episodes

Babysitters: whether you have a full-time nanny or a college kid two Saturday nights a month, finding good childcare is an ongoing process. In this ep we discuss the groundwork you need to lay on the way in, and how …

Do you try to impose order on the countdown to school in your house? Or do you just run hard until the night before and take the pain all at once? As the first back-to-school photos creep into our feeds, …

Birthday parties: must we really? Every kid, every year? Can we skip the goody bags? Can we ban slumber parties now and forever?

Every parent has a “how old is old enough to” question about her kids that keeps her biting her fingernails. And as soon as one of those questions is resolved, a new one crops up. This seems to us a …

Rule one of vacationing with kids: don’t vacation with kids. Oh, your tickets are already purchased? Then you’d better stock up on Ziploc bags. (Take it from a mother who’s needed a few.) We asked our listeners on our Facebook …

Does messy matter? In our kids’ rooms, in our front halls, in our kitchens? We’re not talking about hoarder-level mess; we’re talking about the tendency toward entropy and chaos in any house with multiple children who play two travel spor...

Out of all the things we stress about as parents, whether to let our seven-year-olds quit the violin seems like it shouldn’t matter that much. If they wouldn’t have made first chair in the Vienna Symphony anyhow, what difference does …

When it comes to mom-yelling we hold these truths to be self-evident: never yelling is not possible; less yelling is desirable. Let’s be real: there are times when every parent’s got to yell. Here’s how Lisa Belkin put it in …

Sibling rivalry: harmless rite of passage? Or everything that made you the neurotic adult you are today? The inevitable part of it seems clear. Dr. Ron Taffel says siblings are like lion cubs,

What’s the WORST part of being a mom? We put out the call on our Facebook page and received an avalanche of responses, each deserving in its own very horrible way. In this episode, Amy and Margaret advocate for their …

Here’s what all parents can agree upon: Summer need not be another Christmas, one lasting for three full months. It’s okay- actually, it’s imperative– for our kids to be a little bit bored. The trick is to find the right …

The study of birth order— how one’s placement amongst siblings can shape one’s personality— began in 1874, when Charles Darwin’s cousin noticed that eldest sons were overrepresented as members of the Royal Society. In other words,

Not to toot our own horns or anything, but when it comes to disappointment, we’ve got vast experience. Amy claims an acting career is a surefire express route to let-down expertise; Margaret claims a screenwriting career might be even...

Manners have been around since at least 2300 BC, when Ptah-Hotep wrote on papyrus that one should refrain from “speaking evilly” and from staring at people. And as parents, we say manners still matter— to quote Margaret’s mother,

We average about one conversation a week, with one or other of our children, during which we are suddenly at a total loss as to what to say. Perhaps you too have had a few Tough Questions like these: Is …

In any home, there’s the workload everyone can see: the dirty dishes, the broken crayons under the dining room table, the laundry to be folded. And in most of our homes, that workload is divided more equitably than it was …

Are our kids overscheduled? Compared to our own childhoods, definitely. But is that necessarily a problem? And how are we, as parents, supposed to tell? According to Dr. Michael Thompson, author of The Pressured Child: There is a line between …

New year, new leaf! In this episode we’re talking “mom goals” for the coming year.

This week we’re talking about chores: do you make your kids do them? If so– how much, how frequently, and do they get paid for their troubles?

Each December 25th, most moms look at a living room full of scattered wrapping paper and vow to do less next year. But can you really downshift on how much Santa brings once a baseline has been established?

Our kids have more homework than we did at their age. And more stress. And more projects. Here's when to help- and how much.

Given: Unlimited screen time is bad. But how much is okay? How do you handle the nightly battles of “But PLEASE, Mom! Just one more level!”

You just brought your kid’s forgotten lunch to school. Again. Is that helping or helicoptering?

Whether you call it “picky eating,” “restricted eating,” or as some pediatricians like to call it, “avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder” (ARFID)— here's how to deal.