episodes

Brave parenting doesn’t mean acting like what’s happening in our world isn’t scary, or that we must present our kids with perfect solutions. It means meeting our kids where they are, discussing their feelings, then deciding together what to do …

When we’re overwhelmed by the 24/7/365 nature of parenting, we tend to blame ourselves for being in a “mom funk,” and look to attitude adjustment as the best solution. In response to this listener question Amy suggests that it’s the …

Ever felt like things are going pretty well but happiness is missing from your parenting and relationships? In this “Best Of” episode, Dr. Lynyetta Willis discusses "stable misery" and explains how we can create more joyful harmony in our lives.

Mom rage engenders debilitating shame. Where did it come from? Are we actually the worst parent who’s ever parented? But mom rage has common triggers and a predictable path along which it builds- which also means there are things we …

When the unthinkable happens, how are we supposed to explain it to our children? What do we say, when are they old enough, how do we answer their questions without making them more frightened? In this episode recorded in July …

Are you an Amy or a Margaret? AKA: are you an introvert or an extrovert? Turns out, you can enjoy socializing but still be an introvert or require some alone time but still be an extrovert. And there are ways …

What is with the turn-on-a-dime switch from the sweet, demure kid we had yesterday to the demon who woke up today? Is something really wrong or is this a phase? Here’s how to help your kids through the inevitable “red …

We’ve all left dishes by the sink. Either that, or we’ve yelled at our partner for doing so. In this episode, Matthew Fray explains how leaving dishes by the sink caused his marriage to implode—hint: it wasn’t just about the …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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? …

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 …

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 …