Episodes

  • How Parenting Advice Has Changed Over the Last 125 Years

    How Parenting Advice Has Changed Over the Last 125 Years
    May 21 2025
    Is parenting today genuinely more difficult—or are we just overthinking it? Amy and Margaret explore the evolution of parenting over the last 125 years, tracing shifts from the rigid, hierarchical households of the early 1900s to today’s emotionally intense, overanalyzed parenting culture. These trends beg the question: What’s the real cost of trying to "optimize” every moment of our children's lives? In this episode: How parenting norms have changed since 1894 The impact of attachment theory and the rise of “gentle parenting” The shift from communal to isolated parenting and why it matters Why parents today feel so much more pressure to “get it right” How technology and information overload affect modern family dynamics What we might be missing by focusing too much on doing everything perfectly Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: JM Finn: Changing Attitudes in Parenting Over the Last 150 years Conscious Mommy: Parenting Styles and their Evolution: Old, New, Recent Studies and Recommendations Claire Cain Miller for the NYT: How Parenting Today Is Different, and Harder Elizabeth Tenety for Motherly: Why parenting in 2025 feels much harder than it did in the ‘90s—this mom’s take hits home Our Fresh Take with Nancy Reddy, author of THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH 📺 Watch on YouTube: Search "What Fresh Hell Podcast" on YouTube and subscribe 🔗 Connect with Us: Join the conversation in our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/whatfreshhellcast Follow us on Instagram: @whatfreshhellcast 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, history of parenting, parenting history Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    43 mins
  • DEEP DIVE: Decision Fatigue—And Why It's Especially Bad For Moms

    DEEP DIVE: Decision Fatigue—And Why It's Especially Bad For Moms
    May 19 2025
    This Deep Dive series is all about why motherhood is so gosh darn hard. Turns out there are sociopolitical forces at play that make motherhood way harder than it needs to be. Listen to the full playlist on Spotify. The average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day. The average "default parent" makes a lot more than that. No wonder we suffer from decision fatigue. The more decisions we have to make, the more fatigue we develop, and the more difficult it can become to function. So how can we combat the frustration, apathy, and resentment that result from having to make all the decisions in the family? In this episode we discuss: -How decision fatigue manifests—and how it differs from burnout -The best time of day to make hard decisions -Why "going with the flow" is not actually a thing Sign up for What Fresh Hell Plus on Supporting Cast to get all episodes ad-free, plus monthly bonus episodes. Supporting Cast works right where you already listen! Go to whatfreshhell.supportingcast.fm to subscribe in two taps for just $4.99 a month, or $39.99 a year. Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: -Sara Berg for the American Medical Association: "What doctors wish patients knew about decision fatigue" -Michelle Adelman for HowStuffWorks: "When's the Best Time of Day to Make a Decision?" -Lauren Barth for The Bump: "Why the Decision-Fatigue Struggle Is (Still) Real for Parents" -Frank Graff for PBS North Carolina: "How Many Decisions Do We Make In One Day?" -Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco for The Washington Post: "For parents, everything feels like a high-stakes decision now. Here’s how to lower the anxiety." -Ashley Stahl for Forbes: "How Burnout Affects Your Decision-Making Process—And How To Fix It" -Eva M. Krockow for Psychology Today: "How Many Decisions Do We Make Each Day?" 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, household equity, household equality, gender household equality, gender household equity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    50 mins
  • Fresh Take: Anna Fader and Amelia Eigerman

    Fresh Take: Anna Fader and Amelia Eigerman
    May 16 2025
    How can we get buy-in from our kids when we go on vacation, whether it's a half-hour down the road or the other side of the world? Anna Fader and Amelia Eigerman, the mother-daughter team behind the MOMMY POPPINS TRAVEL JOURNAL AND ACTIVITY BOOK, have devised practical tips for really including our kids on family adventures. Anna Fader and Amelia Eigerman are a mother-daughter team. Mommy Poppins is recognized as a leading authority on family activities and travel, cited in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Forbes, among others. Anna, Amelia, and Margaret discuss: Why this travel journal is appropriate for every kind of vacation The two different perspectives they bring to the book The important skills kids can learn while traveling Here's where you can find Anna and Amelia: www.mommypoppins.com @mommypoppins on IG, FB, TikTok, and Youtube Buy the MOMMY POPPINS TRAVEL JOURNAL AND ACTIVITY BOOK: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781964487014 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, summer travel, summer vacation, vacation with kids, travel with kids, kid-friendly vacation, kid-friendly travel, tips for vacation with kids, tips for traveling with kids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
  • Moms and Anxiety

    Moms and Anxiety
    May 14 2025
    Moms are usually low-level anxious about their kids at all times. But it's exhausting. How much of this anxiety we feel is normal and how much of it may require medical intervention? Here's how moms specifically feel anxiety and some tips for making it a little less intense. Amy and Margaret discuss: Anxiety symptoms that can be specific to moms How clinical anxiety is different from everyday anxiety necessary for human survival How to actively work against your anxiety as a mother Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: Jennifer Kelly Geddes for What to Expect: 6 Types of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Calm.com: Yes, motherhood anxiety is totally normal. Here's how to cope Cleveland Clinic: Anxiety Disorders Marika Lindholm, PhD, for Psychology Today: 10 Anxiety Busters for Moms 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, household equity, household equality, gender household equality, gender household equity, anxiety Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    48 mins
  • DEEP DIVE: Making the "Invisible Workload" Visible

    DEEP DIVE: Making the "Invisible Workload" Visible
    May 12 2025
    This Deep Dive series is all about why motherhood is so gosh darn hard. Turns out there are sociopolitical forces at play that make motherhood way harder than it needs to be. Listen to the full playlist on Spotify. What should we do when all the work we do to run our family's lives is done so successfully that they not only don't acknowledge it—they don't even understand it? How do we help our partners understand that saying "I left the doctor a message, but they didn't call back" does not really count as a completed task? It's all about what's called the "invisible workload." In this episode Amy and Margaret discuss: Whether "cognitive labor" (Allison Daminger) or "emotional labor" (Rose Hackman) might be even better terms for what we're talking about Pushing back on "weaponized incompetence" The difference between taking on tasks and taking on outcomes The importance of giving voice to invisible labor in front of kids Here are links to some interviews/books we mentioned in the episode: Our interview with Eve Rodsky Mac Daniel for Harvard Radcliffe Institute: "The Unseen Inequity of Cognitive Labor" FAIR PLAY by Eve Rodsky: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780525541943 EMOTIONAL LABOR by Rose Hackman: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781250777355 THIS AMERICAN EX-WIFE by Lyz Lenz: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780593241127 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, cognitive labor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    43 mins
  • Fresh Take: Susan Dominus

    Fresh Take: Susan Dominus
    May 9 2025
    What do high-achieving families have in common, and what are some good lessons from them we can replicate in our own parenting? Susan Dominus, author of the new book THE FAMILY DYNAMIC, discusses the forces at play in families with multiple successful members and how we can encourage our kids to succeed in the ways that make sense for them. Susan Dominus is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. In 2018, Susan was part of a team reporting on workplace sexual harassment that won a Pulitzer Prize for public service. Susan, Amy, and Margaret discuss: How socioeconomic status informs family dynamics The role that parent expectations play in child development Why relationships outside the family are important for kids Here's where you can find Susan: @suedominus on IG @susandominus.bsky.social on Bluesky Buy FAMILY DYNAMIC: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780593137901 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, siblings, brothers, sisters, sibling relationship, kids age gap, sibling age gap , family dynamic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
  • BEST OF: What Fresh Hell Is Mother's Day?

    BEST OF: What Fresh Hell Is Mother's Day?
    May 5 2025
    Is one morning of runny eggs and burnt toast really fair payback for 364 days of work? Does "Mother's Day" have to mean packing the kids for a two-hour drive to see your mom and/or mother-in-law? Why does Mother's Day often feel like it's more trouble than it's worth? Margaret and Amy discuss: Anna Jarvis and the rather tragic origins of Mother's Day "Minor Mother's Day" vs "Major Mother's Day," and how to deliver that message How to ask for—and get—the Mother's Day that feels right for you Margaret mentions "The Lanyard" by Billy Collins in this episode. 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/ Mother's Day, making mom feel special 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, toddler, baby, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, mothers day, mother's day gift ideas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    45 mins
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup