What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face...

When you're a parent, every day brings a "fresh hell" to deal with. In other words, there's always something. Think of us as your funny mom friends who are here to remind you: you're not alone, and it won't always be this hard.

We're Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables, both busy moms of three kids, but with completely different parenting styles. Margaret is a laid-back to the max; Amy never met a spreadsheet or an organizational system she didn't like.

In each episode of "What Fresh Hell" we offer lots of laughs, but also practical advice, parenting strategies, and tips to empower you in your role as a mom. We explore self-help techniques, as well as ways to prioritize your own needs, combat stress, and despite the invisible workload we all deal with, find joy amidst the chaos of motherhood.

If you've ever wondered "why is my kid..." then one of us has probably been there, and we're here to tell you what we've learned along the way.

We unpack the behaviors and developmental stages of toddlers, tweens, and teenagers, providing insights into their actions and equipping you with effective parenting strategies.

We offer our best parenting tips and skills we've learned. We debate the techniques and studies that are everywhere for parents these days, and get to the bottom of what works best to raise happy, healthy, fairly well-behaved kids, while fostering a positive parent-child relationship.

If you're the default parent in your household, whether you're a busy mom juggling multiple pickups and dropoffs, or a first-time parent seeking guidance, this podcast is your trusted resource. Join our community of supportive mom friends laughing in the face of motherhood!  

whatfreshhellpodcast.com

Parenting
Comedy
Kids & Family
701
Fresh Take: Dr. Harold Koplewicz on the Best Wa...
Parents shouldn’t be the architects of their children’s lives. Or the builders. Dr. Harold Koplewicz, author of THE SCAFFOLD EFFECT: Raising Resilient, Self-Reliant and Secure Kids in an Age of Anxiety, tells us how best to support our kids’ growth.
30 min
702
The Things We're Never Going Back To
This pandemic situation has not been great. But there are things we have been freed from and are hereby declaring we’ll never do, or wear, or worry about again. Here’s what we (and our listeners) are, with great determination, never going back to.
44 min
703
Ask Margaret - Talking to Kids About Death
A listener asks how to help a child asking anxious questions after his classmate's parent died.
7 min
704
Fresh Take: Dr. Christine Koh On Building a Fam...
Dr. Christine Koh creates content to help people live better and happier. She also grew up with adverse childhood experiences. We discuss the CDC ACEs framework for understanding early adversity, and how to go on and build happy families of our own.
35 min
705
How To Stop Having The Same Fight
Having the same fight doesn’t mean your relationship is broken. But it is totally annoying. Here are the modes of negativity that are at work when we repeat the same conflicts- and what we can do to break the cycle, whether it’s our partners or kids.
44 min
706
Ask Amy: When Your Kid is Super-Clingy
A parent asks for advice on dealing with a clingy 9-year-old. Amy suggests rewarding small shows of independence with praise, and offering quality time during your child’s preferred activity in return for accepting some time apart without complaint.
5 min
707
Fresh Take: Dr. Edward Hallowell on the Newest ...
Dr. Edward Hallowell, co-author of ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction--From Childhood Through Adulthood, explains the growing understanding of ADHD- and offers new hacks for brains with “variable attention.”
35 min
708
Okay, We Annoy Ourselves Also
We often express righteous anger at all the completely infuriating and totally trivial things that other people, usually related to us, do to annoy us. Today we look inward– and admit the things we do that are so irksome that we even annoy OURSELVES.
44 min
709
Ask Margaret - How To Turn Off Screens Without ...
A listener asks how to help her child regulate the strong emotions that arise whenever it's time for screens to go off.
7 min
710
Fresh Take: Mirna Valerio Tells Us How To Find ...
Mirna Valerio is a runner, adventurer, speaker, and anti-racism educator. We discuss her experiences as a larger woman in a world of endurance athletes, and how to reacquaint ourselves with fitness, no matter how long we’ve been out of the game.
32 min
711
The Mom That Covid Has Made Me
How has Covid affected you as a mom? Are you more socially anxious? Have you found the isolation sort of reassuring? Are you at your breaking point? Are you treasuring the extra time with your kids? Will any of this permanently change how you parent?
43 min
712
Ask Amy - My Kid Thinks There Are Monsters Unde...
How can we deal with the monsters-under-the-bed phase? For kids who still believe in magical things as fully possible, the best "protection" we can offer them from something scary but imaginary might be something equally unreal and totally wonderful.
5 min
713
Fresh Take: Ned Johnson on The Self-Driven Child
42 min
714
Your Life Begins Again When... (The Second Half...
We asked our listeners: when did your pre-parenting life of ease snap back into focus? Was it the day your kids take a shower solo? Navigated steps safely? Turned on the TV at 6:30 am on a Saturday? Better days are coming, parents.
44 min
715
Ask Margaret- My Kid Is Sneaking Food and Scree...
Margaret answers a question from a listener whose daughter has become sneaky about things that are supposed to be off-limits.
6 min
716
2020: What Was That?
We review the very problematic 2020: what we talked about this year, the impossibility of “solving” any of this, and how this podcast has become a time capsule of our “negativity bias,” worries, hopes– and above all, survival. We made it, mamas.
42 min
717
We Ask Each Other Burning Questions
After four years of doing this podcast, we know a lot about each other. In this episode, we ask each other the burning questions that remain.
42 min
718
Ask Amy- How Can I Help My Reluctant Pooper?
A listener asks how to help her toddler whose stool withholding has become painful and possibly chronic.
5 min
719
Extremely Achievable Holiday Traditions
This episode is full of super-easy ways to make the holiday season more fun without also being more expensive. These ideas are Christmas-based, although holiday lights and red flannel jammies probably have pagan roots anyhow, so come one come all!
45 min
720
Ask Margaret - When Your Parent-Teacher Confere...
Margaret talks about parent-teacher conferences and why it’s important to remember that you, as the parent, aren’t the one being graded.
7 min
721
Fresh Take: Susan Katz Miller on Interfaith Fam...
The holidays are already intense, but if your family is interfaith, it can ratchet up the pressure for perfection times two. Guest Susan Katz Miller, author of THE INTERFAITH FAMILY JOURNAL, tells us how to draw a “sacred circle” around what matters.
38 min
722
What's Your Mom Superpower?
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.
41 min
723
Fresh Take: Katherine May on "Wintering" and th...
Katherine May is the author of the new book WINTERING: THE POWER OF REST AND RETREAT IN DIFFICULT TIMES. May explains how the natural world prepares for and survives winter, and how we can apply those lessons to the metaphorical winters in our lives.
41 min
724
It Takes A Village (But We're Doing It Alone)
For the last 1.8 million years or so, children were raised village-style. But 2020 has meant a lot of us raising our kids without the usual help of grandparents or schools or caregivers or friends. Whatever community you can create right now counts.
42 min
725
Ask Amy- Can You Discipline a One-Year-Old?
A listener asks whether, and how, she can discipline a 1-year-old who pulls hair and throws food on the floor.
4 min