episodes

What unwelcome surprises have you experienced on your parenting journey? We asked our listeners to tell us what they didn’t expect when they first started out, and they listed everything from torturous theme days to baby headbutts.

We all have relatives who demand big bear hugs when saying goodbye. That may all be well and good for some kids, but what if our kids just aren’t huggers? Margaret discusses how to protect kids’ autonomy while keeping the peace with Grandma.

When anxiety is part of family systems, our well-meaning attempts to assuage kids can instead serve to further reinforce it. Psychologist Lynn Lyons and Robin Hutson, co-hosts of the podcast Flusterclux, explain what actually works for anxiety.

When will things go “back to normal"? Is that even a question we should be asking ourselves anymore? How do we learn to live with a new normal? Amy and Margaret ponder over how to keep running a race where the finish line keeps moving.

When others have easier experiences of parenting than we do, it's easy to get jealous. But is that wrong? Amy responds to a listener struggling with envy towards friends whose births and postpartum experiences were far easier than hers.

KC Davis, author of the new book HOW TO KEEP HOUSE WHILE DROWNING, tells us how to move beyond stepping on LEGOs, confronting towers of dirty dishes, and feeling overwhelmed with a gentler method for home care and self-care.

Still mad about that thing from that time? In this "Best Of" re-release, we review listener grudges large and small, deciding once and for all if those listeners should let it go or no. That’s not the same as whether they have a right to be annoyed.

Iris Chen is a recovering tiger mother and founder of the Untigering movement, which emphasizes shifting away from parenting that is rooted in power to parenting that is grounded in partnership. Iris explains how to begin the untigering process.

From “Bridgerton” to “Invisible Kingdom” to “Maintenance Phase,” Amy and Margaret are keeping busy between What Fresh Hell episodes with podcasts, movies, TV shows, and a little bit of T Swift. (And no, the kids are not invited.)

Pacifiers in the crib. Juice in the sippy cup. Popsicles in the bathtub. We all have exceptions that we make to the so-called parenting “rules” in the interest of our own sanity. Our listeners share which parenting rules they break and why.

Many of us have had the drop-off experience where our kid cries and just won't let go of us. How do we help our kids through separation anxiety and make them understand that we don’t go poof when we leave for work?

You can think you’ve accounted for every variable as a parent, but then something happens that turns everything upside down. This week, Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter, discusses the unexpected variables in her life and how she copes.

It was my husband. In the kitchen. With the dirty cup. AGAIN. Our partners do things that drive us mad. And sometimes it affects our parenting or our marriages. How do we make our partners truly understand what we need? Besides hiding all the cups?

Getting a cancer diagnosis turns everything upside down. And helping your kids understand the situation is a daunting prospect. This week, Margaret talks about the support systems we can use to make the task easier--and reminds us we’re not alone.

Anxious kids don’t always behave like anxious adults. What works to help anxious kids also differs. In this “Best Of” episode Dr. Lisa Damour, host of “Ask Dr. Lisa” and author of UNDER PRESSURE, gives strategies to help kids “settle their glitter.”

Peer pressure affects everyone in the human species, and even some self-conscious monkeys. What is it about sitting with the cool kids, and how can we help our own kids understand they don’t have to follow all of the other lemmings over the cliff?

When kids reach school age they become aware of what others might think. Social comparison with peers comes into play– and when another kid gets “student of the week” or a T-ball grand slam or any benchmark of childhood achievement, so can jealousy.

Starting the conversation about racism with kids is tricky. But there is a way to instill curiosity, engagement, and excitement in both yourself and your child as you embark on your journey to practice antiracism each and every day.

From bikinis for six-year-olds to leprechaun traps to over-the-top holiday traditions, there are so many trends and traditions that shouldn’t exist. We asked our listeners what shouldn’t be a thing anymore, and they responded in force…

When your child’s 8 p.m. bedtime becomes 9 p.m. and then 10 p.m., it's called “bedtime creep." How can we enforce better and more consistent rules around bedtime and get everyone more sleep?

Cat and Nat’s hilarious #momtruths videos have garnered millions of views. They’re also best friends in real life. They tell us about their new book CAT AND NAT’S MOM SECRETS, and why a good marriage helps, but what we all need is a mom BFF.

We might think “kids today” get away with more than we did, but people have complained about “spoiled” children since the 1600s. What does it mean for a kid to be spoiled? How can we avoid raising our own spoiled kids and what happens when we’re stuck with someone else’s?

When our kid is being bullied, how do we intervene without making things worse? And what if the bully is a former friend? The key is finding a way protect your kids without going full-on Mama Bear.

Bobbi Rebell is the author of the new book LAUNCHING FINANCIAL GROWNUPS. In this interview, she explains how to discuss financial matters with our kids early and often, in order to raise young people who understand money once they leave the nest.