Loading...

PODCAST

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms

Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

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

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

30:29

You Might Also Like: In It: Raising Kids who Learn...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/09/01

Today we’re sharing an episode from another parenting podcast we think our listeners will really appreciate. It’s called “In It: Raising Kids who Learn Differently.” This podcast offers perspective, stories, and useful takeaways for parents of kids with challenges in reading, math, focus, and other learning differences, like ADHD and dyslexia.This is an episode called "After the Diagnosis: How Kids Feel About Their Learning and Thinking Differences." To listen to more episodes, search for “In It:

en

37:15

BEST OF: Esau McCaulley, "How Far To The Promised Land"

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/30

How can we talk about America’s ongoing legacy of racism without sliding into despair? In his new memoir HOW FAR TO THE PROMISED LAND, Esau McCaulley tells his own story—and questions why Black failure is judged collectively, while Black success is perceived as the merit of an individual. Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD, is an author and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His work has been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and Christianity Today. Esau

en

46:34

When Kids Ask Tough Questions

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/28

We've all been there: our kid asks us what heaven is like, and whether dogs can go there too. Or why some people are homeless. Or why that person over there doesn't look like other people.Sometimes we rush to smooth things over, or chastise them for what is probably honest curiosity. Other times we overexplain, answering with a confusing lecture when what they really wanted was reassurance. In this episode, we talk about how to find the best balance. Here are links to some of the resources

en

51:25

DEEP DIVE: Might Seem Crazy. Works for Me.

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/26

This month's Deep Dive series is about flouting parenting rules and advice that don't work for us. Listen to a Spotify playlist of all the episodes in the series here. We asked our listeners to tell us all the things that others might call crazy but which totally work for them. From packing the laundry to eating the same lunch every day for five years to toothbrushes in the kitchen, these are the ideas that don't sound so crazy, come to think of it. Following us on Instagram? Join the fun

en

44:50

Fresh Take: Jill Castle, "Kids Thrive at Every Size"

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/23

The task of feeding kids "the right foods" can give parents a lot of anxiety. Jill Castle, author of the new book KIDS THRIVE AT EVERY SIZE, explains how we can set our kids up with healthy eating habits they'll maintain for life.Jill Castle is a pediatric dietitian and childhood nutritionist, founder of The Nourished Child®, and the host of the Nourished Child podcast. In this interview, Jill and Margaret discuss: The 8 Pillars of Wellness: Family Culture, Sleep, Movement, Feeding, Eating, Food,

en

48:36

Randomest Claims to Fame

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/21

What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe asked our listeners for their randomest, most tenuous claims to fame, and as usual, they delivered. Whether it's first place in a two-person pie-eating contest, or dating someone just four degrees removed from the Real Housewives of New Jersey, here are their stories. Join our

en

47:06

DEEP DIVE: Rule Breaker Or Rule Follower: Which Are You?

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/19

This month's Deep Dive series is about flouting parenting rules and advice that don't work for us. Listen to a Spotify playlist of all the episodes in the series here. Are you a rule breaker or a rule follower? Are you married to your opposite? We're both rule followers, and when one builds a life with someone who sees the "NO DOGS IN THE LAKE" sign as an invitation to let the golden retriever go for a swim, one is caught between two bad choices: swallow the horrible anxiety that others might think

en

37:51

BEST OF: Judith Warner on What Grownups Get Wrong...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/16

Judith Warner’s book AND THEN THEY STOPPED TALKING TO ME: MAKING SENSE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL investigates what can be a truly painful period in any adolescent's life. Warner explains that our "personal fable" is deeply affected by our own experiences during that developmental period, even if our memories may rely on flawed or incomplete information.That matters because it can affect how we parent our tweens as they enter the middle school stage themselves. Are parents sometimes inadvertently reinforcing

en

46:53

Helping Kids Face Their Fears

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/14

Every kid is afraid of something. Sometimes their fears make sense; sometimes their extreme anxiety over every ant that crosses their path can seem a little excessive. But our job isn't to make sure our kids never see ants; our job is to help them learn to navigate those feelings on their own.In this episode, Amy and Margaret discuss: Why kids facing their fears is an appropriate part of their emotional development Why just our presence, when they're feeling fear, can be a great support How more

en

50:15

DEEP DIVE: Advice We Totally Hate

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/12

This month's Deep Dive series is about setting aside the parenting rules and advice that just don't work for us. Listen to a Spotify playlist of all the episodes in the series here. As soon as you become a mother, unsolicited advice-givers are everywhere, telling you to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” Or “it gets easier.” Or “enjoy every moment.” Out of all the advice (parenting and otherwise) that we and our listeners have ever received, here is a selection of the very worst. What Fresh Hell Podcast

en

34:55

Fresh Take: Amy Betters-Midtvedt on What No One Tells...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/09

You hear that parenting teens is a wild ride. But as Amy Betters-Midtvedt, author of the new book YOU'LL MAKE IT (AND THEY WILL TOO), says, it can also be baffling:“So much weirdness comes when they go back-and-forth between staying their old selves and becoming their new ones. Conflict will suddenly flow out of nowhere over nothing.” But you'll make it. And they will too. Amy Betters-Midtvedt is a Today Parenting contributing author with more than a million readers and twenty-five years of

en

48:35

Comparing Without Despairing

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/07

It's easy to compare our parenting—often as measured by our kids' achievements—with their peers' achievements. As in, how other parents might be doing it better.This week, we're talking parenting tips for resisting “mompetition”— and how we can use comparison to create healthy perspectives instead of "compare and despair." Amy and Margaret discuss: Why competition is a biological imperative The effects of social media and other societal forces on parenting How to know if we're putting too much

en

45:06

DEEP DIVE: Admitting Things Aren't Perfect

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/05

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into letting things go—arguments, unattainable standards, you name it! You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. It's hard to admit things aren't perfect. It's especially hard for moms. Psychologists Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett described three types of perfectionism in the 1990s: self-directed (I must be a size 2), others-directed (do that piano exercise again until you get it right), and "socially mediated" perfectionism,

en

27:23

Fresh Take: Debra Hendrickson on What We Can Do About...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/08/02

We know climate change affects not only our children's health but their future. So what can we as individuals do?Debra Hendrickson is a board-certified pediatrician practicing in Reno, Nevada, and a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. She is also the author of the author of the new book THE AIR THEY BREATHE: A PEDIATRICIAN ON THE FRONT LINES OF CLIMATE CHANGE. In this interview, Margaret and Debra discuss: How climate change is affecting the health of

en

48:02

Sibling Spacing: Close Together or Far Apart?

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/07/31

What are the best things about having closely spaced siblings? What about farther apart? Siblings' closeness, amount of conflict, and relationships as adults are all affected by the age differences between them.In this episode, the listeners with closely spaced children tell us why that has worked for them (constant playmates) and not (constant bickering), while those with kids with larger age differences point to the unexpected connections that can still result. Here are links to some of the

en

49:58

DEEP DIVE: How To Stop Having The Same Fight

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/07/29

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into letting things go—arguments, unattainable standards, you name it! You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. Having the same fight doesn’t mean your relationship is broken. But it is totally annoying. In this episode we discuss the modes of negativity at play when we repeat the same conflicts- and what we can do to break the cycle, whether it’s our partners or kids. Conflict may be unavoidable- but it can be at least a

en

46:37

Fresh Take: Erin and Stephen Mitchell, "Too Tired To...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/07/26

Do you and your partner find yourselves talking past each other when arguing? Erin and Stephen Mitchell, authors of the new book TOO TIRED TO FIGHT, discuss how parenting can impact relationships (including their own!) and strategies to manage conflict and stay connected. Erin and Stephen Mitchell are the cofounders of Couples Counseling for Parents, a company focused on providing access to research-informed, psychologically sound online education for couples. Amy, Erin, and Stephen discuss: Why

en

44:12

Are We Helping or Are We Helicoptering?

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/07/24

Is "helicopter parenting" actually a definable thing? Or is it just what we call parents who are being annoying? Overparenting is something that it's easy to be judgey about in other people, and a lot harder to identify in ourselves. Parents have to help. It's what we're there for. So how do we manage without micromanaging?In this episode, we discuss: The conditions that trigger parental anxiety (probably the true cause of overattentive parenting) Allowing struggles and disappointments to be part

en

43:51

DEEP DIVE: Let's Stop Caring What People Think

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/07/22

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into letting things go—arguments, unattainable standards, you name it! You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. What if we didn't let other people's judgments change our game plans—as women, as mothers, and as humans? We're wired to pay attention to what other people think. There's a reason those judgments can be painful. Are there ways we can break free and care less? In this episode Amy and Margaret discuss... Why our

en

49:37

Fresh Take: Emily Cherkin on Tech-Intentional Parenting

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2024/07/19

Is screen use a daily battle of wills in your house? Emily Cherkin, author of the new book "THE SCREENTIME SOLUTION: A Judgment-Free Guide to Becoming a Tech-Intentional Family," explains how to model a healthy relationship with tech for our kids.Emily Cherkin, MEd., consults with parents, offers school presentations and professional development training, and brings her tech-intentional approach to as many people as possible. Emily and Margaret discuss: What "tech-intentional" really means and how

en

423 results

Similar Podcasts

Pokémon Stories

BedtimeStoriesKD

Le favole dell"unicorno

Dany&Vero

Backseat Trivia Rumble – Trivia for Kids, Family Quiz & Travel Games

Backseat Trivia Rumble | Family...

Sleep Tight Science - A Bedtime Science Podcast For Kids

Sleep Tight Media | Bedtime Science...

Les P"tits Bateaux

France Inter