We talk a lot about how to manage kids when they are being impossible. But it's supposed to be the terrible twos, not the terrible forty-somethings. What do we do when we're the one in the family who's dysregulated?

In this episode, we discuss:

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

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mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, self-help for moms, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, parental stress, kids stress, emotional dysregulation in parents, parenting under stress, overwhelmed mom, reactive parenting, mom anger, yelling at kids, parental burnout, depleted mother syndrome, parenting anxiety, co-regulation, emotional regulation skills, parenting triggers, rumination and resentment, family emotional climate, repairing after yelling, parenting stress management, mom mental health, default parent stress, generational patterns parenting, managing big emotions as a parent

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Based on a recent listener question about how to start to let go as our kids get older, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes on the topic.

As moms, we're often given tons of societal pressure on how we have to give our kids all the right things—then told to "chill out" when it comes to the worrying part. ⁠Gabrielle Blair⁠, author of ⁠THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT⁠, is here to tell us that adulthood doesn't look like it used to, and that there are many paths to the success and happiness that all our kids deserve.

Gabrielle Blair is the the founder of ⁠DesignMom.com⁠ and the author of the New York Times blockbuster bestseller Ejaculate Responsibly.

Gabrielle, Amy, and Margaret discuss:

Here's where you can find Gabrielle:

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, parental stress, kids stress, Gabrielle Blair, The Kids Are All Right, DesignMom, modern parenting, parenting pressure, success myths, raising kids, redefining success, motherhood expectations, family culture, home life, parenting mindset, letting go of fear, alternative paths to adulthood, parenting teens, parenting young adults, emotional resilience, family connection, values-based parenting, creative home, simple living, conscious parenting, parent burnout, mental health for parents

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How do we get kids to *want* to put their phones down? This week we're talking to bestselling author Catherine Price about her latest book, The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World, co-written with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt.

Instead of focusing on parental controls and screen-time battles, The Amazing Generation speaks directly to kids, inviting them to question the promises of Big Tech and reclaim real friendship, real freedom, and real fun.

We discuss:

Here's where you can find Catherine and her work:

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

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:

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What Fresh Hell podcast, 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, The Amazing Generation book, Catherine Price interview, Jonathan Haidt Anxious Generation, screen time for kids, social media and teens, tech addiction in children, smartphone brain development, how to break up with your phone, defend mode discover mode, empowering kids about technology, youth rebellion against big tech, parenting in a digital world, AI and teenagers, family screen time solutions, helping kids quit social media, real life vs social media, attention economy and kids, middle school smartphone advice, raising kids without smartphones, tech literacy for families

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Do siblings really need to get along as children to have healthy relationships as adults? We challenge one of parenting’s most deeply held assumptions: that sibling closeness is the ultimate goal.

We explain why sibling rivalry is developmentally normal and how fighting can actually be a sign of connection—not failure. Finally, we talk about what parents can influence—and what they can’t—when it comes to sibling bonds.

If your worried because your kids currently fight nonstop—or currently barely speak—this episode will help you reframe what’s normal, what’s healthy, and what truly matters in the long run.

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

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What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

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/

What Fresh Hell podcast, 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, sibling relationships, sibling rivalry, do siblings need to get along, sibling conflict, parenting siblings, raising siblings, siblings fighting, sibling bond, how to handle sibling rivalry, is sibling fighting normal, why siblings fight, how to help siblings get along, parenting tips for sibling conflict, sibling dynamics psychology, sibling relationship in adulthood, how siblings shape identity, family conflict parenting, should siblings be close, is it bad if siblings don’t get along, how to stop sibling fighting, what is normal sibling rivalry, kids arguing all the time, brothers and sisters fighting, parenting guilt siblings

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Based on a recent listener question about how to start to let go as our kids get older, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes on the topic.

Are teenagers destined to be "over" everything? ⁠Jenny Anderson⁠ and ⁠Rebecca Winthrop⁠, authors of ⁠THE DISENGAGED TEEN⁠, explain what's behind what they call the "teen disengagement crisis" and how parents can act.

Jenny Anderson is an award-winning journalist, author, and speaker with more than 25 years of experience. Rebecca Winthrop is the director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Jenny, Rebecca, and Margaret discuss:

Here's where you can find Jenny and Rebecca:

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/⁠⁠

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson.

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, parental stress, kids stress, decluttering, meal prepping, time management, teen disengagement, disengaged teen, high school boredom, Jenny Anderson, Rebecca Winthrop, The Disengaged Teen, teen motivation, student engagement, education psychology, parenting teens, academic burnout, learning styles, four modes of learning, school stress, teen mental health, re-engaging teens, motivation in teens, parenting strategies, education reform, adolescent development, emotional learning, growth mindset, student success, learning motivation

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Amy and Margaret talk with Dr. Allison Alford, communication scholar and author of the new book Good Daughtering: The Work You’ve Always Done, the Credit You’ve Never Gotten, and How to Finally Feel Like Enough.

Dr. Alford explains the concept of daughtering—the emotional, logistical, and mental labor adult daughters perform to assist their parents and to hold families together. Drawing on more than a decade of qualitative research, she explains how this work is often unrecognized and uncounted.

We discuss kin-keeping, invisible labor, and the pressures women face to be “good daughters.” Dr. Alford explains how cultural expectations, gender norms, and family systems reinforce this burden—and why naming it is the first step toward change. You are already doing more than you think—and you deserve credit for it.

Here's where you can find Allison:

Read Sensemaking in Organizations: Reflections on Karl Weick and Social Theory

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

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/

What Fresh Hell podcast, 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, daughtering, invisible labor, emotional labor, kin keeping, adult daughters, family roles, mental load, caregiving expectations, good daughter, women’s identity, boundaries, communication in families, motherhood podcast, Fresh Hell podcast, Allison Alford, Good Daughtering book

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Why are some kids shy? Is there harm in giving a kid's personality that label? In this episode, we explore the differences between shyness, introversion, and behavioral inhibition, and why fear—not preference—is often at the heart of shy behavior.

We also discuss when shyness becomes a concern, and when it’s time to seek extra support.

Finally, we share practical strategies for helping shy or slow-to-warm-up kids feel safe without forcing them to change.

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

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson.

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, shy children, why are some kids shy, behavioral inhibition, child temperament, introversion vs shyness, social anxiety in kids, slow to warm up child, parenting shy kids, anxious children, child social anxiety, labels and kids, supporting shy kids, child development psychology, fear-based behavior, parenting podcast shyness

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Based on a recent listener question about how to start to let go as our kids get older, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes on the topic.

Julie Lythcott-Haims is the author of the parenting bestseller How to Raise an Adult, which opened the minds of loving but hovering parents everywhere. In this episode, we discuss her follow up book ⁠Your Turn: How To Be An Adult⁠, which Julie calls "a compassionate beckoning into the freedoms and responsibilities of adulthood."

Adulting is a mindset. That might explain why many of us whose drivers' licenses indicate grown-up status still don't feel ready to be in charge of anything– including the children with whom we have somehow been entrusted. But trying and failing doesn't mean you're not ready to be an adult. Failing and trying again, Lythcott-Haims argues, is what makes us adults in the first place.

This episode is full of advice on how to move the parent/child paradigm (gradually) from vertical to horizontal– and on why becoming an adult is actually a path to joy. As Julie explains in this episode:

"Whether we're 8 or we're 18, or 28 or 38 or 48, we are yearning to make our way down a path that is ours to lay. We want to be loved and cared about along the way, but we do not want someone else to lead our lives for us."

Find out more at ⁠julielythcotthaims.com,⁠ on social media ⁠@jlythcotthaims⁠, and find YOUR TURN in our Bookshop store: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781250137777.

This episode originally aired on April 16, 2021.

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

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/

What Fresh Hell podcast, 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, Julie Lythcott-Haims, How to Raise an Adult, Your Turn book, adulting mindset, becoming an adult, parenting young adults, overparenting, helicopter parenting, raising independent kids, transitioning to adulthood, parent child relationship, letting go as a parent, autonomy in adulthood, failure and growth, resilience skills, emotional independence, purpose and meaning, identity development, joy in adulthood, modern parenting, parenting teens, parenting adult children, life skills for young adults, boundaries with adult kids, self-directed life, compassionate parenting, personal growth podcast, psychology of adulthood, human development, mental health and growth

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Margaret and Amy talk with safety expert and digital creator Dannah Eve, author of the new book STREET SMARTS, about the steps women can take to be safer in our daily lives—and how to teach age-appropriate techniques to our children.

Drawing on her background in criminology and her experience as a parent, Dannah shares practical strategies for trusting your instincts, recognizing red flags, and navigating both physical and digital spaces with confidence. The conversation explores why women are often taught to suppress their intuition, the science behind fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses, and how rehearsing “what if” scenarios can help families respond more effectively in real-life situations.

Margaret, Amy, and Dannah also discuss how to talk to kids about tricky people without resorting to outdated “stranger danger” messaging, and how open communication is a powerful tool for parents to have.

This episode is an empowering guide to raising confident kids and helping women feel safer, more aware, and more in control in today’s world.

Here's where you can find Dannah:

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

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/

What Fresh Hell podcast, 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, women’s safety, street smarts, dannah eve, parenting and safety, digital safety for kids, online grooming, sextortion, trusting your instincts, fight flight freeze fawn, intuition and safety, raising confident kids, parenting in the digital age, scams and fraud awareness, family safety tips, empowering women, tricky people vs stranger danger, situational awareness, personal safety strategies, safety education for families

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It's time to confront one of life’s most uncomfortable truths: how our moms were often right—especially when we were convinced they were totally wrong.

From dead-end relationships to to coat-free winters, Amy and Margaret reflect on the advice they might have once ignored, but now repeat to their own kids.

We also discuss our listeners' own versions of mom wisdom: trusting your intuition about friends and partners, wearing sunscreen, following up on job applications, buying fewer but better things, making lists, and remembering to eat, walk, or take a bath when emotions run high.

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

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

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/

What Fresh Hell podcast, 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, parenting podcast, mother daughter relationships, parenting teenagers, mom advice, generational wisdom, teenage rebellion, parenting humor, midlife parenting, letting kids fail, choosing battles, emotional regulation, What Fresh Hell podcast, modern motherhood

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