What Fresh Hell

episodes

Sept. 1, 2021

Rule Breaker Or Rule Follower: Which Are You?

Are you a rule breaker or a rule follower? Are you married to your opposite? In this episode we discuss how these two kinds of people bump up against each other– especially in our own families– and how we try …

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Aug. 30, 2021

Ask Amy- Is My Kid *Trying* To Be This Difficult?

Is your kid *trying* to make you hate her? More likely, she’s in a developmentally appropriate “disequilibrium” phase. Knowing your formerly calm, happy, loving child will come back soon can really help.

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Aug. 27, 2021

Fresh Take: Christina Hillsberg on How Being a Spy Prepared Her For P…

Christina Hillsberg is a former CIA spy. She’s also a mom of five. Her book LICENSE TO PARENT: How My Career as a Spy Helped Me Raise Resourceful, Self-Sufficient Kids is a practical guide for using key spy tactics to …

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Aug. 25, 2021

The Best Mom Lies Ever

Here are the mom lies that totally worked on our kids– or worked on us *as* kids. Whether it's the ice cream truck's “all gone” jingle, the "just sleeping” goldfish, or the broccoli factory field trip for kids who act …

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Aug. 23, 2021

Ask Margaret - Handling Tough School Drop-Offs

Many of us have peeled shrieking children’s arms from around our necks, handed them off to preschool teachers, then headed back to our cars for a good cry. Here’s how to make dropoffs a little easier– while taking comfort that …

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Aug. 20, 2021

Fresh Take: Annie Murphy Paul on The Extended Mind

Annie Murphy Paul is the author of "The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain.” In this interview, Annie explains how we can tap the intelligence that exists beyond our brains– in our bodies, our surroundings, and our …

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Aug. 18, 2021

Competition: How Much Is Good For Our Kids?

Most of us think the dad yelling through the fence at T-Ball is taking things too seriously. Others say participation trophies teach our kids that achievement is optional. How do we balance the eye of the tiger with just letting …

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Aug. 13, 2021

Fresh Take: Ashley Brown on Routines That Work

Ashley Brown is the founder of Routine and Things, a business equipping women to live their happiest lives one routine at a time. We discuss Ashley's five areas of focus for routines, why planning routines *is* a routine, and how …

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Aug. 11, 2021

We Thought This Would Be Over By Now

As the *third* school year affected by the pandemic begins, yep, we are frustrated. We thought this would be over by now. But the Delta variant had other plans. Here's how we're currently managing risk for the unvaccinated kids– and …

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Aug. 9, 2021

Ask Margaret - Can I Say "No Gifts" For My Kid's Birthday?

Kids love their birthdays for lots of reasons, but let’s be honest: it’s mostly the gifts. Parents love the gifts a lot less. Buying presents for other kids' parties is a hassle, and having your own kids get a pile …

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Aug. 6, 2021

Fresh Take: Amanda Knox on Feeling Lost and Finding Hope

Amanda Knox explains how she held on to the hope that was available in her saddest times, what she learned about the loneliness of personal struggle, and how we can help others who are feeling lost in labyrinths of their …

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Aug. 4, 2021

Highly Sensitive (and Under-Sensitive) Kids

When we first hear about highly sensitive kids– or sensory seekers– it can provide a profound connecting of dots for things that might have baffled us in the past, and a path to effectively address the otherwise confusing behaviors that …

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Aug. 2, 2021

Ask Amy- When The Other Kid Wants To Play But Yours Doesn't

Most parents have been on both sides: trying to make friend connections on behalf of a kid who is feeling left out, and hearing "but he's so ANNOYING!" from that same child, feeling suddenly fed up with a friend they …

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July 30, 2021

Fresh Take: Lenore Skenazy on Free-Range Kids and How To "Let Grow"

Lenore Skenazy is the author of FREE-RANGE KIDS and president of Let Grow, a nonprofit promoting childhood independence. We discuss the crucial role of free play with kids of all ages in our kids’ development, and how to foster that …

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July 28, 2021

Am I Making This Harder Than It Needs To Be?

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 …

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July 26, 2021

Ask Margaret - What Do I Do About My Kid's Poor Hygiene?

Does keeping track of our kids' hygiene have to be another thing on our list of stuff to worry about? Setting rules and parameters around how and when your kids need to groom themselves is better than daily fights about …

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July 23, 2021

Fresh Take: Nikki Weiner on What's Changed in College Admissions

Nikki Weiner explains what’s changed in the college admissions landscape. Is test-optional here to stay? Why are schools suddenly so much harder to get into? What makes an application stand out? How can a student and her parent get through …

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July 21, 2021

Handling the News With Our Kids

The news is hard for anyone to escape these days– even our kids, who might see a stray notification on our phones or overhear a TV that was left on. A lot of us struggle with what to tell our …

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July 19, 2021

Ask Amy- My Kid Loses Everything!

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 frustrating (and expensive). What's a parent to do?

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July 16, 2021

Fresh Take: Heidi Murkoff on Maternal Health (And What We Can Do To P…

Heidi Murkoff is the author of the legendary What to Expect When You’re Expecting. She’s also the creator of the What to Expect Project, a nonprofit dedicated to helping all mothers expect healthy pregnancies, safe deliveries, and healthy babies.

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July 14, 2021

Best Advice We'd Give Our Younger Selves

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. Here's the best advice we (and our listeners) learned from doing things the wrong way.

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July 12, 2021

Ask Margaret - What To Do When Kids Say They're Bored

We love the freedom of summer, but with it comes the familiar complaint of "We're bored!” The simplest solution to kid boredom may be to do less. Structure the day with basic categories of activities, but leave lots of free …

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July 9, 2021

Fresh Take: Olivia Martinez-Hauge on Special Needs Parenting

Olivia Martinez-Hauge is a mom of three kids, two with neurodiversity. She’s also a therapist who treats individuals and families who caregive. We talk parenting special-needs kids, plus how to be better allies to friends who might be on that …

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July 7, 2021

Super-Awesome Mom Hacks

Time for some easy wins! Here of some of our (and our listeners') favorite hacks for naptime, diapers, laundry, cooking, snow days, sibling squabbles, and General Sanity Preservation. This stuff really works!

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