episodes

When were you the mom-ster in your household? Leaving out cups? Forbidding video games on a school night? Here are our most harrowing tales of mom misbehavior, as reported by the people we live with.

Does your child receive unwanted attention from another child that they just can't shake? Here's how to help your child establish healthy boundaries with other kids.

Think you're the only garbage parent on the face of the Earth? So does every other parent on the face of the Earth. Dr. Carla Naumburg, author of You Are Not a Sh*tty Parent, shares ways to practice self-compassion, even on our darkest days.

We love our kids' teachers! We asked our listeners about the teachers in their kids' lives who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and the answers came flooding in.

Have you ever thought about doing an RV trip with your family? If not you might be saner than Margaret - who did one with her three kids, but if so - here are all of Margaret's know-before-you-go tips.

How can we teach our kids self-regulation? And how is it different from self-control? Dr. Stuart Shanker, author of “Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society,” takes us through his five-step process for helping kids regulate themselves.

What have we learned in the six years since we started the What Fresh Hell podcast? Here are the most important things we've learned from our experts, from each other, and from our listeners.

Is bedtime a nightly chore, even with your older kids? Does it drag on for far too long? Here are some ways to move things along.

What can we learn from mothers across racial and cultural divides, and how can we make authentic connections with them? Award-winning journalist Helena Andrews-Dyer asks these questions and more in her new book “The Mamas."

Is it easier to run the house when our spouses are out of town? A good number of our listeners said yes. Can we embrace that feeling, instead of feeling guilty?

A listener struggles with her three-year-old's endless spitting. Margaret explains how to counter the instinct to react like a jack-in-the-box.

Penelope Leach has been guiding and reassuring parents for more than 40 years. Her classic childcare guide YOUR BABY AND CHILD is out now in a fully revised and updated edition. Penelope tells us what’s changed in child-rearing– and what hasn’t.

We’re back with things that don’t exist but definitely should, from dishwasher-safe waffle makers to uninterrupted showers. This ep is full of $1,000,000 ideas… and OK, some $100 ideas too. But we deserve a world in which all these things are things.

How do we get our kids to open up to us about their days at school? When our kids say “nothing” happened, are we supposed to push harder, or let them just sit there? Here’s how to get kids talking– plus when it might be more productive to let it go.

Stress affects the female brain very differently from the male brain, especially at puberty. Donna Jackson Nakazawa tells us about the increased rates of anxiety and depression in girls–and what we can do about it– in her new book GIRLS ON THE BRINK.

What do lustful elves, Lizzo, and Jeopardy all have in common? They're on Amy and Margaret's reading/watching/listening list this fall. So get your Kindle, plug in your headphones, and retrieve the remote from wherever the kids (or spouse) have stashed it.

If your kid has lots of acquaintances but no close friends, is something amiss? Is it time to pull out the conversation cue cards on the playground? Margaret explores different reasons that kids may not have close friends.

Dr. Becky Kennedy, host of the "Good Inside with Dr. Becky" podcast and @drbeckyatgoodinside on Instagram, tells us how the “Good Inside” approach can reshape how we view both ourselves as parents and our children,and about her new book GOOD INSIDE.

Do your kids have chore charts? Do they help out anyhow, if not? Do they get paid an allowance? And does that allowance have anything to do with the doing of chores? We see these issues pretty differently. In this episode we discuss best solutions.

Does your parenting partner have a social life while you stay home? Has it been ages since you’ve seen your pals? Does it feel easier not to go out then to come home to a huge mess? Here’s how to find the time in your life to be more than mom.

Is your 6th grader’s travel lacrosse schedule taking over your life? Are you spending $20K a year on youth hockey? Linda Flanagan’s new book is TAKE BACK THE GAME, and in this episode she explains how youth sports have been warped by money and mania.

School supplies. Pre-season sports. Parent portals. Uniform pants that don’t fit the night before the first day. Back to school means the return of so many fun activities for kids, and so many fresh hells for parents. Here are a few of our favorites.

Bring out your whiteboards! A listener asks for advice about afterschool routines for her two boys, and Margaret recommends writing down tasks, some unstructured time, and "feeding your beasts."

Tiffany Jenkins is as hilarious as she is honest. She’s a comedian, blogger, author, podcaster, and mom who uses her platforms to help and inspire others struggling with motherhood, mental health, and addiction, and those who just need a good laugh.