episodes

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 that we and our listeners have received, here …

Amy answers a question from a listener who is having trouble connecting with other moms during coronavirus.

We asked our listeners to divide the world into two kinds of people. Summer or winter? Sleep cuddlers or stop-breathing-on-mes? Many of you responded with slightly judgmental “there’s me, and the crazy people” responses that we are totally here for.

This week Margaret answers a question from a listener who wants to know if life with her two young kids is ever going to get better!

We are so done with life on the coronacoaster, but we can’t get off this ride yet. We’ve moved past denial to bargaining, hung out in depression- and now we’re doubling back to anger, not feeling the acceptance part so …

At what point should a parent get involved in a conflict between her 8-year-old son and his (former) friend?

We tend to hold our Bad Mom Moments close, deeply certain no other mother has ever temporarily forgotten her baby in the Target LEGO aisle. Spoiler alert– you’re not alone. Guest: Arianna Bradford, author of SHAME ON YOU: BIG TRUTHS …

Margaret answers a question from a listener who is worried about leaving her three year old for a few nights.

This extended pause has been really hard for some of our kids, and actually sort of good for others. We discuss the things we’ve learned and will take forward as parents, both for kids who have weirdly thrived and for …

Amy answers a question from a reader who wonders how she can encourage reading in her child.

We’re in an anxiety-provoking moment. But parents don’t need to present our kids with solutions to the things that scare them. We just need to meet them where they are. Guest: Dr. Abigail Gewirtz, author of WHEN THE WORLD FEELS …

Margaret answers a question from a listener who is frustrated by her husband's extremely poor gift-giving skills.

Shutting it all down was hard, but the assignment was extremely clear. Reopening is more like: do what you want when we think you can, or at least aren't fully convinced that you can’t. How are we going to do …

Amy answers a question from a listener whose “incredibly active” two-year-old doesn’t always hear the word “stop!”

The idea that kids are colorblind, that we should put off talking about race because kids are too young to understand its complicating factors, is wrong. It always was. Here’s how to talk about race and racism, early and often. …

Margaret answers a question from a listener whose twins are exhibiting some worrying coping mechanisms during the pandemic.

It’s the summer of nothing. Everything is canceled, even Camp Grandma is questionable, and we’ve already *had* three months of lying around doing nothing. How do we make July different from March? Guests: Ashley and Keri from the podcast Momtourage.

Amy answers a question from a mom whose 17-month-old is tough on her six-year-old.

What’s one thing that’s actually working right now? Not a barely acceptable Band-Aid for these crazy times, but something you have discovered that you will totally keep doing? From mowing the lawn to a beer-pong app, here’s what’s working for …

Margaret answers a question from a mom whose four year old is stretching bedtime to the max.

Welcome to What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood! Here's a quick intro to us and to our podcast.

Many kids are exhibiting regressive behavior right now. Lots of adults too: Zoom with your summer camp friends much? It’s normal to seek the security of the past in times of stress.Here’s how to let regression be, and how to …

Amy answers a question from a listener who is feeling disappointed that her third child is also a boy.

After 2 months of this new normal our to-do lists are running away from us. How do we get to what matters in the extremely limited bursts of kid-free time we might have? Guests: Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger, co-hosts …