episodes

Tantrums seem to come out of nowhere. But getting curious about what lies beneath the meltdown in Aisle Six can go a long way towards taming our kids’ meltdowns in the future. Here’s how to help our kids self-regulate without …

Every mom struggles with the juggle. We discuss strategies to work smarter and get more done. The best time management secret? Be more gentle with ourselves, not more demanding. Guest: Jessica N. Turner, author of the new book Stretched Too …

5 to 8 p.m. is the worst. Nap-skipping toddlers melting down, babies in “witching hour” mode, 6th graders crying over homework— just when we’re also exhausted from our own very full days. Here’s how to make pickup-to-bedtime a little bit …

For most of us, the right number of kids is the number of kids we have. (At least most of the time.) But there are proven, distinct benefits to each family size, from one kid to a minivan’s worth. Our …

The toys, keepsakes, hand-me-downs, and art projects our kids create could fill a dumpster. Weekly. Whether you’re a sentimentalist who keeps every finger-painted masterpiece or a ruthless minimalist, here’s how to create systems to tame the stuff.

Most of us would like our kids to express — and feel— more gratitude. So how do we get our kids to say thank you like they mean it? Maybe even remember to do so unprompted? Here’s how to build …

Moms aren't supposed to struggle; we're meant to be benevolent goddesses of wisdom and Hamburger Helper. But when things get really tough, should we tell our kids? Or is that burdening them? And what happens when there's things we really …

It’s not your imagination: kids raised in the same family push in opposite directions. Why do siblings, especially closely-spaced or same-sex ones, deidentify? We discuss the three theories out there, and whether parents need to do anything about it.

Is a mother only as happy as her unhappiest child? Kind of, yeah. How do we find happiness in the daily slog? Our guest KJ Dell’Antonia, author of How To Be a Happier Parent, says the key is finding simple, …

How should we respond when our kids talk back? Some experts say it’s normal child behavior; we should take a deep breath and ignore it. We say no way. But yelling “How dare you!” isn’t getting us anywhere either. Here’s …

Once we become parents there’s a great divide (of perspectives, bedtimes, and tolerance of baby videos) between us and our friends without kids. Here’s how to stay connected. Guest: Candace Feit, documentary photographer, kid-free leisurely bruncher.

The randomer the thing, the greater the love. From grapefruit LaCroix to Target bathing suits, here’s the beverages, websites, and brands that we (and our listeners) can’t live without, both for our parenting and for our daily sanity.

At school our sons manage to 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 mothers. But …

Whether it's moving to the big boy bed or heading off to high school - transitions are hard. We discuss ways to help kids transition and how to get underneath tough behaviors to figure out what's really going on.

Psychologists say we parents transfer our own unfulfilled ambitions onto our children. (Sing out, Louise!) Are we living through our kids? Is that bad? How do we stop? Here’s how to take a step back if you find yourself a …

Before our kids were born we had an idea of the mothers we would be— and definitely knew the mothers we would NEVER be. (And then we became parents.) We asked our listeners to tell us the mothers they swore …

While we grade our husbands’ household contributions against our own, the world grades them against Don Draper— which means any guy with a Baby Bjorn gets a ticker tape parade. But guest Kevin Madsen of HeyDad says that’s not as …

Successful travel as a family doesn’t mean your choice of destination needs to revolve around your kids. But you may need to keep your expectations flexible. This episode is full of ideas for creating family vacations with appeal for all …

The best partnerships are symbiotic, so in this episode we give a shout-out to all the things our spouses handle way better than we do, such as: broken dishwashers. Broken bones. Successful repurposing of leftovers. Pancake-making. Thanks guys!

The princess phase feels pretty inescapable. But does every Royal Sparkle tutu a Honey Boo Boo make? Or is our princess paranoia a bit misguided? Here’s why we say you can ease up and let your kids be anything they …

Our kids have been left behind by once-best friends. They’ve also struggled with creating space between themselves and playmates they have simply outgrown. Whatever side they’re on, here’s how to make it a little less painful for all concerned.

Sometimes it feels like as much work to leave town without our kids as to not go in the first place. But guilt trips are no fun. Here’s why traveling without our kids is worth it- for everyone- plus some …

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 plus some of the top content creators for …

It takes a lot of juggling to schedule 10 weeks of summer freedom- not to mention cash. America spends about $18 billion dollars on “summer enrichment” every year. Here’s how to keep your kids the right amount of occupied without …