Very Good Enough

To kick off Season 4, we have a special guest: Jessica's very own husband, Shaun Hover. We get into why Shaun thinks he was made to be a dad, how he and Jess have taken turns supporting each other's dreams, and why he's convinced there is no greater gift he can give his children than his time. Shaun is a professional skateboarder and stay-at-home-dad (listen to find out why he hates that term). He shares his thoughts on teaching kids how to take risks, how to not care what other people think, when it's ok to break the rules, and how to get back up when you fall--all part of what he calls "the skater spirit." Stick around to the end to hear Shaun speak about why it's so powerful to get to be with his kids every day and the message of encouragement he has for moms (seriously, don't miss this - we both cried).

Featuring a special cameo from 3-year-old Jules who we'd like to wish a very happy birthday and congratulations on her podcast debut.

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

Jess and Layne reflect on the conversations we've had this season. We reveal our favorite episodes (which is ok because it's not the same as having a favorite child), share which guests influenced us the most and discuss why it's important to hear from people who are experts in their field and have our own worldviews challenged. We trade compliments, send a message to vegetarians, and, as always, invite you all to become part of our community. It means so much to us that you listen and we think you're doing a great job.

We'd LOVE your feedback on what you want from the next season. Use the links below to us a DM or an email!

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

We love nitty gritty topics like toddler tantrums, personal boundaries and preschool drop offs. But for the Season 3 Finale, we want to zoom out to the big picture, end goal of raising kids.

A million different parenting styles, education philosophies, and personal values inform our daily lives with kids, but they're all getting at the same thing: someday this child will be in charge of their own life, how do we prepare them for that?

We have our own takes on this but we'd love to hear yours! Tell us in the comments: what do you think is the goal of parenting?

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

Today's question comes from the VGMC community:

Whenever my husband and I are trying to have a conversation my 3 year old daughter ALWAYS tries to continue talking and talk over us. We obviously try to save important conversations for after she's in bed, but it's gotten to the point where he cannot even try to have a short conversation without her starting to talk louder and interrupt what he is trying to tell me.

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

This episode is a curated collection of the best toddler parenting advice we've given on the podcast so far. We cover topics like:

-Why is my toddler constantly testing me?

-Does my toddler understand discipline?

-Why toddlers are actually the best

-How to empower your strong-willed child

-What to do if your toddler is aggressive with the new baby

-How to manage tantrums

...and lots more. Come for the funny stories and practical advice, stay for the tears and encouragement at the end.

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

Apropos of nothing, we recorded a spontaneous conversation about our experiences with and thoughts on various kinds of contraception. We talk about IUDs, the pill, condoms, the pullout method, vasectomies and even a little bit of religious abstinence. It's by far our funniest episode yet and dare we say, sexiest? We really, really want you to hear it BUT we also really, really don't want our parents to hear it. So we've dropped you a little teaser and you can find the full episode at the link below:

https://verygoodmothersclubhouse.com/posts/41965752

If you're not already a member of Very Good Mothers Club, this is great opportunity to get in there, use your free trial week to hear this episode and join us for a live call on the fourth Tuesday of the month!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

This week's listener question:

"How to help my husband with this tone while parenting our two-year-old. They butt heads a lot lately."

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

If you have a question for the podcast, send either of us a DM or email [email protected]!

This week Lily Hagen joins to talk about the beauty and challenges of raising multicultural kids. She shares why it's important to equally value both cultures in her home (Colombian and American) and how she has learned to respect that her kids' experience of their culture will be different from her own. She gives us tons of advice about how to teach your child a new language in a context that is fun and interesting to them and what to do when you encounter resistance to learning. We dive into what children gain from early exposure to different cultures and just how much becoming multilingual can benefit their lives.

Bio:

Lily Hagen is the CEO and Founder of Lingo Plaza, a company that empowers families to raise bilingual and bicultural children through community and educational resources — including live Spanish lessons with tutors from Latin America.

Lily experienced firsthand the struggles that parents and children face with foreign-language and cultural education. When she realized there was no appropriate tool or platform to address these pain points, she teamed up with technology experts and parents from multiple cultural backgrounds to create Lingo Plaza. 

More from Lily:

Website - https://lingoplaza.com

Free Lesson - https://airtable.com/shrAZcg9g75eKJe5I

IG - @lingoplazaofficial

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

This week's listener question:

"Struggling to figure out how many babies to have (financially limited?) and when to try for another? Advice?"

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

If you have a question for the podcast, send either of us a DM or email [email protected]!

Communications expert Dr. Nafeesah Allen is here to help us through a tricky topic: how do we stay connected with the people we love when our beliefs are different? She talks about how to communicate loving boundaries with grandparents and in-laws, how to navigate different faiths within your marriage and how focusing on shared values can keep you on the same team. Jess and Nafeesah connect over their experiences of living abroad and share thoughts about the differences between motherhood in the U.S. and other countries.

Ways to connect with Nafeesah:

Website: https://www.nafeesahallen.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnafeesahallen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblaxpat/

Bilingual Children's Books: https://thirdculturekiddos.com/books/

Join ⁠Very Good Mothers Club⁠ to be a part of our community and join our live monthly calls (4th Tuesday of every month)!

Find Jess at ⁠Jessica Hover⁠ on Youtube and ⁠@jess_hover ⁠on Instagram

Find Layne ⁠@enquiryco⁠ on Instagram

Bio:

Dr. Nafeesah Allen is a multi-passionate and multilingual communications professional who wears many hats. She is a migration scholar, children's books author, and multicultural communications expert, who transformed her trauma from pregnancy discrimination into a new relationship with parenting, wealth, and serial entrepreneurship.

In just two years, she scaled her freelance writing hobby to a 6-figure editorial content and strategy company, complete with several successful blogs (Third Culture Kiddos, Preggy Finance, and Black History Bookshelf) and an exciting roster of ghostwriting clients.