Hands Off Parents

In this week's episode, Steph and Abby get (sorta) serious about guns - in the grocery store, in the classroom and on college campuses. Is there really more danger now than there was when we roamed free as kids or does online hysteria perpetuate anxiety? How far we should go to protect our kids from things like razor blades in delicious Halloween candy? What are the true facts behind mass shootings and gun violence? We actually search for real statistics. We find very little. We will likely never try that again. On a more serious note, please go to iTunes and rate our show! But only if you like it.

Today, on the show, we discuss the ever so popular dinner party topic: RELIGION. Steph’s family is dipping their toes in Judaism, while Abby wonders if her family is blowing it by raising her kids atheist. A ton of questions come up this week. Can you set your own family rituals or do you need the umbrella of religion? Can you join a religion with your family in adulthood if you weren't raised that way? What's the point of religion in child rearing anyway? Tradition? Community? Morality? Can TV be a religion? What TV shows teach morality to kids? Are we being offensive? We don’t mean to be. We really do accept whatever it is that you believe (or don’t believe.) Bottom line, we want our kids to be good people. So, is religion a necessary means to that end?

In this week's episode Steph and Abby's husband's join the podcast to explore some of marriage and parenting's deepest, darkest questions: How do you rediscover your marriage post kids? Can you blame your children for making you just want to watch TV at night instead of having deep, philosophical conversations? Are married couples still happy and should they love their spouses more than their children? Or is it just a different type of love? What do dads worry about? Do dads have feelings even? Finally, Steph, Abby, Mike and Rob get to the heart of marriage, which just might be: Now that we have kids, do we love our spouses only 80% of the time? And if so, is that OK?

In this week’s episode, we talk to YA author, Jennifer Mathieu, about her family's conscious decision to only have one child. Stephanie is on the fence, so Jennifer debunks many popular one-child myths and we pro/con the one-child choice. We also talk candidly about the dark days of early motherhood and the transition back to yourself. Jennifer explains how motherhood actually made her more productive and gives us tips on how to be a super human who is able to write four novels, hold down a full-time job, and raise a bad-ass 5 year old at the same time. We love her. Enjoy!

P.S. If you guys love us, please follow us on Twitter. We have 14 followers. It’s pathetic.

In today’s episode, we candidly discuss all things infertility related (shame, sadness, self-loathing, desperation, price tag, twins, causes, etc.), suddenly becoming “geriatric” and “high risk" at age 35, and the fear of having another baby after having a difficult time the first go round.

On this week’s episode, Steph and Abby are blessed to have pro-parent Ty Mahany on the show to discuss gender norms, giving kids choices (and beer), nature vs. nurture, and the inevitability of becoming our parents. Warning: our kids are particularly loud and annoying this week. If you take a shot every time you hear a toddler scream “NO” in the background, you will be druuuunk. Also, guys, go to iTunes and review us if you like the show. If you don’t, um, don’t.

In this episode, we discuss SO MANY THINGS including the pros and cons of sending your kid to school sick (1:00), daycare correspondence (5:45), the endless sick loop (7:30), wanting to quit life (13:00) how to parent through grief/sadness/depression/etc. (15:00) and freezing your kids poop (25:00).

In this week's episode, Steph and Abby discuss sharing (:40), tantrums (7:48), pediatricians (16:30), and the ethics of talking s**t about our kids in public (17:45).

New theme song courtesy of Kevin Schneider (twitter.com/kmschneid), who composed it at a stoplight. Talent!

In our inaugural episode, we talk about parenting styles (1:50), television consumption (9:00), the drama of dinner (13:00), and crafts (27:50).