What Fresh Hell

episodes

Jan. 15, 2024

Ask Amy: My Kid Is Always Saying "That's Mine!"

Do your toddlers and preschoolers love to shout "That's mine!" We explain why that's a phase, and offer some parenting tips for promoting sharing between little kids.

Episode page
Jan. 12, 2024

Fresh Take: Andrea Owen of "Make Some Noise"

Women are told to stay strong—but that advice can make us afraid to ask for the help we need. Life coach Andrea Owen gives us strategies and tools that push back on traditional self-help.

Episode page
Jan. 10, 2024

Why Kids Need More Time To Play

Kids today spend 11 more hours a week on school and homework than we did. That means a lot less time to play. A new study theorizes that this decline is directly related to the decline in kids' mental health.

Episode page
Jan. 8, 2024

Ask Margaret: How Do I Get My Baby Sleeping Through the Night?

When are babies ready to sleep through the night? When they're old enough and big enough, how can we encourage longer nighttime stretches of sleep—for everyone?

Episode page
Jan. 5, 2024

Fresh Take: Dr. Camilo Ortiz on How to Help Kids With Anxiety

How can we best protect kids from anxiety? We need to balance our desire to keep our children safe with letting them learn and grow on their own. Psychologist Dr. Camilo Ortiz explains how to let kids explore and learn …

Episode page
Jan. 3, 2024

What We're Taking Into The New Year (with Life Coach Ann Imig)

How can we enter the new year with a confidence in what we already have and do well, rather than a list of things we have to fix? Life coach Ann Imig shares strategies for discovering and cultivating our existing …

Episode page
Jan. 1, 2024

Ask Amy: All My Kids Do Is Fight!

Constant sibling fighting doesn’t last forever. It just feels that way. Let go of feeling guilty your kids aren’t living in perfect harmony. Pretend you’re parent to a dog and a rooster– who expects them to share? Sometimes it’s easiest …

Episode page
Dec. 29, 2023

BEST OF: Ryan Wexelblatt on How To Help Kids With ADHD Succeed

Ryan Wexelblatt, aka the “ADHD Dude,” coaches kids and parents about executive dysfunction. Ryan offers helpful perspectives and useful tips for creating scaffolding for our kids with ADHD, without becoming overly accommodating.

Episode page
Dec. 27, 2023

BEST OF: Things Change, and That's OK! How Parenting Changes as Kids …

Our kids get older, and so do we. That’s Just Facts. And that our relationships with our kids will therefore change as they grow? Truth. But does that mean you have to therefore cherish every moment, because it’s all less …

Episode page
Dec. 22, 2023

BEST OF: Lisa Damour Tells Us How To Deal With Teenagers' Big Emotions

Powerful emotions in teenagers are a feature, not a bug. But when kids are dysregulated it can feel like something parents are supposed to fix. Dr. Lisa Damour, author of THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF TEENAGERS, tells us how to become …

Episode page
Dec. 20, 2023

BEST OF: The Smallest Hills We'd Die On

The book is always better than the movie. Brunch is dumb. And wind chimes are mean. We asked you about the smallest hills you have died on—the petty grudges you just won’t wave the white flag for no matter what. …

Episode page
Dec. 18, 2023

BEST OF: Family Holiday Traditions: The Good, The Bad, The Elf on the…

There are some holiday traditions families really treasure. There are others moms dread but feel obligated to continue. Here’s how to create a holiday season that works for everyone- including the default parents who do most of Santa’s heavy lifting.

Episode page
Dec. 15, 2023

Fresh Take: Amy Palanjian of Yummy Toddler Food

When our picky eaters turn up their noses at dinner, we're not failures as parents. Amy Palanjian, author of DINNERTIME SOS, explains how to take judgment and anxiety out of the dinnertime equation when feeding toddlers and kids.

Episode page
Dec. 13, 2023

The Most Useful Parenting Tips We Learned in 2023

Here are some of our favorite parenting tips and takeaways we learned in 2023, from experts and listeners and mom friends everywhere.

Episode page
Dec. 11, 2023

HOLIDAY BEST OF: Handling the Holiday Craziness as a Mom

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?

Episode page
Dec. 8, 2023

Fresh Take: Ed Center of Village Well Parenting

How does the wisdom of our cultural traditions inform the way we parent, for better and worse? Ed Center, founder of Village Well Parenting, explains how generational trauma informs parenting and how we can navigate it.

Episode page
Dec. 6, 2023

Decision Fatigue- And Why It's Especially Bad For Moms

The more decisions you have to make, the more difficult it can become to make them. Decision fatigue is cumulative, and when it happens, we get frustrated more easily. Here's how to make fewer, better decisions.

Episode page
Dec. 4, 2023

HOLIDAY BEST OF: Susan Katz Miller on Interfaith Families at the Holi…

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 …

Episode page
Dec. 1, 2023

Fresh Take: Amanda Montei on "Touched Out"

Is being "touched out" just par for the course when you're a mom, or is there something deeper at work here? Amanda Montei, author of the new book TOUCHED OUT, discusses this concept in a broader cultural context.

Episode page
Nov. 29, 2023

What Fresh Hell Is the Holiday Season?

The holiday season has unpleasant surprises around every corner. The Christmas gift we forgot to buy! The too-short wrapping paper! The three parties in one night! Here are our best worsts of this time of year.

Episode page
Nov. 27, 2023

HOLIDAY BEST OF: It's the Most Everything Time of the Year

According to a recent study, 41% of men strongly agreed that they can relax during the holidays. Only 27% of women felt the same. It’s the most everything time of the year, and we’re doing– and feeling– all the things.

Episode page
Nov. 24, 2023

Fresh Take: "The Girl Next Door Podcast" on Setting Boundaries

What does it look like to successfully set and maintain boundaries, whether it's with our toddler or our in-laws? Erica Ladd and Kelsey Wharton, co-hosts of the The Girl Next Door Podcast, are the queens of boundary-setting.

Episode page
Nov. 22, 2023

Does Having Kids Ruin Your Marriage Forever?

Are our relationships with our partners ruined after kids enter the picture? Partnerships change when our kids are born, but those changes aren't forever, and fixing it doesn't have to begin and end with "date night."

Episode page
Nov. 20, 2023

HOLIDAY BEST OF: The Holiday Creep

Why does it seem like the holiday season starts earlier and earlier every year? And how do we navigate the many obligations and traditions thereof without crying into our creamed white onions?

Episode page