyers! from 2022-01-10T09:00
Got young boys? If so you can probably relate to today's question of the week: "So I have 3 boys, an 8-year-old and 6-year-old twins. They seem to destroy bathrooms and I cannot handle! They almost...
ListenFresh Take: Melinda Wenner Moyer on Raising Kids Who Aren't Jerks from 2022-01-07T09:00
Melinda Wenner Moyer is an award-winning contributing editor at Scientific American, a regular contributor to The New York Times, and a former parenting columnist for Slate. Melinda is also the mo...
ListenWell, That Backfired! (Part Two) from 2022-01-05T09:00
Glitter! Slime! Escape rooms!Nutcrackers over Zoom! Here's Part Two of Things That Backfired for us and for our listeners...Special thanks to our sponsors for this month: Athletic Greens supports ...
ListenAsk Amy: My Toddler Thinks It's Funny to Hit Me from 2022-01-03T09:00
Have a toddler who thinks it's funny to hit Mom or Dad? A listener wrote in to ask: Any suggestions for dealing with hitting? My almost two-year-old hits us (mom, dad, older sister) when frustrated...
ListenBEST OF: Katherine May on "Wintering" from 2021-12-31T09:00
We're bringing you one of our favorite interviews this week: Katherine May, author of the tremendous book WINTERING: THE POWER OF REST AND RETREAT IN DIFFICULT TIMES. Written before the pandemic bu...
Listen2021: The Year in Review from 2021-12-29T09:00
2021: the year that was better than 2020, but also not really. More than ever, we are so thankful to all of you who listen to this podcast, laugh along with us, and create the best community on Fac...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Do I Handle Kid Crushes? from 2021-12-27T09:00
If you've ever reorganized your kid's backpack and found a note saying "Do you like me? Check YES or NO," then you will probably relate to this week's question: My 3rd grader has a secret crush and...
ListenBEST OF: Carla Naumburg from 2021-12-24T09:00
Carla Naumburg is a mother, clinical social worker, and author. She is the author of three parenting books, including the bestseller How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids, which not only expl...
ListenBEST OF: Holiday Fails from 2021-12-22T09:00
Experts say happiness is often purer in the anticipation of an event, because the reality can be a little more messy. And at no time of year is that sentiment more true than during the holiday seas...
ListenAsk Amy: Tips for Flying With Little Ones from 2021-12-20T09:00
Flying with little ones for the holidays? It's always a little extra complicated, and even more so this year. This week Diane asks: My husband and I are flying from Philadelphia to Texas. My kids h...
ListenFresh Take: Rashida Dinehart on Normalizing Grief from 2021-12-17T09:00
Rashida Dinehart is the co-host of the Grieving Mamas Club podcast, which provides community for anyone on the wild ride of motherhood while also navigating their grief journey. She's also the crea...
ListenIt's the Most Everything Time of the Year from 2021-12-15T09:00
Are you juggling “dress as your favorite reindeer” day at preschool with frantic texts from your sister-in-law asking what your spouse wants for Christmas? Are you feeling like hiding under the cov...
ListenAsk Margaret - Splitting Time at the Holidays from 2021-12-13T09:00
If you are traveling this holiday season to juggle seeing more than one part of your extended family in a short amount of time, you may relate to this question from Elizabeth: How do you tackle spl...
ListenFresh Take: Relationships with Danielle Silverstein of "Marriage and Martinis" from 2021-12-10T09:00
Danielle Silverstein, along with her husband Adam, host the podcast Marriage and Martinis. Their show presents a real, authentic marriage at its core, with all the love, hate, teamwork, struggles, ...
ListenWell, That Backfired (Part One) from 2021-12-08T09:00
Trips to DisneyWorld with toddlers. "Kid-friendly" hikes.Storybooks reassuring children about trips to the dentist. Buying an adorable lakeside cabin.These are just a few of the ideas that sounded ...
ListenWell, That Backfired (Part One) from 2021-12-08T09:00
Trips to DisneyWorld with toddlers.
"Kid-friendly" hikes.
Storybooks reassuring children about trips to the dentist.
Buying an adorable lakeside cabin.
These are just a few of the i...
Ask Amy- My Kid Gags At Foods He Used To Like! from 2021-12-06T09:00
What happens when your child’s picky eating actually increases with age? If your kid already had a limited food repertoire, seeing them reduce their list of acceptable foods can be very stressful. ...
ListenFresh Take: Rachel Nielson of "3 in 30" Podcast on Why Practicing Gratitude Is Worth It from 2021-12-03T10:00
Rachel Nielson is the host of 3 in 30 Takeaways, a podcast for moms who want to love motherhood as much as they love their children. Each 30-minute episode features 3 actionable takeaways to help m...
ListenDoes Having Kids Make Us Happy? from 2021-12-01T09:00
The world wants us to believe that having kids will bring us untold happiness. It's a love you've never known! Your life will never be the same! The reality is a little more complicated, and that c...
ListenAsk Margaret - Will I Always Be This Tired? from 2021-11-29T10:00
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing parenting question. Lindsey wrote in to ask: Do kids zap your energy forever? Or are toddlers just especially good at sapping your ener...
ListenBEST OF: Dr. Edward Hallowell on the New Science and Essential Strategies for ADHD from 2021-11-26T10:00
Dr. Edward M. Hallowell is one of the world's leading experts on ADHD. Dr. Hallowell's latest book, co-authored with Dr. John J. Ratey, is ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thrivin...
ListenMight Seem Crazy. Works for Me. from 2021-11-24T10:00
We asked our listeners to tell us all the things that others might call crazy but which totally work for them. From packing the laundry to eating the same lunch every day for five years to toothbru...
ListenAsk Amy - Can I Really Love My Second Child As Much As The First? from 2021-11-22T10:00
It's a common fear for mothers expecting their second child: How can I possibly love this new baby as much as I loved my first? Here's how a listener in our Facebook group put it: I have a two-year...
ListenFresh Take: Zibby Owens on What Moms Don't Have Time For from 2021-11-19T10:00
Zibby Owens is the creator and host of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, in which Zibby gets her guests to open up about what’s important to them while discussing their favorite books...
ListenTaking Care Of Our Parents (And Our Kids) from 2021-11-17T09:00
If you’re part of the “sandwich generation”– taking care of your parents and your children at the same time– you’ve got a lot of company. The demographic trends of later parenting and increasing li...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Do I Get My Kid To Stop Running Away From Me? from 2021-11-15T09:00
If you've ever had a child bolt from you in a parking lot or at preschool drop-off, you know it can be a scary experience. Today's question comes from email: I am a mother of 4-year-old twins, a bo...
ListenFresh Take: Tiffany Jenkins on Mom Anxiety and Keeping It Real from 2021-11-12T09:30
Tiffany Jenkins writes honestly about motherhood, her experience with opioid addiction, recovery, marriage, and life in her blog Juggling the Jenkins. Her memoir High Achiever: The Incredible True ...
ListenThings We Hate from 2021-11-10T09:40
Time for a ritual release of pent-up frustration. Think of this episode as a pressure cooker boiling down all things you would like to not think about or do anymore, including: school photosmaking...
ListenAsk Amy- All My Kids Do Is Fight! from 2021-11-08T10:00
Do your kids fight as much as they breathe? It's as normal as it is infuriating. This week Amy answers a question from our Instagram page: Man, am I struggling. My kids are four and two and all the...
ListenFresh Take: Claire Lerner- Why Is My Child In Charge? from 2021-11-05T08:00
Despite all evidence to the contrary, children are not actually out to drive grown-ups insane. But even parents who know better can get triggered when their kids are super-defiant. Claire Lerner is...
ListenWhy Does Everything Feel Hard Right Now? from 2021-11-03T08:00
Why does re-emerging from our pandemic cocoons continue to feel so difficult? Are we all socially deconditioned? The third-quarter phenomenon is part of the explanation. For people forced to endur...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Kid Acts Out When Their Sibling Has a Friend Over from 2021-11-01T08:00
Have you noticed your child's behavior going all the way downhill when their sibling has a friend over? You may relate to this week's question from our Facebook group: My kids turn into monsters wh...
ListenFresh Take: Amy Koppelman on "A Mouthful of Air" from 2021-10-29T08:00
While many women experience mild mood changes during or after the birth of a child, 15 to 20% of women experience more significant symptoms of depression or anxiety. But with informed care, you can...
Listen5th Anniversary Episode! Our Kids Are Creepy from 2021-10-26T14:47
It's the fifth anniversary of the What Fresh Hell podcast! Thanks for listening, sharing, and being part of the best mom community anywhere. To celebrate five years of community– and the spooky sea...
ListenAsk Amy- My Kid Is Not Great At Apologizing from 2021-10-25T08:00
How do we get kids to view saying "sorry" as more than a get-out-of-jail-free card? This week's question comes from our Facebook page: I have 5-year-old and 2-year-old boys. My question: how do you...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Stacy Haynes on the Best Method to Help Kids Who Struggle from 2021-10-22T08:00
Dr. Stacy Haynes is a professional counselor specializing in the treatment of social, behavioral and emotional challenges of children. She is also the Director of Inclusion and Equity at Lives in t...
ListenSolo Parenting Seasons and How To Get Through Them from 2021-10-20T08:00
"Solo parenting" isn't the same as single parenting– but when we're in it, it can sure feel pretty intense. Even if our partners are great at pulling their own weight, sooner or later most of us en...
ListenAsk Margaret - Is It OK to Brag About My Kid to My Mom Friends? from 2021-10-18T08:00
Childhood is not a competition, but it can feel that way when talk in our mom circles focuses too much on what our kids are achieving. It's fine to be proud of our kids' accomplishments, but if you...
ListenFresh Take: Shannon Carpenter on Being a Stay-At-Home Dad from 2021-10-15T08:00
Shannon Carpenter has been a stay-at-home dad since 2008, and that on-the-job experience– plus his humor-writing background– makes him the perfect author to have written his new book: THE ULTIMATE ...
ListenHow Motherhood Changes Us from 2021-10-13T08:00
Becoming a mother changes everything about us. Literally: the very structure of our brain changes during pregnancy, along with our eyeglass description and our shoe size. That most of us become mor...
ListenAsk Amy- Should I Have My Holiday Shopping *Done* Already? from 2021-10-11T08:00
Do you have friends and loved ones who complete their holiday shopping by October 15 and make you stressed that you haven't even started? You might identify with this week's question: I feel like y...
ListenFresh Take: Kate Bowler on the Truths We Need To Hear from 2021-10-08T08:00
Kate Bowler is an associate professor at Duke's Divinity School. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband and son. Her new book is No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Need To ...
ListenIt's The Little Things from 2021-10-06T08:00
This week we're talking about all the little things that trip us up, confuse us daily, and that we will never, no matter how much we try, get right. Will we ever ask for directions and then listen ...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Kid Won't Stop Interrupting! from 2021-10-04T08:00
All kids interrupt, but for some kids it can become a problem behavior. Some kids struggle to control their impulses, and that can make it difficult for them to wait their turn to speak. This week ...
ListenFresh Take: Whitnee Hawthorne On Strategies For Working Moms from 2021-10-01T08:00
Whitnee Hawthorne is a speaker, an author, and a Fortune 500 executive. She's also a mom of two young children. As the host of the Savvy Working Moms podcast, Whitnee supports and encouraging worki...
ListenGetting Kids To Cooperate from 2021-09-29T08:00
Getting kids to cooperate is a challenge at all ages and stages. Here’s how to know when little kids are old enough to kick in, how "connecting before directing" works for older kids, and whether "...
ListenAsk Amy- My Kid Dumps Out The Toys Right After I Pick Them Up from 2021-09-27T08:00
Got a toy dumper? The way to engage little kids in household cooperativeness is to make it an outgrowth of spending time with you. Hear more in our "Getting Kids To Cooperate" episode, launching on...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Pooja Lakshmin on Burnout and Mom Guilt from 2021-09-24T08:00
Want to read the transcript for this episode? Find it here on our website. Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, MD is a psychiatrist and author specializing in women's mental health. She is a frequent contributor t...
ListenA Room Of Our Own: Claiming the Space We Need from 2021-09-22T08:00
Almost one hundred years ago, the writer Virginia Woolf famously declared that a woman needed "a room of her own" in order to do important work– and that the lack (at that time) of a long history o...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Spouse and I Disagree About House Rules from 2021-09-20T08:00
Couples disagree on a lot of things, but disagreements about parenting can cause problems in our marriages, and can make raising kids even more challenging than it already is. Amy says that when sh...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Danielle Dick on "The Child Code" from 2021-09-17T08:00
Dr. Danielle Dick is an internationally recognized expert on genetic and environmental influences on human behavior. Her new book is THE CHILD CODE: Understanding Your Child's Unique Nature for Ha...
ListenYep, That Was So Me from 2021-09-15T08:00
What's your "wow, that was so me” story? What is something you did as a kid that exemplifies exactly who you are now? Amy was taking charge at grownup parties as a six-year-old.Margaret was getting...
ListenAsk Amy - How Can I Tell When My Kid Is Overtired? from 2021-09-13T08:00
There's a fine line between tired and overtired, and sometimes the right bedtime exit becomes clear only once you've blown right past it. A member of our Facebook group asked: How do I tell the dif...
ListenFresh Take: Kate Anthony on Doing Divorce Right from 2021-09-10T08:00
Kate Anthony is the host of the critically acclaimed and New York Times recommended podcast The Divorce Survival Guide Podcast and the creator of the online coaching program Should I Stay or Should...
ListenLet's Rethink Birthday Parties from 2021-09-08T08:00
Have we utterly lost the script when it comes to kids' birthday parties? Or are the backyard tents and petting zoos and themed catering lots of fun, and that's all that matters? Is there anything t...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Kid Doesn't Want to Spend Time With Friends from 2021-09-06T08:00
As parents, the thing we want most is for our children to be happy. When we see one of our kids spending a lot of time alone, and struggling with friendship,s it's natural to worry. But it's also i...
ListenBEST OF: Husband Crimes- Can This Marriage Be Saved? from 2021-09-03T08:00
It's a "Best Of" episode– and one of our all-time funniest. We asked our listeners to tell us their spouse/partner's most unacceptable- and also extremely minor- infractions. We got 356 responses. ...
ListenRule Breaker Or Rule Follower: Which Are You? from 2021-09-01T08:00
Are you a rule breaker or a rule follower? Are you married to your opposite? We're both rule followers, and when one builds a life with someone who sees the "NO DOGS IN THE LAKE" sign as an invitat...
ListenAsk Amy- Is My Kid *Trying* To Be This Difficult? from 2021-08-30T08:00
Sometimes it seems like our kids are actually out to make our relationships with them worse. This week's question comes from our Facebook group: I think my 9-year-old is "soiling the nest." Is it n...
ListenFresh Take: Christina Hillsberg on How Being a Spy Prepared Her For Parenting from 2021-08-27T08:00
Christina Hillsberg is a former spy who worked at the CIA for more than twenty years before transitioning to the private sector. Her new book is LICENSE TO PARENT: How My Career as a Spy Helped Me ...
ListenThe Best Mom Lies Ever from 2021-08-25T08:00
Some people say parents should never lie to their kids. We are not those people. We asked our listeners to tell us all the lies that totally worked for their kids– or worked on them when they were ...
ListenAsk Margaret - Handling Tough School Drop-Offs from 2021-08-23T08:00
When school drop-off is tough it can ruin the whole day. The feeling of walking away and leaving a sobbing kiddo at pre-school is just plain awful, but the reality is that most kids are happily pla...
ListenFresh Take: Annie Murphy Paul on The Extended Mind from 2021-08-20T08:00
“Use your head.” That’s what we tell ourselves when facing a tricky problem or a difficult project. But a growing body of research indicates that we’ve got it exactly backwards. What we need to do,...
ListenCompetition: How Much Is Good For Our Kids? from 2021-08-18T08:00
Does competition have benefits? What level of competition is healthy for our kids? Many of us agree that the stereotypical dad yelling through the fence at T-Ball is taking things a little too seri...
ListenAsk Amy- When Other People Discipline Your Kids from 2021-08-16T08:00
It can really get under our skin when other adults– whether relatives or strangers– tell our kids to stop splashing, or sit still, or any other directive we might or may not agree with. But when sh...
ListenFresh Take: Ashley Brown on Routines That Work from 2021-08-13T08:00
Ashley Brown is the founder and owner of Routine and Things, a product-based business equipping women to consistently live their happiest lives, one routine at a time. She also hosts the Routine an...
ListenWe Thought This Would Be Over By Now from 2021-08-11T08:00
As the *third* school year affected by the pandemic begins (or approaches, depending on where you live), many of us are overcome with frustration. We thought this would be over by now. And yes, thi...
ListenAsk Margaret - Can I Say "No Gifts" For My Kid's Birthday? from 2021-08-09T08:00
Birthday parties are terrific but gifts can be a drag. Buying gifts for kids' parties can be an expensive hassle, and your kid receiving gifts can mean more plastic stuff she doesn't need or even r...
ListenFresh Take: Amanda Knox on Feeling Lost and Finding Hope from 2021-08-06T08:00
Amanda Knox is an exoneree, journalist, public speaker, and author of the New York Times best-selling memoir Waiting to Be Heard. Between 2007 and 2015, she spent nearly four years in an Italian pr...
ListenHighly Sensitive (and Under-Sensitive) Kids from 2021-08-04T08:00
When a parent first hears about highly sensitive kids– or their opposite, sensory seekers– it can provide a profound moment of recognition, of connecting the dots for things about our kids that up ...
ListenAsk Amy- When The Other Kid Wants To Play But Yours Doesn't from 2021-08-02T08:00
This week's question came from Instagram: What do you do when another parent wants to set up a playdate with your kid, but you know your kid doesn't want to play with them? Nothing harmful in the p...
ListenFresh Take: Lenore Skenazy on Free-Range Kids and How To "Let Grow" from 2021-07-30T08:00
Lenore Skenazy is the author of Free-range Kids: How Parents and Teachers Can Let Go and Let Grow, the hugely influential parenting bestseller with a newly released second edition. The free-range m...
ListenAm I Making This Harder Than It Needs To Be? from 2021-07-28T08:00
Why are some things hard for us but not our partners or our friends? Do we make things harder than they need to be? Or are some things, like picking up the phone and talking to a stranger to order ...
ListenAsk Margaret - What Do I Do About My Kid's Poor Hygiene? from 2021-07-26T08:00
Our kids may be adorable and fresh-smelling when they are little, but somewhere along the way (thanks puberty!) they transform into oily stink-monsters. Once our kids reach a certain age, keeping u...
ListenFresh Take: Nikki Weiner on What's Changed in College Admissions from 2021-07-23T08:00
Nikki Weiner is the founder of Building Bold, and has served as a guest speaker in the U.S. and abroad on writing and the college admissions landscape. Nikki’s ultimate goal is to provide students ...
ListenHandling the News With Our Kids from 2021-07-21T08:00
The news is hard for anyone to escape these days– and that includes our kids. Even the littlest ones might see a stray notification on a parent's phone, or overhear something scary from a televisio...
ListenAsk Amy- My Kid Loses Everything! from 2021-07-19T08:00
All kids lose stuff sometimes. Some kids lose stuff all the time. Sometimes it's ADHD or general inattention. Sometimes it's just a slower development of executive function. No matter what, it's fr...
ListenFresh Take: Heidi Murkoff on Maternal Health (And What We Can Do To Protect It) from 2021-07-16T08:00
Heidi Murkoff is a mother, a grandmother, and the author of the legendary What to Expect When You’re Expecting, with more than 19 million copies in print. Heidi is also the creator of the What to E...
ListenBest Advice We'd Give Our Younger Selves from 2021-07-14T08:00
Youth is wasted on the young. We wasted our youth taking the wrong classes in college and layering imaginary agendas onto other people's dopey behavior. Sound familiar? We asked our listeners: If y...
ListenAsk Margaret - What To Do When Kids Say They're Bored from 2021-07-12T08:00
One of the most important lessons from the pandemic may be "It is OK for kids to be bored". A lot of parents fear boredom because of the whining and complaining that comes along with it - but in th...
ListenFresh Take: Olivia Martinez-Hauge on Special Needs Parenting from 2021-07-09T08:00
Olivia Martinez-Hauge is a marriage and family therapist specializing in the treatment of families, couples, and individuals who are caregiving for children or adults with neurodiversity. She is al...
ListenSuper-Awesome Mom Hacks from 2021-07-07T08:00
Time for some easy wins! Here of some of our (and our listeners') favorite hacks for naptimediapers laundrykitchen sibling squabblesand General Sanity Preservation. This stuff really works! Spec...
ListenAsk Amy - My Kid Just Doesn't Want To Talk About It from 2021-07-05T08:00
When we have a child who chooses to withdraw and "not talk about it," rather than unpack his disappointment, is that a reason for concern? This week's question comes from Facebook: When my seven ye...
ListenBEST OF: What Kind of Monster? from 2021-07-02T08:00
It's a "Best Of" episode that launched a movement: What Kind Of Monster? Or #WKOM, as the Fresh Hellions in our Facebook group call it. Our highest calling here at What Fresh Hell is to serve as a ...
ListenBirth Order: Can We Fight It? from 2021-06-30T08:00
We see birth order play out pretty clearly, both in our own families and in our families of origin. But is it a bad thing? Is it a thing to fight back against? Is there a way to make the older chil...
ListenAsk Margaret- When Is It Okay For Kids To Keep Secrets? from 2021-06-28T08:00
We sometimes feel nothing should be kept secret between us and our children, but that's not really true. We do need to talk often with our kids about the difference between inappropriate secrets (a...
ListenFresh Take: Dawn Huebner on Sibling Rivalry (And What Parents Usually Do Wrong) from 2021-06-25T08:00
Dr. Dawn Huebner is a psychologist, parent coach, and the author of 10 books for children, most of which we have on our bookshelves at home. Her new book is The Sibling Survival Guide: Surefire Way...
ListenCan We Be More Inclusive Parents? from 2021-06-23T08:00
Can we become more inclusive as parents? Inclusivity has great benefits for everyone involved. We loved this explanation from Bright Horizons: "Too often, inclusiveness is described as something we...
ListenAsk Amy - Is Childhood Stuttering Something To Be Concerned About? from 2021-06-21T08:00
It can be confusing and a little concerning when a toddler suddenly develops a stutter or a stammer. A member of our Facebook group asked: My daughter (27 months) seems to have recently developed a...
ListenFresh Take: You're Doing It Wrong! (with Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan) from 2021-06-18T08:00
Margaret "Maggie" Quinlan and Bethany Johnson are the co-authors of the book You’re Doing it Wrong! Mothering, Media and Medical Expertise. This book investigates the history of mothering advice in...
ListenAdmitting Things Aren't Perfect from 2021-06-16T08:00
It's hard to admit things aren't perfect. It's especially hard for moms. Psychologists Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett described three types of perfectionism in the 1990s: self-directed (I must be a s...
ListenAsk Margaret - When Grandparents Undermine Your Parenting from 2021-06-14T08:00
One question we get over and over again is about dealing with grandparents who say to our kids, "I want to– but your mom won't let me." We have a general guideline that you only have three times av...
ListenFresh Take: Ellen Kahn On Supporting Our LGBTQ Kids from 2021-06-11T08:00
Ellen Kahn is the Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign. In her role, Ellen provides national leadership and expertise in public education and advocacy efforts o...
ListenOur Parental Achilles Heels from 2021-06-09T08:00
Our merch store is live! Get your T-shirts, hoodies, onesies, and notebooks: bit.ly/whatfreshmerch. An "Achilles Heel" is a weakness in spite of overall strength. If exploited by our enemies, that...
ListenAsk Amy: How Do I Protect My Newborn in a Post-Pandemic World? from 2021-06-07T04:00
How can a mom whose only parenting experience has been during Covid feel okay about protecting her newborn in a post-pandemic world? A listener emailed us to say:I am pregnant with my second baby, ...
ListenFresh Take: Future Focused Parenting With Kira Dorrian and Deana Thayer from 2021-06-04T11:44:42
Kira Dorrian and Deana Thayer are parent coaches and authors who are passionate about preparing families to thrive on their parenting journeys. They're the co-founders of Future Focused Parenting, ...
ListenReestablishing Friendships After This Weird Time from 2021-06-02T08:00
The pandemic shrunk our social circles, first literally and then metaphorically. Our time for ourselves evaporated, and with that any chance of catching up with our best friend– even if she lived t...
ListenAsk Margaret: How Do I Talk to My Kids About Consent? from 2021-05-31T08:00
Conversations with kids about consent are tricky. It can be awkward or uncomfortable to talk with kids of any age about sex, but the more often we have these conversations, the more likely our kids...
ListenFresh Take: Radha Agrawal on Creating Community from 2021-05-28T08:00
Our new podcast Toddler Purgatory is live! Life with little ones isn't all bad. It's just... intense. Subscribe or follow wherever you listen so you never miss an episode! Radha Agrawal was named ...
ListenSo What Are We Doing This Summer? from 2021-05-26T08:00
Our kids’ summer plans keep evolving– for the better and the more confusing. We fill out forms. Then we get emails saying "Forget the old rules, and fill out these three new forms indicating you ag...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Kid Wants All the Things from 2021-05-24T08:00
Do you have a kid at home who obsesses over collecting or acquiring the right kinds of things or just all the things in general? If so you are not alone. A listener had this question:What do you al...
ListenFresh Take: Carla Naumburg Tells Us How To Stop Losing It With Our Kids from 2021-05-21T08:00
Our new podcast Toddler Purgatory is live! Life with little ones isn't all bad. It's just... intense. Subscribe or follow wherever you listen so you never miss an episode! Carla Naumburg is a moth...
ListenUseless Metrics For Life from 2021-05-19T08:00
These days we're surrounded by trackers– on our wrists, on our water bottles, on our phones. On the one hand, they help us pay attention to the things in our lives that are important to us, and to ...
ListenBONUS: Toddler Purgatory from 2021-05-18T04:00
Aren’t toddlers just the best? Are they not also, at times, the WORST? Blaire Brooks and Molly Lloyd welcome you to Toddler Purgatory, where life with littles is not all bad, but definitely less th...
ListenBONUS: Toddler Purgatory from 2021-05-18T04:00
Aren’t toddlers just the best? Are they not also, at times, the WORST? Blaire Brooks and Molly Lloyd welcome you to Toddler Purgatory, where life with littles is not all bad, but definitely less th...
ListenAsk Amy- I Can't Take The Noise! from 2021-05-17T04:00
Does the combination of your kids' squabbling, the repeated clinking of your spouse's cereal spoon, and the Mister Softee jingle send you into a rage-panic? You are not alone. Farrah had this to sa...
ListenFresh Take: Ilyse DiMarco on "Mom Brain" from 2021-05-14T08:00
Dr. Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Summit, New Jersey. She specializes in helping women use cognitive- behavioral therapy and related evidence-based strategi...
ListenLet It Go? Or No? from 2021-05-12T08:00
This week we're reviewing listener grudges, large and small, and deciding once and for all if those listeners should let it go, or no. Letting it go doesn't mean you're wrong to be annoyed. Sometim...
ListenAsk Amy- Company's Coming. How Am I Going To Feed Everyone? from 2021-05-10T08:00
Find yourself stuck in the kitchen 24/7 when family comes to visit? You’re allowed to feel overwhelmed and even a little resentful, even if you’re really happy they came. Jenna emailed us to ask:Si...
ListenFresh Take: Judith Warner on What Grownups Get Wrong About Middle School from 2021-05-07T08:00
Toddler Purgatory is launching this month! Help us support the launch of our new podcast by checking out the sneak-peek trailer and following now wherever you listen. Grab all the player links at t...
ListenWhen Your Kid Doesn't Fit The Mold from 2021-05-05T08:00
Toddler Purgatory is launching this month! Help us support the launch of our new podcast by checking out the sneak-peek trailer and following now wherever you listen. Grab all the player links at t...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Son Can't Keep His Hands to Himself from 2021-05-03T08:00
Kids often struggle to keep their hands to themselves– and this can be especially true for boys, who love to punch, tackle, and poke at anyone who gets near them. This week Emily asks:As a mom of b...
ListenFresh Take: Michaeleen Doucleff on Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans from 2021-04-30T08:00
Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff is the author of the New York Times best-seller Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans. In this ...
ListenWait, We're Not Ready from 2021-04-28T08:00
We thought we were ready. We were in fact quite excited for all of this to be over, white-knuckling it until we could run outside and hug everyone we saw. But as freedom comes nearer, we’re less su...
ListenAsk Amy- My 4-Year-Old Hates Transitions from 2021-04-26T08:00
The most important part of addressing our little ones’ challenging behavior is to get curious about what's causing it. For preschoolers struggling with the Covid-Plus restrictions of the moment, it...
ListenFresh Take: Christina Martin on How Children Learn Through Play from 2021-04-23T08:00
Christina Martin is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at The Children's School, an independent progressive K-8 school in Oak Park, Illinois. She has taught elementary, middle, and high sch...
ListenAre You the 'Good Parent' or the 'Bad Parent' In Your Home? from 2021-04-21T08:00
Are you the “bad parent” in your home? The enforcer of bedtimes, the keeper of deadlines, the stern shusher in the church pew? Or are you the “good parent,” the authority figure more likely to agre...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Spouse and I Disagree About Discipline from 2021-04-19T08:00
When we choose a spouse we look for someone we're attracted to, someone we love, and someone we can have fun with. Then we have kids and find ourselves co-running a household with competing viewpoi...
ListenFresh Take: Julie Lythcott-Haims on Becoming An Adult from 2021-04-16T08:00
Julie Lythcott-Haims is the author of the parenting bestseller How to Raise an Adult, which opened the minds of loving but hovering parents everywhere. Her new book is Your Turn: How To Be An Adult...
ListenAsking For Big Help (And The Best Ways To Give It) from 2021-04-14T08:00
We’ve all been in moments when we have to make a Big Ask. As in: it’s 2 a.m. The baby is throwing up and spiking a high fever. Your partner is out of town. Your other kid is asleep upstairs. Who ar...
ListenAsk Margaret - Should I Ever Let My Kids Use "Bad" Words? from 2021-04-12T08:00
Cursing is one parenting dilemma that people have different takes on. Some feel that cursing has no place in the home and some feel that cursing falls firmly in the "no big deal" category. This wee...
ListenFresh Take: Debbie Reber on Parenting Kids Who Are "Differently Wired" from 2021-04-09T08:00
Debbie Reber is a parenting activist, bestselling author, speaker, and the founder of TiLT Parenting, a top podcast, community, and educational resource for parents raising differently wired child...
ListenI've Figured Something Out... from 2021-04-07T08:00
Have you ever figured out a thing and thought everyone must know about this? In this episode we discuss the things that we (and our listeners) have figured out about how to packfreezer organizatio...
ListenAsk Amy- My Teen Has Zero Interest In Getting A Driver's License from 2021-04-05T08:00
Teens today are driving less, and later, and are far less motivated to drive than we were. The number of 16-year-old licensed drivers in the United States decreased from 46.2 percent in 1983 to 25....
ListenFresh Take: Kim Williams on the Systems That Work For Single Moms from 2021-04-02T08:00
Kim Williams is a change agent and community-builder for single moms. As the host of the podcast Experiencing Motherhood: Single and Black, Kim aspires to help single moms live the lives they desir...
ListenTwo Kinds of People: Family Debates from 2021-03-31T08:00
What are the consistent and ongoing family debates in your household? Our Facebook group came through with their most heated family debate topics, and this week we give the ultimate answer for ques...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Can I Get My Kids to Get Rid of All the Stuff? from 2021-03-29T08:00
One of the greatest obstacles to keeping our houses in order is the sheer amount of stuff that arrives on a daily basis. Kids have a hard time letting go of things, but moms have a hard time having...
ListenFresh Take: Michele Borba on Kids Who Thrive from 2021-03-26T08:00
Dr. Michele Borba is a renowned educational psychologist and an expert in parenting, bullying, and character development. Her latest book is THRIVERS: The Surprising Reason Why Some Kids Struggle ...
ListenWhen Can We Start Saying Yes? from 2021-03-24T08:00
Vaccines. Mandate-liftings. Scaled reopenings. All of these things are great and long wished for. But we were kind of thinking there'd be a bell, or something. A hard deadline. A day when we'd all ...
ListenAsk Amy - The Return to In-Person School Isn't Going Great from 2021-03-22T08:00
What should parents do when the return to in-person school, after a year of being home with Mommy, is sort of a disaster? This week's question comes from Carrie on Facebook:My 3-year-old just start...
ListenFresh Take: Joe "Mr. D" Dombrowski on the Fresh Hells of Teaching During a Pandemic from 2021-03-19T08:00
Joe "Mr. D" Dombrowski is a professional comedian. He also teaches kindergarten. In other words: he knows how to work a tough crowd.You probably know Joe from his viral YouTube videos, his many app...
ListenMom Rock-Bottoms from 2021-03-17T08:00
What’s your mom rock-bottom? The moment when you thought I’m just going to head for the border and start a new life? We asked you all for the worst mom moments you were actually willing to share i...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Do I Get My Kids to Play Together? from 2021-03-15T08:00
When we have multiple kids we dream of them romping together all day in the yard as joyful playmates! The reality is often a little more complicated. Ashley asked: How do you encourage older siblin...
ListenFresh Take: Janice Johnson Dias on Raising Joyful, Change-Making Kids from 2021-03-12T09:00
Janice Johnson Dias is a professor of sociology at John Jay College. She is co-founder and president of the public health and social action organization GrassROOTS Community Foundation and its Supe...
ListenLetting Kids Make Mistakes from 2021-03-10T09:00
There are benefits to our kids making mistakes, even when it’s hard. Maybe especially when it’s hard. Some kids have tons of flexibility and safety around trying new things, around failing. Others ...
ListenAsk Amy- When Your Kids' Creative Projects Are Also Huge Messes from 2021-03-08T05:00
How can I encourage my kids’ creativity and self-directed play while also setting limits on the messes they make? Erin emailed us to say:My kids are 3, 5, and 7 and during the pandemic they’ve real...
ListenFresh Take: Michelle Icard on the 14 Talks Parents Need To Have With Their Kids Before They Turn 14 from 2021-03-05T09:00
This week we're talking to Michelle Icard, middle-schooler whisperer and author of the new book FOURTEEN TALKS BY AGE FOURTEEN: The Essential Conversations You Need to Have with Your Kids Before Th...
ListenWhen It's Okay To Be Emotional In Front of Our Kids from 2021-03-03T09:00
Is it okay for us to be emotional in front of our kids? Julie, one of our podcast listeners, asked this question in our Facebook group: Is it good for kiddos to see their moms have emotions? And h...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Should I Talk to My Child's Caregiver About Discipline? from 2021-03-01T09:00
Leaving our kids in the care of others is stressful and tends to bring out a strong need for control. But when it comes to working with a nanny or a day care provider, this may not be the best appr...
ListenExtremely Achievable Family Traditions from 2021-02-24T09:00
What are some small traditions we can lean on right now to create more joy and meaning for our families? We’re talking LITTLE. Preferably free. Not exhausting. Super fun. Lifetime of memories creat...
ListenAsk Amy- Should I Be Worried About My Teen's Isolation? from 2021-02-22T09:00
When is a teen happily isolated– or at least content– and when is it something a parent should be concerned about, particularly during the pandemic? This week's question comes from Kate in our Fac...
ListenMoms Are Not Okay from 2021-02-17T09:00
How we doing, moms? If you're anything like us, your domestic situation has blown past “getting old” to “seriously guys, we cannot do this anymore” to fetal-position numbness and beyond. And there’...
ListenAsk Margaret - Do I Get a Say On Who My Kids' Friends Are? from 2021-02-15T09:00
This week's listener question comes from Kristen in our Facebook group: How much input should I have on my kids' choice of friends?This is a hard one. Ceding control over our kids' lives is anxiety...
ListenBEST OF: Anger Management for Kids from 2021-02-12T09:00
This week we're introducing a "From The Vault" series, reconsidering some of our favorite episodes of the past four years. Our kids still get angry (imagine that) so time to revisit this one. The b...
ListenBEST OF: Anger Management for Kids from 2021-02-12T09:00
This week we're introducing a "From The Vault" series, reconsidering some of our favorite episodes of the past four years. Our kids still get angry (imagine that) so time to revisit this one.
T...
Setting Boundaries from 2021-02-10T09:00
It often becomes clear to us where our boundaries should have been set only after those lines have been crossed and left far behind. But whether it's with overbearing extended family members or par...
ListenAsk Amy- Surviving The "Only Mommy" Phase from 2021-02-08T09:00
This week's listener question comes from Rosie in our Facebook group: My little guy is in the “only want mommy” slash “must be touching mommy” phase. Any advice on how to not go insane and to still...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Harold Koplewicz on the Best Way To Support Our Kids from 2021-02-05T09:00
This week we're talking to Dr. Harold Koplewicz, one of the nation's leading child and adolescent psychiatrists and the founding president of the Child Mind Institute, a national nonprofit dedicate...
ListenThe Things We're Never Going Back To from 2021-02-03T09:00
This last (almost) year has been full of challenges. On the other hand, so many things that we thought had to be a certain way– weekends packed with travel sports, weddings with hundreds of guests,...
ListenAsk Margaret - Talking to Kids About Death from 2021-02-01T09:00
Today's question comes from our Facebook group: "My son is 5 years old and in pre-K. One of the kiddos in his class lost his dad when he was very young. Since learning this, my son has started aski...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Christine Koh On Building a Family After Adverse Childhood Experiences from 2021-01-29T09:00
Dr. Christine Koh, in her own words, is a "music and brain scientist turned multimedia creative." Christine creates content to help people live better, happier, and with elevated purpose and intent...
ListenHow To Stop Having The Same Fight from 2021-01-27T09:00
Having the same fight doesn’t mean your relationship is broken. But it is totally annoying. In this episode we discuss the modes of negativity at play when we repeat the same conflicts- and what we...
ListenAsk Amy: When Your Kid is Super-Clingy from 2021-01-25T09:00
This week's parenting question comes from a listener in our Facebook group: I have a clingy 9-year-old. I love her more than life itself, but I am having a hard time with feeling totally smothered....
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Edward Hallowell on the Newest Science and Essential Strategies for ADHD from 2021-01-22T09:00
This week we're delighted to be talking to Dr. Edward M. Hallowell– one of the world's leading experts on ADHD. Dr. Hallowell's new book, co-authored with Dr. John J. Ratey, is ADHD 2.0: New Scienc...
ListenOkay, We Annoy Ourselves Also from 2021-01-20T09:00
This podcast is always here to support moms in their righteous anger at all the completely infuriating and totally trivial things that people all over the world are constantly doing to annoy us. Us...
ListenAsk Margaret - How To Turn Off Screens Without Tears from 2021-01-18T09:00
Today's question comes from Crystal in our Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/whatfreshhellcast): My six-year-old son is very difficult at the end of screen time. He gets one hour in the afternoon...
ListenFresh Take: Mirna Valerio Tells Us How To Find Our Fitness from 2021-01-15T09:00
Mirna Valerio is a runner, adventurer, speaker, and anti-racism educator. In this Fresh Take interview, Mirna tells us how she fell off the fitness wagon after becoming a mom, how that first mile ...
ListenThe Mom That Covid Has Made Me from 2021-01-13T09:00
We asked our listeners to tell us how life with Covid has affected their own parenting. Some of us have gotten more socially anxious; others, like the moms of kids with severe allergies, have found...
ListenAsk Amy - My Kid Thinks There Are Monsters Under The Bed from 2021-01-11T09:00
This week’s question comes from Jaclyn in our Facebook group (facebook.com/whatfreshhellcast): "Would love some advice for the "monsters under the bed" phase. My three-year-old is worse than he was...
ListenFresh Take: Ned Johnson on The Self-Driven Child from 2021-01-08T09:00
This week we’re talking to Ned Johnson, co-author (with William Stixrud) of THE SELF-DRIVEN CHILD: THE SCIENCE AND SENSE OF GIVING YOUR KIDS MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES, which explores how foster...
ListenYour Life Begins Again When... (The Second Half of Parenting) from 2021-01-06T09:00
This week we bring a hopeful message from your parenting future: it gets easier. Our listener Kristen went on our Facebook group page with this challenge:The second part of your life begins when yo...
ListenAsk Margaret- My Kid Is Sneaking Food and Screens Up To Her Room from 2021-01-04T09:00
Today's question comes from Elizabeth: How do you address sneakiness? Havingsome trouble with rule-breaking lately. Things that are not totally off-limits but do have limits, like candy or screens,...
Listen2020: What Was That? from 2020-12-30T09:00
2020: seriously, you guys. What was THAT? In this episode we look back at a very problematic year, and toast our survival as we acknowledge our many struggles. We review what we've learned/ hope to...
ListenWe Ask Each Other Burning Questions from 2020-12-23T05:00
After four years of doing this podcast, we know a lot about each other. In this episode, we ask the burning questions that remain, like: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life wh...
ListenAsk Amy- How Can I Help My Reluctant Pooper? from 2020-12-21T09:00
This week’s question comes from Sarah: My 22-month-old daughter is an infrequent pooper. She regularly goes 3-5 days between bowel movements, but recently she's started holding it. She's been sitt...
ListenExtremely Achievable Holiday Traditions from 2020-12-16T09:00
This topic came from Bradie on our Facebook page, who asked: What is one simple, basic, Christmas tradition that your family has? Don't come at me with baking gingerbread houses or cutting down you...
ListenAsk Margaret - When Your Parent-Teacher Conference Doesn't Go So Well from 2020-12-14T09:00
This week Margaret’s talking about parent-teacher conferences, after writing about her own most recent conferences on our social media.At one of the conferences, Margaret heard amazing things: her ...
ListenFresh Take: Susan Katz Miller on Interfaith Families at the Holidays from 2020-12-11T09:00
This week we’re talking to Susan Katz Miller, author of THE INTERFAITH FAMILY JOURNAL, a hands-on journal that helps families learn how to best honor one another’s spiritual and cultural needs. Th...
ListenWhat's Your Mom Superpower? from 2020-12-09T09:00
This episode topic was suggested by Pam Marie in our Facebook group: What's your mom superpower? We often talk about what we get wrong, but what about the things you're really good at? Time to fle...
ListenFresh Take: Katherine May on "Wintering" and the Power of Rest and Retreat In Difficult Times from 2020-12-04T09:00
This week we're talking to Katherine May, author of the tremendous new book WINTERING: THE POWER OF REST AND RETREAT IN DIFFICULT TIMES. Written before the pandemic but perfectly relevant to the mo...
ListenIt Takes A Village (But We're Doing It Alone) from 2020-12-02T09:00
For the last 1.8 million years or so, children were raised village-style. But 2020 has meant a lot of us raising our kids without the usual help of grandparents or schools or caregivers or friends....
ListenAsk Amy- Can You Discipline a One-Year-Old? from 2020-11-30T09:00
This week Lindsay asks: How do you discipline a 1-year-old? Specifically, with pulling my hair and dropping his food on the ground. I say “no" in a firm way and he laughs at me. Any advice you coul...
ListenSuper-Secret Amazing Things We Want You To Know About from 2020-11-25T09:00
We asked all of you to tell us your super-secret awesome things: the life simplifiers that you think everyone else needs to know about. This episode has an incredible collection of indispensable c...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Child is Terrified of the Doctor's Office from 2020-11-23T09:30
This week our listener Raya asks, "How do I deal with a 4-year-old who is afraid to go to any doctor's office?" Doctors' offices are scary! There are shots, there's vulnerability, and there's an ad...
ListenFresh Take: Ali Wentworth on Pandemic Family Survival from 2020-11-20T09:00
In our latest “Fresh Take” episode we’re talking to Ali Wentworth, host of the "Go Ask Ali" podcast. If you're raising teens during this pandemic, you definitely want Ali's funny, wise, and useful ...
ListenParenting as a Team from 2020-11-18T09:00
Parenting as a team is an ongoing challenge– even when your relationship with your co-parent is usually harmonious. But matching headspaces with your co-parent about a problem your family, or one o...
ListenAsk Amy- My Toddler Is Waking Up Way Too Early from 2020-11-16T09:00
This week's question is from Rachel in our Facebook group: Help! My 2-year-old used to sleep from 7 pm – 7 am. It was glorious. We recently had to start quarantining again due to exposure at my job...
ListenFresh Take: Calysta Watson on "Food Memories" and Dealing With Food Allergies from 2020-11-13T09:00
In our latest “Fresh Take" episode we’re talking to Calysta Watson, creator of Epicurean Therapy. Calysta combines her love of cooking and her training as a LCSW and psychotherapist to create aware...
ListenActually, We've Changed Our Minds About That from 2020-11-11T09:00
There are quite a few things we’ve changed our minds about over our years as parents. From minivans to Minecraft, moms on phones to kindergarten dress codes, focus meds to front-yardholiday inflata...
ListenAsk Margaret - All I Hear is "Me First!" from 2020-11-09T09:30
This week Margaret answers this listener question: "All I hear is "me first!" I have two boys, 4 1/2 and 2 years old, both constantly insisting on being first and having meltdowns when they aren't....
ListenWhen To Be 'That Mom' from 2020-11-04T09:00
We asked all of you to tell us about the times you had to be "that mom." You responded with tales of IEP meetings, and airplanes full of tiny sacks of peanuts, and kindergarten bullies– all the tim...
ListenAsk Amy - What's The Right Age To Get a Cell Phone? from 2020-11-02T09:00
This week's question is from Britnee: How long should we wait to get our kids a cellphone? I have a 13 year old boy who begs for a cellphone because ALL kids have one. He has a tablet and a compute...
ListenOh No, It's Fall! (With Guest Biz Ellis from One Bad Mother) from 2020-10-28T08:00
Do you love crunchy leaves and chunky sweaters? Or do the shortening, darkening days fill you with nothing but pumpkin-spiced dread? Amy's hiding under her weighted blanket with her pandemic gloom....
ListenAsk Margaret - How Can I Keep My Kid Safe While He's Gaming? from 2020-10-26T08:00
This week Margaret answers the question: I know Margaret has talked about giving in to Fortnite at her house. Well I have too. My question is how do I discuss internet safety with my son (7) who wa...
ListenBonus Episode: Ask Us Anything! from 2020-10-23T08:00
We told you to ask us anything. You kept it PG (thank you) and we’re giving you the answers:What shows are we binging? What gets us dancing in our kitchens? What do our kids think of this show? ...
ListenNever Thought I'd Say This (Pandemic Edition) from 2020-10-21T08:00
“Don’t you dare hug Grandma.” “Stop playing on the floor and get on screen.”“Yes, we can go to the playground, but you may not play with the other children.” We asked our listeners in our Facebook ...
ListenAsk Amy- My First-Grader is Giving Me Homework Grief from 2020-10-19T08:00
This week's question is from Melissa, who says: Sweet mother of pearl, my five-year-old is in grade 1 and I’m already getting a LOAD of sass at homework time.Things I have tried and said to make it...
ListenFresh Take: Dr. Jill Stoddard Tells Us How To Manage Our Anxiety from 2020-10-16T08:00
In our latest “Fresh Take” episode, we're talking to Dr. Jill Stoddard, author of BE MIGHTY: A Woman's Guide to Liberation from Anxiety, Worry&Stress Using Mindfulness and Acceptance. Jill's missio...
ListenGetting Better At Saying 'No' from 2020-10-14T08:00
Saying no is a lot harder for women. We’re conditioned to be compliant; studies show that by middle school, girls shy away from expressing authentic preferences in order to fit in. And when we do s...
ListenAsk Margaret - Is There a Nice Way to Say “I’m All Touched Out"? from 2020-10-12T08:00
This week Margaret tackles the question: "I’ve been really wanting my own space lately. I have two preschoolers and I’m nursing a baby. Basically, I’m touched out.I feel terribly bad because yester...
ListenFresh Take: Jessica Lahey on "The Gift of Failure" from 2020-10-09T04:00
In our latest “Fresh Take” episode, we've got an interview with Jessica Lahey, author of the bestseller THE GIFT OF FAILURE: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. The ...
ListenWhy The Pandemic is So Hard On Moms from 2020-10-07T08:00
After a listener on our Facebook page declared “This is a sexist pandemic!” we got to thinking: what are the quantifiable ways in which life has gotten even harder for moms in 2020 than it has for ...
ListenAsk Amy- How Can I Get My Kid To Take Her Medicine? from 2020-10-05T08:00
Our listener Sabrina asks: My 4 year old daughter has a nasty ear infection. the medication she got is nasty and she wont take it. Attempting to force it ends with her spitting it out. We tried hid...
ListenHow Mad Should I Be About This? from 2020-09-30T08:30
You know how sometimes a loved one or friend will do something that annoys you, but then you think: is it me? How mad should I be? Our listeners told us what past “crimes” they’re currently holdin...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Husband is a Bad Disciplinarian from 2020-09-28T08:00
Margaret answers this week's listener question: "How do you handle it when one partner is not a good disciplinarian? My husband is a caring and involved parent, definitely not the type to do thing...
ListenFresh Take: Meredith Masony of "That's Inappropriate" from 2020-09-25T08:30
In our latest "Fresh Take" episode, we're doing an extended interview with Meredith Masony, author of the new book ASK ME WHAT’S FOR DINNER ONE MORE TIME: Inappropriate Thoughts on Motherhood. You ...
ListenThings We Can't Live Without (Fall 2020) from 2020-09-23T08:30
By popular request, we're back with another list of the things that are getting us through the days right now. Some of these are for our kids (since a happily occupied kid equals a mom with one les...
ListenAsk Amy: My Tween Has Suddenly Stopped Speaking To Me from 2020-09-21T08:30
This week's question is from Stacey in our Facebook group: My 12 year old daughter, seemingly out of the blue, won’t talk to me or look at me. I don’t mean talk like serious topics. I mean talk to ...
ListenThe Back-To-School Hell (Pandemic Edition) from 2020-09-16T08:30
We are always a little reluctant about transitioning back to school. This year that reluctance was more properly called dread (despite the truly heroic efforts of the teachers, administrators, and ...
ListenAsk Margaret -My Daughter Says She Thinks She Looks Fat from 2020-09-14T08:00
Margaret answers this week's listener question: "My daughter (5 years old next month) has started saying “I look fat in this sweater” and “I don’t want to look funny” when getting dressed. My daug...
ListenFresh Take: Tina Payne Bryson on "The Bottom Line For Baby" from 2020-09-11T08:00
This is the first of our new "Fresh Take" episodes, in which we'll offer longer interviews with some fascinating parenting experts. (And some super-hilarious people as well.) We loved this chat wit...
ListenThe Constant Negativity Is Getting Old from 2020-09-09T08:00
Negativity is a biological imperative–we're wired to pay more attention to the bad things around us in order for us to survive. Still, some among us are a little more Debbie-Downer than others. And...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Two-Year-Old's Tantrums Are Breaking Me! from 2020-09-07T08:00
Margaret answers this week's listener question: "I’m struggling so much with my 2 1/2 year old's behavior. She can be really sweet and fun, but her tantrums and clinginess have become really hard ...
ListenWe Did Not Sign Up For Being With Our Spouses 24/7 (with guest Damona Hoffman) from 2020-09-02T08:30
Uh, we did not sign up for this. Did we? Yes, in sickness and in health, yada yada yada, but nowhere in our long-term commitment plans with our spouses was there any indication that we would spend ...
ListenAsk Amy- I Feel Guilty Not Playing With My Only Child Right Now from 2020-08-31T08:30
Amy answers this week's question: "I’m the mom of a three-year-old only child and I HATE playing pretend. I understand that our parents didn’t play pretend with us. I understand that under normal ...
ListenOkay, We Might Have Overthought That One from 2020-08-26T08:30
All mothers overthink sometimes. But isn’t that our job description? To look at our baby and whatever she’s holding and think: how is she going to injure, burn, ruin or cause disaster to herself by...
ListenAsk Amy- Why Does My Kid Always Want To Pretend He's the Bad Guy? from 2020-08-24T09:00
This week Amy answers a question from Danielle on FB: Does anyone else have a kid that always wants to play the “mean” guy? My almost 3 year old son always wants to play the villain, and hardly ev...
ListenDitching What Doesn't Matter (With Guest "The Lazy Genius") from 2020-08-19T09:05
Momming is hard. Whether we’re stressed perfectionists or hot messes, our homes and relationships get happier when we do what matters, skip what doesn’t– and clarify what goes in what pile for each...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Can I Get My Kid to Be Interested in More Activities? from 2020-08-17T15:24:23
This week Margaret advises a listener who is worried that her 8-year-old does not seem to have a wide enough range of interests. Is there anything she can do to help him expand his interests beyond...
ListenOur Family Had Covid! Here's How It Went For Us (Bonus Episode) from 2020-08-14T08:30
In our back-to-school episode Amy dropped some news: her immediate family had Covid-19 back in March. Thankfully, Amy's family had "mild" or "moderate" cases of coronavirus. (Those terms officially...
ListenShould I Send My Kids Back To School? from 2020-08-12T08:30
Our kids’ schools have sent plans. And revised plans. And codicils to the plans. Now it’s time to make our own decisions: if the choice is available to us, are our kids going back to classrooms thi...
ListenAsk Amy - My Kid Is a Know-It-All! from 2020-08-10T08:00
Amy takes a question from a listener who wants to encourage her know-it-all daughter to speak up while discouraging her constantly correcting everyone in the family. Is there a way to support her ...
ListenAsking For What We Want, And Teaching Our Daughters To Do The Same (with guest Marisa Porges) from 2020-08-05T08:40
From board rooms to town halls to IEP meetings to doctor's offices, there are places where women speaking up for what they want or need are either ignored, resented, or just not taken seriously. (A...
ListenAsk Margaret - Is There Any Way to Get My Kid to Stop Throwing Stuff? from 2020-08-03T09:30
Margaret answers a question from a mom who is pretty freaked out by her 20-month-old's habit of throwing stuff when he's angry. If you have a question you'd like Margaret or Amy to answer submit to...
ListenAdvice We Totally Hate from 2020-07-29T08:30
As soon as you become a mother unsolicited advice-givers are everywhere, telling you to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” Or “it gets easier.” Or “enjoy every moment.” Out of all the advice (parenting ...
ListenAsk Amy - How Can a New Mom Make Friends Right Now? from 2020-07-27T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question. This week Amy answers the question, "How can an introvert make new friends especially during the complicated social limitati...
ListenTwo Kinds of People- Which Are You? from 2020-07-22T08:00
We asked our listeners to divide the world into two kinds of people, and to stake out their claims on one side. Sleep cuddler or stop-breathing-on-me?Book finisher or life-is-too-short-er? Shoes on...
ListenAsk Margaret - When Does This Get Easier? from 2020-07-20T09:30
Margaret answers a question from the What Fresh Hell Podcast Group from a listener who asks when (if ever) life with her 2 and 1-year-olds is ever going to get easier.Submit your question– we might...
ListenHitting the Wall: Get Us Off This Coronacoaster! from 2020-07-15T09:05
Even the cheeriest and sunniest of parents are hitting the wall. We're over it. This stinks. Even the most ‘We’ll make a fun obstacle course in the yard!’ moms are suddenly thinking ‘No. NO. I don'...
ListenAsk Amy - My Kid's Friend Is Now Bullying Him. Should I Get Involved? from 2020-07-13T09:30
This week Amy answers the question, "At what point, if ever, do I attempt to help my 8-year-old with a conflict he is having with another boy in our neighborhood? Each week Margaret or Amy answers...
ListenBad Mom Moments (with guest Arianna Bradford) from 2020-07-08T11:13
Fess up: everyone's got a Bad Mom Moment. Or twelve. We tend to hold these things really close, our shame rooted in deep certainty that no other mother has ever temporarily forgotten their baby in ...
ListenAsk Margaret - I'm So Worried About Being Away From my Kid from 2020-07-06T09:30
Every week Margaret or Amy answers one listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers the question, "I know it's silly but I'm really worried about being away from my child for three...
ListenWhat This Has Taught Us About Our Kids from 2020-07-01T09:30
This extended pause has been really hard for some of our kids, and actually sort of good for others. For every lonely preschooler who just wants to finally have someone to play “bad guys” with, the...
ListenAsk Amy - How Do I Get My 8-Year-Old to Read a Real Book? from 2020-06-29T12:49
Each week Amy or Margaret answers on listener's most pressing question. This week a listener asks: "Any thoughts on how to get my 8 year old son to listen to/ ead anything outside his go-to genre?"...
ListenHelping Kids Feel Secure In a Scary World (With Guest Dr. Abigail Gewirtz) from 2020-06-24T09:30
No joke: this is a particularly anxiety-provoking time. And even if our kids are little, and we manage to keep the TV off most of the time, they're still picking up on a certain hum in the house, a...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Husband is a Terrible Gift Giver! from 2020-06-22T09:30
Each week Margaret or Amy answers one listener's most pressing question. Today Margaret answers the question, "What can I do about my husband who gives terrible gifts?"Submit your questions to: que...
ListenHow Do We Handle This When Everyone Is Doing It Differently? from 2020-06-17T09:30
Shutting it all down was definitely hard, but the parameters of the assignment were clear. Reopening is more like: do what you want when we think you can, or at least aren't fully convinced that yo...
ListenAsk Amy - My Toddler Doesn't Listen When I Say "Stop!" from 2020-06-15T09:30
Each week Margaret or Amy answers a listener's parenting question. This week Amy answers the question, "How do I get my incredibly active 2 1/2 year old to stop when I tell her to?"Submit your pare...
ListenTalking With Our Kids About Race (with guest Deborah Porter) from 2020-06-10T09:30
The idea that our kids are colorblind, and that we therefore should put off talking to our kids about race because they’re too young to understand its complicating factors, is wrong. And mothers of...
ListenAsk Margaret - Dealing With My Kids' Coping Mechanisms from 2020-06-08T09:30
Each week Margaret or Amy answers one listener's most pressing question. Today Margaret answers the question, "What should I do about my kids' troublesome coping mechanisms during the coronavirus o...
ListenUh-Oh, Here Comes Summer (with guests Ashley and Keri from the Momtourage Podcast) from 2020-06-03T09:30
Here comes the summer of nothing! For older kids, camps and sports leagues and internships and jobs are canceled. For little kids, even "Camp Grandma" isn't a sure thing this year. We usually look ...
ListenAsk Amy - My Toddler is Mean to Her Older Sibling from 2020-06-01T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question. Today Amy answers the question, "What can I do about my toddler who is giving a hard time to my older child?"Submit your que...
ListenThis One Thing Is Actually Going Well from 2020-05-27T09:30
What’s the one thing that’s actually working right now? Not grading on a curve, not a barely acceptable Band-Aid for these crazy times, but something you have found during these last months that y...
ListenAsk Margaret - The Bedtime Routine is Out of Hand! from 2020-05-25T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers the question, "What Do I Do With a Four Year Old Who is Making Bedtime Last Forever?"Send your qu...
ListenNew to What Fresh Hell? Start Here... from 2020-05-23T16:28
Welcome to What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood! We're Margaret and Amy, both moms of three kids, both comedians, both married to guys named David... and that's where our similariti...
ListenThe Great Regression: Why We're All Acting Like Babies Right Now from 2020-05-20T09:30
Potty training back-sliding? Pacifiers showing up at breakfast? Preschoolers in your bed? Tweens suddenly engaging in baby talk? Welcome to The Great Regression. It's no surprise that regressive be...
ListenAsk Amy - How Can I Get Over My Disappointment at Not Having a Girl? from 2020-05-18T09:30
Each week Margaret or Amy answers one listener's most pressing question. Today Amy answers the question "How can I get over my disappointment at not having a girl?"Submit your questions to: questio...
ListenGetting Literally Anything Done (with guests Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger) from 2020-05-13T09:30
We're now on YouTube! Subscribe and catch our video shorts here: http://bit.ly/WFHyoutube After eight weeks in this new normal, our to-do lists have started to get a little lengthy. These days, we'...
ListenAsk Margaret - Should I Sleep-Train During the Pandemic? from 2020-05-11T09:30
Every week Margaret or Amy answers one listener's most pressing question. Today Margaret tackles the question, "Should I sleep-train my baby while we're all stuck at home?"Submit your questions to:...
ListenWe'll Call It a Win! Microscopic Mom Victories from 2020-05-06T09:30
We asked all of you to tell us your “mom wins” since quarantine life started- the smaller, the better. We're all taking success wherever we can find it these days. Whether it’s synchronized napping...
ListenAsk Amy - How Can I Help My Child Who is Having Nightmares? from 2020-05-04T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing question. This week Amy answers the question, "How can I help my three-and-a-half year old daughter who is having nightmares?"Submit you...
ListenMaintaining Momentum (Or Not) from 2020-04-29T09:30
Six weeks in, and most of us are having a lot of trouble with what one of our listeners called this "very strange limbo." That listener asked in our Facebook group what she might do to make herself...
ListenAsk Margaret - I'm Burnt Out on Trying to Get My Kids to FaceTime with Relatives from 2020-04-27T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret tackles the question, "What Can I Do About Relatives Who Constantly Want to FaceTime with My Kids?"Send y...
ListenWhat Kind of Monster? Quarantine Edition! from 2020-04-22T09:30
Back by popular demand: an all-new Quarantine Edition of What Kind of Monster? What kind of monster decides to go keto during a pandemic?Trades away toilet paper for sourdough starter? Finishes Mom...
ListenAsk Amy - My Teenagers Are So Done With Quarantine Life! from 2020-04-20T09:30
This week Amy answers a question from a listener whose 17 and 15-year-olds who are "finally starting to lose their minds" with this extended no-school lock down, and time away from their peers. Dr....
ListenStay-At-Home Revelations: Things We've Learned from 2020-04-15T10:00
As we round the curve into what’s been a full month of Uno, math worksheets, and never going anywhere, we’ve all learned a few things. Here are our stay-at-home revelations about our homes, our coo...
ListenAsk Margaret - My Kid Won't Play Alone from 2020-04-13T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers the question, "What Should I Do When My Kid Won't Play Alone?"Send your questions to questions@what...
ListenWhat's Working Right Now from 2020-04-08T09:30
Don't get us wrong: in most ways, we've gone feral. But here’s what’s actually working during this stay-at-home time, for us and for our listeners: for our anxietyfor our family chore buy-in for ...
ListenAsk Amy - How Do I Talk to My Kids About Missing Milestone Events? from 2020-04-06T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Amy tackles the question, "How Do I Talk to My Kids About Missing Milestone Events?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next...
ListenIt's a Marathon, Not a Sprint! from 2020-04-01T09:30
We’re still collecting data, but from our limited household samples, the realization that we’re all in this for somewhat longer than we had bargained for is having some ramifications. Homeschooling...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Seriously Should I Take This Homeschooling Thing? from 2020-03-30T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Margaret tackles the question, "How Seriously Should I Take This Homeschooling Thing?"Submit your question- we might answer yours ne...
ListenHow Are We Going to Keep These Kids Busy? from 2020-03-25T09:30
The Great Stay-Home Experiment continues, and no matter how many kids you have or how old they are, if you're a mom, your life just got more complicated. This episode is full of ideas for keeping k...
ListenAsk Amy - How Can I Get My Big Kids to Pitch In In the Kitchen? from 2020-03-23T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Amy tackles the question, "How Can I Get My Big Kids to Pitch In In The Kitchen?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next! q...
ListenGaming: Not All Bad! (Thank Goodness) from 2020-03-18T09:30
If your kids are home more right now, chances are they're gaming more. Part of that is just going with the flow of this moment. But as any mom whose kid can game all afternoon will tell you, the pr...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Do I Get My Kids to Help Keep the House Clean? from 2020-03-16T09:30
Each week Margaret or Amy answers a listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers the question, "How Do I Get My Kids to Help Keep the House Clean?"Submit your questions to question...
ListenReal Self-Care for Moms from 2020-03-11T09:30
Does self-care mean ice cream? Facial serums? Leaning in? Saying no? Taking yoga? According to our listeners, it means all of the above. In this episode, we talk both about how to arrive at your pe...
ListenAsk Amy - How Do I Get Grandma to Limit Screen Time When She's Babysitting? from 2020-03-09T09:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Amy answers: "How do I get Grandma to stop plopping the kids in front of screens?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next! ...
ListenDo In-Laws Get a Bad Rap? from 2020-03-04T10:30
In-law relationships are close by design, not by choice. No wonder they're complicated. We heard from listeners who have fantastic in-laws, and others for whom no contact at all is the only option....
ListenAsk Margaret - Should I Take My Child to a Funeral? from 2020-03-02T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Margaret tackles the question, "Should I take my child to a funeral?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next! questions@wha...
ListenWhere Did This Kid Come From? When Our Kids Are Nothing Like Us from 2020-02-26T10:30
There are times when we say "Where did this kid come from?!" and it's totally exciting, like: I'm kind of a shy person, and my kid can talk to anyone. I am completely uncoordinated, and my kid's on...
ListenAsk Amy - Helping Kids Deal With a Move from 2020-02-24T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's question. This week Amy answers a question from a woman who is preparing for a family move and wants to know how to explain it to her four-year-old...
ListenLetting Kids Be Little from 2020-02-19T10:30
In a world where kids get big praise for hitting their developmental milestones ahead of schedule- he sat up before six months! She was talking in sentences before her second birthday!- there are s...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Should I Deal With Potty Talk? from 2020-02-17T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Margaret tackles the question, "Should I try to put a stop to my kids' constant potty talk?"Submit your question- we might answer yo...
ListenAsk Amy- Help! There's a Biter at My Kid's Daycare from 2020-02-10T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Amy tackles the question, "What can I do about a biter at my kid's daycare?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next! questi...
ListenWhen to Go With Your Gut: Doing What's Right For Your Kid from 2020-02-05T10:30
We asked our listeners if there was a time in their lives when they had to make the hard or unconventional choice in order to do what was right for their kids. From potty-training to red-shirting ...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Can I Increase My Child's Self-Esteem? from 2020-02-03T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Margaret tackles the question, "How can I increase my child's self-esteem?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next! questio...
ListenWhen Is This Going to Be Fun Again? Lighthearted Parenting from 2020-01-29T10:30
We all fall into the trap of thinking that every day with our kids has to contain a “snowglobe moment,” a social-media-worthy image of perfect joy for our entire family. And even if part of us know...
ListenWhen Is This Going to Be Fun Again? Lighthearted Parenting from 2020-01-29T10:30
We all fall into the trap of thinking that every day with our kids has to contain a “snowglobe moment,” a social-media-worthy image of perfect joy for our entire family.
And even if part of us ...
Ask Amy - How Can I Get My Child to Do More for Herself? from 2020-01-27T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Amy tackles the question, "How can I get my daughter to do more for herself?"Submit your question- we might answer yours next! quest...
ListenWhat Kind of Monster? from 2020-01-22T10:30
There are these things that you just don't understand why anybody would do. But some people do them. We aren't about judgment at the What Fresh Hell podcast, but we do sometimes have to ask: what k...
ListenAsk Margaret - What Should I Do When Friends Exclude My Kid? from 2020-01-20T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener question. This week Margaret tackles the question, "What should I do when my kid's friends are excluding him?"Submit your questions to: questions@whatfr...
ListenToddlers: The Great Equalizer (with guest Clint Edwards) from 2020-01-15T10:30
Toddlers are the great equalizer: no matter how strong you think you are, the short fat dictator has what it takes to break you. If you're in the throes of toddlerhood, we salute you. Knowing that ...
ListenAsk Amy - How Can I Deal With This Fussy Baby? from 2020-01-13T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing question. Today Amy answers the question, "How can I deal with this fussy baby?"Submit your parenting dilemmas to questions@whatfreshhel...
ListenAnger Management for Kids from 2020-01-08T10:30
Take our listener survey! Here's the link: https://bit.ly/whatfreshhellsurvey The best way to handle our children’s anger is to equip them with the tools to handle it themselves. You don’t have to ...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Can I Help My Kids Care About Things I Think Are Important? from 2020-01-06T10:30
Each week Margaret or Amy tackles a listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers the question, "How can I get my kids to care about things I think are important?"Submit your questi...
ListenBack to One: Things We're Starting Over This Year from 2020-01-01T10:30
One of our very favorite things to say on this podcast, “back to one," is a term you'll hear dozens of times a day on any television or film set. It means resetting everything about a scene-- the c...
ListenAsk Amy- How Early Should Kids Learn How To Share? from 2019-12-30T10:00
Each week Margaret or Amy tackles a listener's most pressing question. This week Amy answers the question, "How can we teach our three-year-old son that he has to share his toys with his soon-to-cr...
ListenAsk Margaret - How Do I Navigate Splitting Time When Visiting Family? from 2019-12-23T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret tackles a listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers, "How do I handle splitting time between my parents and my husband's parents at the holidays?"Submi...
ListenHoliday Fails from 2019-12-18T10:30
Experts say happiness is often purer in the anticipation of an event. The reality can be a little more messy. And at no time of year is that sentiment more true than during the holiday season. We a...
ListenIs Everyone Having Fun Without Me? Motherhood and FOMO from 2019-12-11T18:03:21
FOMO, or the “fear of missing out,” was a term coined around 2011 to describe the feeling you get when you see friends on social media posting about lives just a little more exciting than your own....
ListenAsk Margaret - How Do I Get My Baby Sleeping Through the Night? from 2019-12-09T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret tackles a listener's most pressing question. This week Margaret answers the question, "How can I get my newborn sleeping thought the night?"Send your questions for Margar...
ListenWhat Are You Grateful For? (with guest Nancy Davis Kho) from 2019-12-04T10:30
Do you respond to the idea of "practicing" gratitude with a heavy dose of nope? In this episode we discuss the science behind the gratitude>>happiness>>more gratitude>>more happiness loop. Studies ...
ListenAsk Amy - Should I Care If My Teenagers Curse? from 2019-12-02T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing parenting question. Today Amy tackles the question, "Should I try to make my teen stop cursing??"Submit yours! questions@whatfreshhellp...
ListenThe Whining is Killing Us from 2019-11-27T10:30
Whining is what experts call a “low-power strategy of dominance.” Kids do it because it’s what’s available to them. Since it drives parents bonkers, it’s remarkably effective. And it turns out whin...
ListenAsk Margaret - Should I Throw Away the Diapers? from 2019-11-25T10:30
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing parenting question. Today Margaret tackles the question, "Should I throw away the diapers to encourage my kiddo to commit to potty trai...
ListenMeeting Our Kids Where They Are from 2019-11-20T10:30
It's hard not to be a little nervous when your kid is the only one still crying at preschool dropoff. Or the only one still spelling everything wrong in third grade. Sometimes it turns out to be a ...
ListenThe Small Things That Drive Moms Insane from 2019-11-13T10:30
We asked the listeners to tell us their extremely minor annoyances of motherhood-- the smaller and more seemingly inconsequential, the better, because it turns out those are things that really make...
ListenWhy Kids Tell Lies (and When It's Okay) from 2019-11-06T10:30
There are all kinds of reasons that kids lie, not the least of which being that it is sometimes quite clearly the assignment: "Tell Aunt Clara how much you love your new pencil case!" But sometimes...
ListenBetter Then or Better Now? from 2019-10-30T09:30
Anyone old enough to remember TV antennas and New Coke usually says that things were way better in the free-wheeling, simple-living, “don't come home till it's getting dark outside” days of our chi...
ListenChanging the Invisible Workload (with guest Eve Rodsky) from 2019-10-23T09:30
The "invisible workload" has become shorthand for the never-ending to-do list that moms keep in our heads-- because much of that work is invisible to the people we do it for, let alone the larger w...
ListenWhen We Should (And Shouldn't) Rescue Our Kids from 2019-10-16T09:30
No matter what ages our kids are, when they need rescuing, they look to Mom. And whether we rescue them or not, we’re left second-guessing whatever it is we just did. Did you bring that forgotten ...
ListenParenting With An Audience from 2019-10-09T09:30
Have you ever felt coerced into parenting in a way you usually wouldn’t because you were in public? Does the tsk-ing disapproval of Aunt Joan feel even worse than eyerolls from strangers?Do you di...
ListenWhen Other Kids Are Bad Influences from 2019-10-02T09:30
What is it about the kid who throws sand that other kids find so irresistible? How do we keep our kids away from bad influences in their lives, especially as they get older? And why do parents some...
ListenHot Takes and Unpopular Opinions from 2019-09-25T09:30
We asked the members of our Facebook group for your "hot takes"- that is to say, the things you feel insanely strongly about while the rest of the world is seemingly indifferent. From athleisure t...
ListenWhen One of Our Kids Is Taking All Our Bandwidth from 2019-09-18T09:30
There are a lot of reasons that one of our kids might end up getting most of our attention. Some are positive: Sophia is the best 12-year-old pitcher in the state! Some are decidedly negative: ano...
ListenManaging the Grandparent Relationship from 2019-09-11T09:30
What should we as parents do when the well-meaning grandparents in our lives are overindulgent of their grandchildren? Or undermine our parenting choices? And what do we do with our own hurt feelin...
ListenHow To Prepare Our Kids Now to Be Grown and Flown (with guest Lisa Heffernan) from 2019-09-04T09:30
Kids don't usually seek to lose their dependence on us as parents- and why should they? Doesn’t a grilled cheese taste so much better when Mom makes it? So it’s up to us to teach our kids independ...
ListenParenting Styles: Which Ones Are We (And Should We Care?) from 2019-08-21T09:30
Helicopter moms, snowplow moms, tiger moms, free-range moms… we usually define all of these parenting types in the negative: well, at least I’m not THAT. But are there useful takeaways from each o...
ListenHusband Crimes: Can This Marriage Be Saved? from 2019-08-14T09:30
We asked you to tell us your spouses’ most unacceptable-- and also extremely minor-- household infractions. 356 of you responded.Whether it’s turning off the AC because it's "too cold" at 75 degree...
ListenWhen Should Kids Tell? from 2019-08-07T09:30
Most little kids have an ironclad sense of right and wrong and are most happy to report on whoever might not be sharing in the dress-up corner. But as they get older, the stakes get a lot higher- f...
ListenImaginative Kids: Is It Ever Too Much of a Good Thing? from 2019-07-31T09:30
Is there such a thing as a too-imaginative kid? Parenting experts say no. Dr. Paul Harris, professor of education at Harvard and author of The Work of the Imagination, says that kids’ active imagin...
ListenWhen Kids Prefer the Other Parent Over You (Or You Over Them) from 2019-07-24T08:00
Most of us have been (for better and for worse) recipients of the “only Mommy” level of attention from our little ones-- the sort of singular devotion that leaves our partners decidedly out in the ...
ListenThe Mom Gap: Getting Back Out There (with guest Christina Geist) from 2019-07-17T09:00
According to the US Department of Labor, more than a third of college-educated women pause their careers for some amount of time to raise their children. But the jobs we leave behind aren't usually...
ListenWhen Your Kids Take Everything Out On You from 2019-07-10T09:00
Most parenting experts say being our kids’ safe space includes letting some amount of their snarkiness roll off our backs. It’s normal. Don’t take it personally. And knowing that it’s universal he...
ListenTeaching Kids Empathy from 2019-07-03T09:00
What is empathy, exactly? It involves both emotion and action. For our kids, it’s an acquired skill- one that needs our guidance and encouragement to be cultivated. Here’s how to model and teach em...
ListenHouse Rules That Work from 2019-06-26T09:00
We asked our listeners to tell us their go-to House Rules. Whether these words to live by are hanging in your kitchen written in cutesy script on a faux-weathered piece of wood (“in this house we g...
ListenFinding Your Mom Tribe from 2019-06-19T09:00
Mom tribes are a thing… for some of us. Others find it harder to make and maintain fun, easygoing friendships with other parents. But should we feel bad if we don’t have a “Sex and the City”-style ...
ListenLetting Our Kids Feel Unsafe (In a Safe Way) with Guest Evangeline Lilly from 2019-06-12T09:00
Studies show that risky play creates what Dr. Ellen Sandseter calls a “motivating, thrilling activation,” building self-confidence and self-esteem. Message received: we’re supposed to allow our kid...
ListenMaking It Work for the Long Haul (with guest Belinda Luscombe) from 2019-06-05T09:00
The familiarity of long-term relationships is the best thing about them. And the worst. When our spouses' chewing or throat-clearing is enough to send us around the bend, how do we make our relatio...
ListenSleep Hacks (For All Ages and Stages) from 2019-05-29T09:00
Got kids? Got exhaustion. Every age has its sleep challenges, and in this episode we discuss the absolute best sleep hacks for getting babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and even older kids napping, s...
ListenMaking Big Changes as a Family (with guest Jill Krause) from 2019-05-22T09:00
Have you ever considered selling the house, homeschooling the kids, and traveling for a year? Has a job or life change ever thrust a cross-country move, or other radical change, upon your family? D...
ListenDo We Really Have To Play With Our Kids? When Parenting Feels Relentless from 2019-05-15T09:00
According to researcher Patrick Ishizuka, "intensive parenting has become the dominant cultural model." Sounds about right. We spend triple the time actively engaging with our kids that our own par...
ListenMom Wins! (and Mother's Day Fails) from 2019-05-08T12:30
Happy Mother’s Day Week! In this episode we salute YOU, Mom. Our listeners told us their biggest mom wins and we are passing out some awards- like to Francesca, who has convinced her rambunctious t...
ListenScreen-Free Week: How To Survive and Why It's Worth It from 2019-04-24T11:51:07
We all know it: our kids are on screens too much. And us parents? Well, if you haven't used Apple's Screen Time function yet, prepare to be horrified. So have you ever considered a cold-turkey no-...
ListenChanging How We Talk To Our Kids (with guest Dr. Wendy Mogel) from 2019-04-17T12:30
It’s easy for most parents to explain what’s wrong with how our kids speak to us: the snark, sarcasm, and eye-rolling are all things we could use a lot less of. But could the way we talk to our ki...
ListenYouth Sports: If You Must from 2019-04-03T12:00
Is there a middle ground in youth sports? Is there a place to exist between the nine-year-old icing his shoulder after a session with his pitching coach and the kid who bats last and hates every mi...
ListenWhat We Thought Being a Mom Would Be Like (with guest Betsy Stover) from 2019-03-27T12:30
Some of the ways we imagined motherhood turned out to be pretty accurate (like how much we’d enjoy Santa Claus back in our lives). But some of it was wayy off base, like how long it takes to lose a...
ListenWhen School Projects Become Parents' Projects from 2019-03-20T12:30
Whether it’s the science fair, the pinewood derby, or a pre-K shoebox diorama, sooner or later every kid gets assigned a school project that is, without question, a PARENTS' project. What four-year...
ListenWhen You Feel Like a Failure as a Parent from 2019-03-13T12:30
In this episode we discuss all the reasons we’ve felt like failures as mothers, why we’re never as hard on others as we are on ourselves, and what we have done to mitigate these feelings of failure...
ListenThe Best Relationship Advice Ever from 2019-03-06T13:30
We asked our listeners to tell us the best relationship advice they've ever gotten- for romantic and platonic relationships both. In this episode, we discuss the advice that has worked best for us ...
ListenHelping Kids Manage Anxiety from 2019-02-27T13:30
Anxiety is a natural response to stress. Sometimes it’s even useful, like when it alerts us to danger. But when anxiety grips our children, they often don’t (can’t) explain how they’re feeling, and...
ListenMiddle Kids from 2019-02-20T13:30
Most people believe middle children are prone to feeling insecure and left out because they get less attention. Their primary emotional state? Jealousy of siblings. Studies show that we think these...
ListenThe Best Advice Ever from 2019-02-13T13:30
Sometimes you gotta consult the experts. We asked our listeners to tell us their best life advice, and as usual, you all delivered! This episode is full of great advice on -making choices-doing wha...
ListenPunishing Kids: What Works and What Doesn't from 2019-02-06T12:50
When it comes to disciplining our kids, having "the punishment fit the crime” seems like a reasonable goal. But what if the “crime” in question is hitting a sibling? And what makes a punishment go...
ListenMaking It Work When You Go Back To Work from 2019-01-30T13:11
We asked our listeners to tell us their best tips (and hardest struggles) around returning to the workplace— whether it’s been six weeks, six months, or a few years. Our listener Greta suggested th...
ListenSurviving a Toddler and a Newborn from 2019-01-23T13:54
Parenthood is hard. Different stages have different challenges. But there’s one particular phase that is of legendary, Kilimanjaro-climbing difficulty: surviving the first few months as the parent ...
ListenHaving People Over from 2019-01-16T14:55
Entertaining at home is kind of like exercise: you’re so happy that you did it, but that doesn’t stop you from dreading it the next time around. Who should you invite? What should you serve? Will y...
ListenThe Birds and The Bees: Having 'The Talk' from 2019-01-09T13:42
Yikes. Do we really have to have “The Talk”? Yes, we do… and sooner than we’d probably like to think. Studies show that giving our kids appropriate information *before* they need it not only makes ...
ListenOur Goals for 2019 from 2019-01-02T12:35
New year, new datebook— and some very familiar goals. But this is the year we make things HAPPEN. We’re going to start by taking Jon Acuff’s advice to make our goals smaller- we mean absurdly achie...
ListenLive Show Bonus! Chappaqua, NY 12/1/18 from 2018-12-26T14:00
This episode contains excerpts from our latest What Fresh Hell Live! show, performed at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, NY on December 1, 2018. Interested in having What Fresh He...
ListenHoliday Traditions: The Good, The Bad, The Wish-We-Never-Started from 2018-12-19T13:41
’Tis the season for traditions— most of them shopped for, planned, and generally upheld by moms. And for some of us, sending 300 holiday cards or creating a new tableau for a six-inch elf every nig...
ListenHow Not To Go Insane in the Winter from 2018-12-12T13:46
As the days get shorter, and colder, and darker, our listener Tamar suggested we do an episode on “how not to go insane when you can’t go outside.” (If anyone has any ideas for her, please reach ou...
ListenSometimes We Lose It (with guests Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright) from 2018-12-05T13:54
Sometimes we lose it. Really lose it. We’re not talking “How many times do I have to tell you to put your shoes on” in a slightly elevated tone. We’re talking… well, Dr. Stuart Shanker calls the em...
ListenSaying No When Other Parents are Saying Yes from 2018-11-28T14:00
How should we handle group situations where we have different parenting styles? When our particular rules around bedtimes, screens, curfews, or sugar are up against more lax rules (or none at all)?...
ListenAre We Oversharing On Social Media? from 2018-11-21T12:47
The word “oversharenting” has been coined to describe those among us who chronicle our baby’s every bowel movement, ascribe hashtags to our preschoolers, and relitigate our tween’s hurt feelings, a...
ListenListener Questions: Fussy Babies, Toddlers, and Squabbling Siblings from 2018-11-14T16:11
We love hearing from our listeners! Your voice mails and emails keep us going… plus you tell us what you want to hear us talk about next. It’s a beautiful thing. In this episode we answer these t...
ListenHow Little Parenting Can We Get Away With? (with guest James Breakwell): from 2018-11-07T12:35
Sometimes we need to stop trying so hard for things to get easier. We asked our listeners: where’s an area of your parenting where you got better results by doing less? And as usual you all came th...
ListenDinosaurs and Trains and Superheroes and Nerf Guns: Boy Obsessions from 2018-10-31T12:00
Why are some little boys so obsessed with trains or dinosaurs- or World War II, or even blenders? Psychologists call these preschool preoccupations “extremely intense interests,” and studies have p...
ListenHow To Be The Teacher’s Favorite Parent from 2018-10-24T14:02
When we were kids, there weren’t any IEPs. There weren’t any teacher conferences (unless someone was in BIG trouble). There wasn’t any school website. For better and for worse, the teacher/parent r...
ListenSelf-Regulation for Kids: Helping Them (And You) Deal With Tantrums from 2018-10-17T13:22
When one of our kids is having a meltdown in Aisle Six of the supermarket, we will often remind ourselves: He’s not giving us a hard time. He’s having a hard time. And sometimes those words will s...
ListenHow To Get It All Done: Time Management For Moms (with guest Jessica N. Turner) from 2018-10-10T11:59
A couple weeks ago we asked all of you to tell us what’s keeping you from being your happiest mom selves. There was a clear number one answer. Here’s how listener Colleen put it: I think I strug...
ListenWhy 5 to 8 p.m. Is The Worst: How To Handle the After-School Crankies from 2018-10-03T13:16
Ask any parent: 5 to 8 p.m. is the hardest time of day. When kids are little, the toddler’s melting down because she skipped his nap at the same time her baby brother begins observation of his dail...
ListenThe Right Number of Kids Is… from 2018-09-26T13:03
What’s the right number of kids? For most of us (at least most of the time) it’s the number we actually have. Here’s how our listener Mahima put it: “as many babes as you are blessed with is the p...
ListenHand-Me-Downs, Keepsakes, and Too Much Stuff from 2018-09-19T13:07
If you’ve got kids, you’ve got too much stuff. Here’s how our listener Holly put it: “With kids, there is truly no end to the influx of toys, keepsakes and clothes coming in, plus things they’ve o...
ListenRaising Grateful Kids from 2018-09-12T14:02
Most of us would like our kids to express— and feel— more gratitude. But yelling “There are children in India who don’t even have XBoxes!” doesn’t seem to be sufficiently getting the message across...
ListenWhen Mom Struggles (with guest Janelle Hanchett) from 2018-09-05T12:30
Moms aren’t supposed to struggle; we’re supposed to be benevolent goddesses of wisdom and Hamburger Helper. Our families (kids and yes, our partners too) have an invested need in our seeming safe a...
ListenWhy Are Our Kids Such Total Opposites? from 2018-08-28T22:09
It’s not your imagination: kids raised in the same family really do push in opposite directions– and we mean POLAR opposites, especially for closely-spaced or same-sex siblings. But why the de-iden...
ListenHow To Be a Happier Parent (with KJ Dell’Antonia) from 2018-08-22T12:29
Is a mother only as happy as her unhappiest child? In our experience, yeah, pretty much. And studies (referenced below) back that up– although they also suggest many parents also derive their great...
ListenWhen Kids Talk Back from 2018-08-15T13:23
How are we supposed to respond when our kids talk back? Some experts say it’s normal child behavior, and as such, we should take a deep breath and ignore it. We say no way. But yelling “How dare yo...
ListenFriends Without Kids from 2018-08-08T13:19
Once we become parents, there is a great divide— of perspectives, bedtimes, and tolerance of twee photo shoots— between us and our friends without kids. Even the closest of those relationships can ...
ListenThe Random Things We Can’t Live Without from 2018-08-01T13:32
We asked all of you to tell us the one random thing you can’t live without—whether for your parenting sanity, or just for yourself. In this episode, we discuss the unexpected must-haves that us al...
ListenAre We Too Hard On Our Boys? from 2018-07-25T11:57
At school our sons keep it together. At home, flushing the toilet is well beyond their capability. This leads to a litany of “hurry up, put that down, stop doing that, start doing this” from their ...
ListenHelping Kids Through Transitions from 2018-07-18T13:34
From giving up the pacifier to memorizing a locker combination, growing up is a series of reluctantly-greeted transitions. The ages and challenges change, but the anxiety produced remains familiar....
ListenHow Not To Live Through Our Kids from 2018-07-11T14:07
First we’re setting aside our own hopes and dreams to have (and raise) our kids. Then we’re relentlessly mocked (perhaps correctly) for being over-invested in the fourth-grade luau. Are we living t...
ListenThe Mothers We Swore We’d Never Be from 2018-07-04T14:02
Before we became mothers, most of us had fairly clear notions of the kinds of parents we wanted to be— and extremely clear notions of the mothers we would not, under any circumstances, ever be. Ou...
ListenShould Dads Get Graded on a Curve? from 2018-06-27T13:14
A dad in Bermuda recently joined his young daughter on stage at her ballet recital when she was too frightened to perform. He was carrying another one of their children at the time. Video of that m...
ListenVacationing With Kids- What Works from 2018-06-20T12:30
The biggest drawback to vacationing with kids may be this: wherever you go, your kids will still actually be with you. But seriously… successful traveling as a family means keeping everyone happ...
ListenStuff Our Spouses Do Way Better Than We Do from 2018-06-13T12:40
We thought it was high time we saluted our own spouses for all the things they do way better than we do. Whether it’s a broken dishwasher, a broken bone, or repeated viewings of some of the worst m...
ListenPrincesses (If You Must) from 2018-06-06T13:05
You may think (as both of us once did) that little girls who are all-princess, all the time, are just not that cool. You may have also believed that any daughter of your own would be a far more ind...
ListenKid Friend Breakups from 2018-05-30T12:26
By the time our kids finish middle school, many will have suffered the sting of being left behind by a formerly “best” friend. Many more will have struggled with how to create some space between th...
ListenWhen Mom Leaves Town from 2018-05-23T13:15
Does it seem like just as much work to leave your kids behind for a couple of days as not to go in the first place? Do your instructions for family operational procedures during your absence run ...
ListenSmall Changes, Big Difference- Part Two from 2018-05-16T12:11
So many good ideas, we made a Part Two! Here’s dozens of small changes parents have made that turned out to make a big difference in their lives— thanks to our listeners and our Facebook fans, p...
ListenSummer Plans from 2018-05-08T12:15
Anyone else feeling the stress of the summer countdown? It takes a lot of juggling to schedule ten weeks of summer freedom for our kids, and it’s not cheap, either. As a nation we spend about $18 ...
ListenSmall Changes, Big Difference from 2018-04-25T14:03
We asked all of you on the show and on Facebook to tell us the small changes you’ve made in your lives (as parents and as, you know, just actual people) that have turned out to make a big differenc...
ListenLet’s Not Care About What We Weigh from 2018-04-18T14:27
We won’t lie to you- we probably spend more time than we should thinking about what we weigh. Which is, admittedly, variable. But while we think about what we weigh plenty when we’re unhappy with w...
ListenDid We Really Do That? from 2018-03-28T12:36
We’ve all done things as parents that, looking back, we can’t believe. Sometimes they are supermom-type accomplishments that defy easy explanation: did I really have three kids in diapers at the sa...
ListenManaging Our Schedules from 2018-03-21T13:03
It’s the battle of the calendars! Margaret swears by her hardcover Book of Meg, but tends to forget a birthday party once in a while. Amy swears by her online systems, until her phone takes the ini...
ListenGetting Your Kids To Talk To You from 2018-03-14T11:52
Getting our kids to talk to us is never easy (unless we’re standing with car keys in hand, front door ajar, 15 minutes late for an appointment). Based upon empirical evidence, “How was school today...
ListenThe Best Mom Advice We Ever Got from 2018-03-07T14:04
What’s the best mom advice you ever received? We asked our listeners and got a wide range of responses. Some aimed for the eternal perspective: The days are long, but the years are short. Some w...
ListenMusical Instruments- If You Must from 2018-02-28T13:30
Musical instruments: must our children either be tied to a piano bench or forgo their dreams of the Ivy League? Must we battle with our children daily to make them practice, and then have to listen...
ListenReluctant Readers from 2018-02-21T13:36
Are audio books cheating? Must every book our second-graders read feature Poopy Man and The Toilet King? Are reluctant readers doomed to fall behind their peers? Will Margaret or Amy ever read anyt...
ListenMorning Madness from 2018-02-14T13:17
We’d all love a school morning where everyone gets out the door without Mom yelling or feeling stressed. And by “all” we mean all mothers. Our children seem blithely indifferent to all the hollerin...
ListenWhat To Do When They’re Just Like You from 2018-02-07T13:39
Are your child’s most annoying traits disconcertingly familiar, because they are also your own? And are those qualities- anxiety, competitiveness, impatience, even hatred of loud chewing- baked in ...
ListenMean Girls (with guest author Katie Hurley) from 2018-01-31T13:54
Mean girls: they’re a thing, and sometimes it’s *our* girls being the bullies. Experts agree that girls exhibit “relational aggression” more than boys do, and girls are also more deeply upset by it...
ListenGo-To Dinners from 2018-01-24T12:40
What makes a “go-to dinner”? One pot is good. 30 minutes or less is better. But we’ll use every cookie sheet and pot in the house if it’s 1) not pizza and 2) all of our kids will actually eat it. ...
ListenSick Day Hacks from 2018-01-16T21:39
One day out of school? Fine, here’s the remote. But by day four of a low-grade temp— just enough to keep the kid home— most parents get rather desperate for ideas. We are both unfortunate experts o...
ListenWhat is Up With Toddlers? from 2018-01-10T13:35
Have you a short fat dictator in your home? Do you cower before a 24-pound child demanding pizza– no, not THAT kind of pizza! the other kind, the kind she likes NOW, which apparently has neither sa...
ListenWe’re Feeling Goal-y (Our Resolutions for the New Year) from 2018-01-03T13:59
It’s a new year, and we’ve got goals. Some of them are perhaps the same as last year, but Margaret says that 2018 is all about Widening the Window of Acceptability. Isn’t that a lovely notion? If r...
ListenWhat is Up With Teenagers? from 2017-12-20T12:54
One day you have a munchkin who yes, gets up at 6 a.m. and survives on only the outside of chicken nuggets, but who also calls you “Mommy” and makes you valentines. The next day you have a gruntin...
ListenBONUS! What Fresh Hell Live from 2017-12-13T16:09
This week’s *bonus* episode is a recording of our first live show! On December 1st, more than four hundred of you showed up at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center for “What Fresh Hell LIVE!” A fe...
ListenBedtime Routines from 2017-12-06T13:35
Bedtime routines: whether your kid is six weeks or sixteen, PLEASE tell us they have one. A 2009 study in Sleep magazine found that bedtime routines- regardless of what they even were- improved ...
ListenMom Friends- How to Make Them, How To Keep Them from 2017-11-22T12:48
Do you go on a moms’ night out and talk about … your kids? Does morning dropoff chit-chat feel like a middle school cafeteria? In this episode we talk about deepening bonds with your mom friends, ...
ListenSmall Town vs Big City (with guest host Meagan Francis of The Mom Hour) from 2017-11-08T12:46
City versus country (versus the great strip-mall in-between): where’s the best place to raise your kids? Amy hashes it out with guest host Meagan Francis, founder of the Life Listened podcast netwo...
ListenIs This Battle Worth Fighting? from 2017-10-25T13:56
A couple weeks ago, we asked our friends on our Facebook page to tell us what battles they’re currently fighting in their homes— or choosing not to. As we all know, there are some parenting button...
ListenThe Homework Slog from 2017-10-11T11:51
Do our kids have too much homework? Yup. Agreed. But since moving to a yurt and living off the grid may not be an option for your family, here’s how to make the homework slog a little quicker and l...
ListenPets - Worst Idea Ever? from 2017-09-27T12:23
Should your family get a pet? Heavens, no. Take it from two extremely reluctant pet owners of the cat, dog, and fish variety. Okay, pets have upsides: their cute little faces. Their tolerating hum...
ListenConquering Clutter from 2017-09-13T13:53
America has 3% of the world’s kids… and 40% of the world’s toys. We’ve got clutter, right here in River City. In our opinion the best decluttering advice, from Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist,...
ListenFinding Good Babysitters from 2017-08-30T14:04
[sgmb id=”1?] Babysitters: whether you have a full-time nanny or a college kid two Saturday nights a month, finding and maintaining good childcare is an ongoing process. You find someone your kids...
ListenBack to School from 2017-08-16T13:42
[sgmb id=”3?] Back to school: while some psychologists say we parents must “maintain a positive attitude about summer ending,” we say the end of summer sucks for all concerned and we might as w...
ListenBirthday Parties – If You Must from 2017-08-02T13:00
Birthday parties: must we really? Every kid, every year? Can we skip the goody bags? Can we ban slumber parties now and forever? Is it possible to spend less than four figures on a fete for a four...
ListenHow Old Is Old Enough? from 2017-07-19T13:37
Every parent has a “how old is old enough to” question about her kids that keeps her biting her fingernails. And as soon as one of those questions is resolved, a new one crops up. This seems to us...
ListenVacationing with Kids- What to Pack? from 2017-07-05T13:33
Rule one of vacationing with kids: don’t vacation with kids. Oh, your tickets are already purchased? Then you’d better stock up on Ziploc bags. (Take it from a mother who’s needed a few.) We as...
ListenDoes Messy Matter? from 2017-06-21T12:21
Does messy matter? In our kids’ rooms, in our front halls, in our kitchens? We’re not talking about hoarder-level mess; we’re talking about the tendency toward entropy and chaos in any house with...
ListenWhen To Let Kids Quit from 2017-06-07T13:01
Out of all the things we stress about as parents, whether to let our seven-year-olds quit the violin seems like it shouldn’t matter that much. If they wouldn’t have made first chair in the Vienna S...
ListenYelling Less from 2017-05-24T13:12
When it comes to mom-yelling we hold these truths to be self-evident: never yelling is not possible; less yelling is desirable. Let’s be real: there are times when every parent’s got to yell. Here...
ListenSibling Rivalry from 2017-05-10T12:08
Sibling rivalry: harmless rite of passage? Or everything that made you the neurotic adult you are today? The inevitable part of it seems clear. Dr. Ron Taffel says siblings are like lion cubs, b...
ListenMom Worsts from 2017-04-26T12:26
In this episode, Amy and Margaret advocate for their own lists of Mom Worsts, and discuss: —whether that most classic of Mom Worst plagues— lice— can even compare to the daily, unending hell of pr...
ListenBirth Order- Parenting Each Child Best (More or Less) from 2017-03-29T12:35
The study of birth order— how one’s placement amongst siblings can shape one’s personality— began in 1874, when Charles Darwin’s cousin noticed that eldest sons were overrepresented as members of t...
ListenHelping Kids Deal with Disappointment from 2017-03-15T15:00
[sgmb id=”1?] Not to toot our own horns or anything, but when it comes to disappointment, we’ve got vast experience. Amy claims an acting career is a surefire express route to let-down expert...
ListenDo Manners Still Matter? from 2017-03-01T19:00
Manners have been around since at least 2300 BC, when Ptah-Hotep wrote on papyrus that one should refrain from “speaking evilly” and from staring at people. And as parents, we say manners still ma...
ListenWhat To Say To Your Kids When You Don’t Have a Clue from 2017-02-15T14:17
We average about one conversation a week, with one or other of our children, during which we are suddenly at a total loss as to what to say. Perhaps you too have had a few Tough Questions like t...
ListenDividing the Workload from 2017-02-01T13:57
In any home, there’s the workload everyone can see: the dirty dishes, the broken crayons under the dining room table, the laundry to be folded. And in most of our homes, that workload is divide...
ListenAre Our Kids Overscheduled? from 2017-01-18T14:58
Are our kids overscheduled? Compared to our own childhoods, definitely. But is that necessarily a problem? And how are we, as parents, supposed to tell? According to Dr. Michael Thompson, author o...
ListenHandling the Holiday Craziness from 2016-12-07T02:24
Each December 25th, most moms look at a living room full of scattered wrapping paper and vow to do less next year. Then Black Friday rolls around. But can you really downshift on how much Santa bri...
ListenDo Our Kids Have Too Much Homework? (Yes) from 2016-11-16T23:31
Some experts say we’re drowning today’s kids under nightly tsunamis of homework. Others disagree— but one thing’s for sure: our kids have more homework than we did at their age. And more stress. An...
ListenScreen Time from 2016-10-27T18:15
This week’s episode is all about screen time. Given: Unlimited screen time is bad. But how much is okay? How much is too much? How do you handle the nightly battles of “But PLEASE, Mom! Just one mo...
ListenHelping or Helicoptering from 2016-10-24T20:04
You just brought your kid’s forgotten lunch to school. Again. Is that helping or helicoptering? You know overparenting when you see it— in other people. Sometimes it’s harder to gauge in yourself...
ListenYour Picky Eater from 2016-10-24T19:33
Welcome to the podcast! Whether you call it “picky eating,” “restricted eating,” or as some pediatricians like to call it, “avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder” (ARFID)— if you’ve got more ...
ListenYour Picky Eater from 2016-10-24T19:33
Welcome to the podcast! Whether you call it “picky eating,” “restricted eating,” or as some pediatricians like to call it, “avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder” (ARFID)— if you’ve got more ...
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