episodes

Is your 6th grader’s travel lacrosse schedule taking over your life? Are you spending $20K a year on youth hockey? Linda Flanagan’s new book is TAKE BACK THE GAME, and in this episode she explains how youth sports have been warped by money and mania.

School supplies. Pre-season sports. Parent portals. Uniform pants that don’t fit the night before the first day. Back to school means the return of so many fun activities for kids, and so many fresh hells for parents. Here are a few of our favorites.

Bring out your whiteboards! A listener asks for advice about afterschool routines for her two boys, and Margaret recommends writing down tasks, some unstructured time, and "feeding your beasts."

Tiffany Jenkins is as hilarious as she is honest. She’s a comedian, blogger, author, podcaster, and mom who uses her platforms to help and inspire others struggling with motherhood, mental health, and addiction, and those who just need a good laugh.

Everyone needs an ‘Attaboy!’ every once in a while. When you’re a mom, you usually have to give it to yourself. Whether it’s super-scheduling prowess or the ability to soothe a bleeding toddler in 10 seconds, here are our listeners’ mom superpowers.

What’s it really like to have a kid away at college? Sure, drop-off day is hard, but there are also real benefits to this shift in the parent/child relationship. If you’re dreading an upcoming transition, Amy’s perspective will improve your outlook.

The college financial aid process can make parents feel overwhelmed and frustrated. Ron Lieber, author of THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR COLLEGE, says it’s not our fault: the system is designed to confound. Here’s how to approach this huge financial decision.

Forgotten luggage. Strollers that won’t fold. The best-laid family vacation plans quickly sour when there's a monster who forgot to pack the bathing suits. Here are some vacation monsters we’ve met. Full disclosure: sometimes the monster is us.

Margaret answers a question from a listener who wants to know how to encourage her kids to keep their rooms and the playroom clean.

When should we get our kids phones? And is “delay as long as possible” an option? Catherine Pearlman, author of the book First Phone, tells us how kids can become wiser about the responsibilities of social media, digital consent, and internet safety.

Our brains are wired for story. That doesn’t mean that the stories we tell ourselves are always accurate–or that the alternative stories others may have are necessarily wrong. Here’s how to identify–and change–the stories we tell ourselves.

This week Amy tackles the question, "When should I start letting my kids have sleepovers?"

JoAnn Crohn is the creator of “No Guilt Mom” and a former middle-school teacher. She believes that some of the behavioral control strategies she learned in teacher training can be counterproductive, and especially at home. Here’s what to try instead.

Babysitters in all of the stores! Penumbras on our cars! One charger to rule them all! We asked our listeners what they wished WAS a thing, and they came up with some million-dollar ideas that Amy and Margaret definitely intend to steal.

It is important for parents to model body acceptance and intuitive eating for our kids, which can mean changing our own scripts as well.

Anya Kamenetz, author of The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Children's Lives, and Where We Go Now, says the US got pandemic schooling “more wrong” than other wealthy countries. Anya explains how and why decisions were made that put children last.

After several years of doing this podcast, we know a lot about each other. In this episode, we ask each other the burning questions that remain.

Amy answers a question from a listener who wants her own mom to stop relying on screens when she's babysitting.

Do you have a social life outside of your kids? Are you nurturing your partnership? Are you overwhelmed just asking these questions? Journalist Ericka Souter discusses her new book, full of concrete solutions for creating a life outside of kids.

How do we find the strength to break harmful patterns from our own childhood with our kids? Why is it so hard? Do we truly have the ability to change? Amy and Margaret examine why we sometimes can’t help looking for pizza at a Chinese restaurant.

A listener who has very little familiarity with gaming wonders how to keep kids safe while playing online.

Jill Smokler, founder of Scary Mommy, is back with "She's Got Issues," a multimedia platform and now podcast for Gen X women. She talks with Amy and Margaret about her new space for women to come together and share their stories.

Poop or vomit? Kids' shows or kids' books forever? Long flight or long road trip with toddlers? The Hellions hit up our Facebook group with some pretty agonizing dilemmas - which will Amy and Margaret choose?

How do we handle emerging romantic relationships between young kids. It's possible to either overreact or under react. In this episode Amy responds to a listener whose 8-year-old has received a beautiful Target-brand locket from an admirer.