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!
826
Ask Margaret - How Do I Navigate Splitting Time...
Margaret answers a question from a listener who is trying to figure out how to split time between the grandparents when visiting home.
6 min
827
Holiday Fails
We asked our listeners to tell us their holiday worsts, and in this episode we discuss them all, plus a few of our own. Think your holiday season has been a little crazy? Hold our eggnog.
46 min
828
Is Everyone Having Fun Without Me? Motherhood ...
FOMO, or the “fear of missing out,” is that feeling you get when you see friends on social media posting about lives more exciting than your own. But FOMO happens in real life too- and the FOMO we feel on our kids’ behalf? Ouch. Here’s how to deal.
46 min
829
What Are You Grateful For? (with guest Nancy Da...
Regularly expressing gratitude rewires our brains for greater health and happiness. And having a practice is easier than you think! Guest: Nancy Davis Kho, author of The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time.
48 min
830
The Whining is Killing Us
Whining is what experts call a “low-power strategy of dominance.” Kids do it because it’s what’s available to them. Since it drives parents bonkers, it’s remarkably effective. Can we deal with whining in ways that might make it stop a LITTLE sooner?
43 min
831
Ask Margaret - Should I Throw Away the Diapers?
This week Margaret answers a question from a listener whose potty trainer is having some trouble giving up diapers.
5 min
832
Meeting Our Kids Where They Are
Sometimes our kids are a little behind on meeting their milestones. Sometimes they’ll never reach those milestones at all. How do we let go of “should be”? How do we meet our kids where they are, while still holding expectations that help them grow?
46 min
833
The Small Things That Drive Moms Insane
Sometimes it’s the little things that make us the craziest: the plastic thingies on juice box straws. The never-ending “Mom?” with that question mark at the end. Here’s all the teeny-tiny things about mom life that still manage to drive us insane.
47 min
834
Better Then or Better Now?
Anyone old enough to remember New Coke thinks things were better in the free-wheeling, “come home when it’s dark” days of our childhood. But were they really? We decide whether the things we loved are better then or better now- for kids AND for moms.
50 min
835
Changing the Invisible Workload (with guest Eve...
If you make a list of all the stuff you do that your spouse has no idea happens, it will probably be very long and rage-inducing. So don’t stop there! Here’s how to redistribute the household workload for good. Guest Eve Rodsky, author of FAIR PLAY.
45 min
836
When We Should (And Shouldn't) Rescue Our Kids
When kids need rescuing, they look to Mom. Whether we do so or not, we’re left second-guessing whatever it is we just did. Here’s when we should step in, and when we should hang back— and how to give our kids the gift of solving their own problems.
43 min
837
Parenting With An Audience
Have you ever felt coerced into parenting in a way you usually wouldn’t because you were in public? Is the disapproval of Aunt Joan even worse than eyerolls from strangers? Here’s how to stay focused even when it’s YOUR kid screaming on the airplane.
46 min
838
When Other Kids Are Bad Influences
What is it about the kid who throws sand that other kids find so irresistible? How do we keep our kids away from bad influences in their lives, especially as they get older? And why do parents sometimes peg exactly the wrong kids as good influences?
45 min
839
Hot Takes and Unpopular Opinions
We asked all of you for your hot takes and unpopular opinions. From athleisure to mayonnaise to french-fry consistency to the enduring fame of Coldplay, these are your extremely fervent feelings about things most of us hadn’t seriously considered.
51 min
840
When One of Our Kids Is Taking All Our Bandwidth
There are a lot of reasons that one kid might be hogging our bandwidth. Some are positive; some not so much. Sometimes it’s temporary; sometimes it's a “new normal” that can reshape family dynamics. Here’s how to keep our other relationships going.
45 min
841
Managing the Grandparent Relationship
What do we do when our parents overindulge our kids? Or undermine our parenting choices in front of them? What about when our parents don't seem interested in our kids at all? Here’s how to create grandparent relationships that work for everyone.
43 min
842
How To Prepare Our Kids Now to Be Grown and Flo...
Our kids are pretty happy being dependent on us. Doesn’t a grilled cheese taste so much better when Mom makes it? So how do we start the nest-leaving process early and often? Guest: Mary Dell Harrington, co-author of the new book GROWN AND FLOWN.
56 min
843
Parenting Styles: Which Ones Are We (And Should...
Helicopter moms, snowplow moms, tiger moms, free-range moms…these parenting types are usually defined in the negative: well, at least I’m not THAT. But might there be useful takeaways from any parenting style that we can custom-blend for ourselves?
45 min
844
Husband Crimes: Can This Marriage Be Saved?
We asked you to tell us your spouses’ most unacceptable- and also extremely minor- infractions. Whether it’s turning off the AC, creating a Sock Mountain, or pausing Netflix to point out plot holes, these husband (and wife) crimes deserve justice.
51 min
845
When Should Kids Tell?
Most little kids have an ironclad sense of right and wrong and are happy to report on whoever isn’t sharing in the dress-up corner. But as they get older, the stakes get higher- for them, for us, for the kid being "told on.” When should kids tell?
48 min
846
Imaginative Kids: Is It Ever Too Much of a Good...
Can a kid ever have TOO good of an imagination? Does there come a time when we need to lead kids back to reality? Will they take their imaginary friends to prom if we don’t? Here’s why an overly active imagination is almost always a wonderful thing.
50 min
847
When Kids Prefer the Other Parent Over You (Or ...
Why do kids prefer one parent over the other? Why do those allegiances shift as kids grow? Are we supposed to ignore our own hurt feelings because it’s developmentally appropriate? Or are there times when we should push back? Here’s how to know.
45 min
848
The Mom Gap: Getting Back Out There (with guest...
How do we own the time we've spent out of the workforce? How do we re-enter our former careers— or find new opportunities? Guest: Christina Geist, mom-gap survivor and author of the new children's book SORRY GROWNUPS, YOU CAN’T GO TO SCHOOL!
58 min
849
When Your Kids Take Everything Out On You
Parenting experts say we shouldn’t take our kids’ snarkiness towards us personally. But shouldn’t we insist on their respect? What happens when it really starts to wear us down? Here’s why kids take it all out on us, and how to lower our reactivity.
49 min
850
Teaching Kids Empathy
What is empathy, exactly? It’s not pity… or passive. Empathy involves both emotion and action. For our kids, it’s an acquired skill- one that needs our guidance and encouragement to be cultivated. Here’s how to model and teach empathetic behavior.
46 min