Once we become parents, there is a great divide— of perspectives, bedtimes, and tolerance of twee photo shoots— between us and our friends without kids. Even the closest of those relationships can suffer as a result. Whose fault that is probably depends on who you’re asking.
 In this episode we talk about
 
 how to stay connected with our friends without kids
 how to reconnect if we’ve drifted apart
 the ways in which our friends with kids do not get it
 the ways in which friends without kids do not enjoy being told they don’t get it
 
 Then Margaret talks it out with one of her friends without kids, Candace Feit– documentary photographer, multiple-dog-owner, world traveler, leisurely bruncher. Candy explains once and for all when our friends without kids want to be invited to our kids’ birthday parties and piano recitals, and when they most certainly do not.
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Friends Without Kids

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 and Margaret, 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 laughs, but also practical advice, parenting strategies, and tips to empower you in your role as a mom. We explore self-help techniques, as well as ways to prioritize your own needs, combat stress, and despite the invisible workload we all deal with, find joy amidst the chaos of motherhood.
If you've ever wondered "why is my kid..." then one of us has probably been there, and we're here to tell you what we've learned along the way.
We unpack the behaviors and developmental stages of toddlers, tweens, and teenagers, providing insights into their actions and equipping you with effective parenting strategies.
We offer our best parenting tips and skills we've learned. We debate the techniques and studies that are everywhere for parents these days, and get to the bottom of what works best to raise happy, healthy, fairly well-behaved kids, while fostering a positive parent-child relationship.
If you're the default parent in your household, whether you're a busy mom juggling multiple pickups and dropoffs, or a first-time parent seeking guidance, this podcast is your trusted resource. Join our community of supportive mom friends laughing in the face of motherhood!  
whatfreshhellpodcast.com

Comedy

Kids & Family

Parenting

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into the division of household labor—why it's often unbalanced, and what we can do about it. You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. 
Want to see a mother get mad? Tell her she's "nagging" you after she's been obligated to repeat an entirely reasonable request several times over. And just why is "nagging" a word that's almost exclusively applied to women?
We need the other members of our households to show up and do their share. As the default parents, we own the lists. So do we stop caring whether others like how we ask and remind? Do we enforce a back-to-one where we're not forced to ask repeatedly in the first place?
In this episode Amy and Margaret discuss:

The sexism and etymology of the word "nag"

What Amy says are the three types of "nagging," and why we should separate them out

What to say when our repeated asking is framed as annoying to other people (guess to whom it's also annoying, too?)


Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Jessica Zhang on LinkedIn: "What's In a Nag?"


Episode from If Books Could Kill podcast: "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus"


McClelland, T., & Sliwa, P: "Gendered affordance perception and unequal domestic labour."


Our episode with Lynyetta Willis on "Stable Misery"


Our episode with Eve Rodsky on "Changing the Invisible Workload"


Anne Helen Petersen's newsletter Culture Study



We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/
mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent,
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DEEP DIVE: It's Not "Nagging"

Is it even possible to declutter your home for more than one minute at a time when you've got kids? Diane Boden, host of the Minimalist Moms podcast, offers parenting tips for cutting down on possessions in a manageable way.
Diane Boden is the host of the Minimalist Moms Podcast and author of Minimalist Moms: Living and Parenting with Simplicity. She lives in Ohio with her husband and three kids.
Diane, Margaret, and Amy discuss:

What minimalism can mean for different people

Simple steps for starting the decluttering process—and some more radical strategies too

How to reconcile different set points for clutter between parenting partners

How to deal with family members who love giving gifts


Here's where you can find Diane: 

minimalistmomspodcast.com

@minimalistmomspodcast on all socials

Buy MINIMALIST MOMS: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781642505092


Listen to the Minimalist Moms podcast


We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/
mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, minimalism, decluttering
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Fresh Take: Diane Boden, "Minimalist Moms"

How do we help our kids succeed in school without becoming the dreaded "snowplow" parents? Here are some parenting tips for advocating for your child at school when necessary, while also empowering our kids to navigate their own learning.
Amy and Margaret discuss:

How school environments have changed in the last few decades

Best practices for helping kids of different ages manage homework

How to start a productive conversation with your child's educators about concerns you may have


Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: 

 Jenny Anderson for TIME Magazine: "Many American Parents Have No Idea How Their Kids Are Doing in School"


Carrie Bauer, et. al, for Slate: Help Me Help My Kid


Libby Stanford for Education Week: "Does Parent Involvement Really Help Students? Here’s What the Research Says"


U.S. Department of Education: "Raise the Bar: Resources for Parents and Families"


Cara Goodwin for KQED's Mind/Shift: "How important is homework, and how much should parents help?"



See our interview with Jennifer Breheny Wallace - author of Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic — and What We Can Do About It



We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/
mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, academic achievement, school achievement, homework 
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How Involved Should We Be with Our Kids' Schools?

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into the division of household labor—why it's often unbalanced, and what we can do about it. You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. 
Matthew Fray is a relationship coach who leans on the lessons of his failed marriage to help others avoid making the same mistakes that he did. He's a 43-year-old single father who is best known for his viral blog post "She Divorced Me Because I Left Dishes by the Sink." Fray is the author of the new book "This is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships." Matthew gives us wonderful, poignant insights into how to validate our partners, find out their true needs, and re-establish trust when we've lost it.
In this episode, Matthew, Margaret, and Amy discuss:

Why we may not realize we're betraying our partner's trust

Matthew's hierarchy of needs in relationships

Why couples always have the same fight


Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Matthew's recent article in The Atlantic

Our episode with Eve Rodsky on changing the invisible workload


Here's where you can find Matthew:

matthewfray.com

Buy Matthew's book: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780063072251


FB: @matthewfrayMBTTTR

IG: @frayrelationships

Twitter: @MBTTTR


We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/
mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, emotional labor, marriage, partnerships, divorce
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DEEP DIVE: Matthew Fray on Strengthening Our Relationships

If setbacks are so common, especially in the trenches of motherhood, how can we learn useful lessons from them? Amy Shoenthal, author of the new book THE SETBACK CYCLE, offers a framework for navigating setbacks and becoming stronger because of them.
Amy Shoenthal is a journalist, marketing consultant and a contributor to Forbes Women and Harvard Business Review.
Shoenthal and Margaret discuss:

Why our brains learn more from setbacks than successes and why people who have setbacks are better at problem solving

Shoenthal's four-phase framework for navigating setbacks

The "motherhood penalty" that women in the workforce experience


Here's where you can find Amy Shoenthal: 

www.thesetbackcycle.com

@amysho on Instagram and Twitter

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshoenthal/

Buy THE SETBACK CYCLE: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9798888451687



We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/
mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, setback, resilience 
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Friends Without Kids

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