Life Kit: Parenting

Trying to get pregnant can feel like being stuck on a stressful hamster wheel. Between monitoring your cycle, dealing with your family's probing questions and navigating medical ups and downs, conception is rarely straightforward and often anxiety-inducing. This episode, reporter Andee Tagle shares tips on dealing with conception anxiety no matter your pregnancy journey.

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If you're a new or soon-to-be parent, free time is at a premium. And sorting through different investment account options is confusing and time-consuming. On this episode, Life Kit reporter Andee Tagle walks you through different savings methods, from the new Trump accounts, to classic 529 plans, to custodial brokerage accounts, and will help you prioritize which method to use. 

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Parenthood is exhausting. When a kid asks for snack for the millionth time while you're running on little sleep and trying to make dinner, it's easy to snap. Licensed marriage and family therapist Cassidy Freitas says the key is to find refuge in what she calls "the margins." In this episode, Freitas shares tools from her book Mom Needs A Moment: How to Stop Your Reaction Before It Starts and Become a Calmer, Happier, More Connected Parent.

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Whether you’re ready to become pregnant today or thinking about the future, there’s a lot to learn about your fertility. In this episode, a reproductive endocrinologist and a reproductive psychiatrist walk through the basic factors that contribute to your ability to get pregnant — and explain the best ways to get your timing right.

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We often talk about the mental load of parenting as something mothers carry. But active, involved dads have questions, too, and not many places to ask them. In this episode, Kevin Maguire, author of The New Fatherhood, and clinical psychologist David Defoe answer listener questions from dads.

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Could you see your life just as easily with children as without? What if you're not cut out for parenthood? What if you grow lonely in your old age? Or what if you have a loving partner, but you disagree on this choice? Deciding between parenthood and a child-free life requires clarity about your fears and deepest desires -- no easy task. This episode, psychotherapist and author of the book, The Baby Decision, Merle Bombardieri, helps us get clear. She discusses minimizing regret, figuring out your ideal timeline and navigating differing opinions with a partner.

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If you have a baby in your life, you may not find them the most intellectually stimulating conversation partner. But your baby is soaking up everything you say. On this episode, advice from early childhood experts on the importance of talking to babies from day 1 to 12 months old, and tips on what to say.

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Did you remember to pick up milk? Or reschedule that dentist appointment? Oh, and pick up cupcakes for the meeting? The never-ending tending to the never-ending to-do list is known as the mental load. Sociologist Leah Ruppanner explains how to tame the mental load in her new book, Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More.

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From brain fog to identity crises to complicated feelings of guilt (or relief), returning to work as a new parent can be daunting. Luckily, you don't need to navigate this transition alone. Life Kit reporter Andee Tagle talks to working parents and experts about how to balance a job, parenting and being a person all at once.

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Using chatbots for emotional support can pose risks to teens' mental health. How should parents talk to their teens about using chatbots safely? And what's the best way to have those conversations without causing conflict? On this episode, NPR's Rhitu Chatterjee speaks to experts about how to support your teen's mental health and talk to them about AI.

Life Kit's episode on helping a child at risk of suicide.
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