
What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms
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 Wilson and Margaret Ables, 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
Latest episodes

Sep 30, 2024 • 44min
DEEP DIVE: Yep, That Was So Me
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourThis Deep Dive series is titled "Things We've Learned After Doing This Motherhood Thing for a While." Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify.What's your "wow, that was so me” story? What is something you did as a kid that exemplifies exactly who you are now?Amy was taking charge at grownup parties as a six-year-old.Margaret was getting her comedy censored in grade school.Neither of these things, in retrospect, seem 1% surprising.In this episode, we discuss some of our listeners' hilarious recollections of their younger selves, plus a few stories of our own– and a few more about our kids, who have also displayed their personalities early and often.Whether you were a Halloween-candy-counter or a neighborhood Encyclopedia Brown, you'll probably recognize your younger self 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/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, nostalgia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 27, 2024 • 39min
Fresh Take: Dan Wuori on "The Daycare Myth"
American public policy rests on the premise that childcare is distinct from education. Dr. Dan Wuori, author of the new book THE DAYCARE MYTH, explains how and why we should rethink the education of very young children.Dr. Dan Wuori is an early childhood educator and policy consultant, known across the globe for his social media feeds @danwuori, which pair daily lessons in child development with adorable video examples.In this interview, Amy and Dr. Wuori discuss the importance of early childhood education and the misconceptions surrounding daycare. Dan emphasizes that every moment is a teachable moment for children and that their early development is crucial. He also highlights the need for stable and nurturing relationships with highly engaged adults in early childhood settings.The conversation explores the impact of quality early childhood education on long-term outcomes and the economic benefits of investing in young children. Dan provides actionable takeaways for parents and policymakers, including visiting and observing early childhood environments, advocating for better compensation and support for early childhood professionals, and redefining terminology and policies to reflect the importance of early childhood education.Here's where you can find Dr. Wuori:
danwuori.com
@danwuori on X and Threads
Dr. Dan Wuori on FB
Buy THE DAYCARE MYTH: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780807786482
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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/early education, child behavior, daycare, childcare, kids care, kids education, school, education policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 25, 2024 • 50min
8 Ways to Make Better Decisions
There is no magic formula to making the perfect decision every time, but there are philosophical principles, or "razors," you can use to pare down your options and see your problem more clearly. These razors can cut through the clutter of complexity and help us see the forest for the trees. And while they weren't designed with parents in mind, they can come in pretty handy!Starting with the most famous, Occam’s Razor, we discuss how paring away unlikely hypotheticals leads to the most accurate solutions.Next, we delve into Hanlon’s Razor, which reminds us to avoid attributing malicious intent when there’s a simpler explanation. This principle can help us avoid unnecessary conflict and foster understanding, especially in relationships.Then we discuss Hitchens’ Razor, which places the burden of proof on the person making the claim. This can be a valuable tool for evaluating arguments and avoiding baseless assertions.We also explore Chesterton’s Fence, which encourages us to be cautious about changing things without understanding their original purpose.But that's not all. Listen to the episode to hear the rest, and let us know your own rules for clearer thinking!Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Itamar Shatz for Effectiviology: "Hanlon’s Razor: Never Attribute to Malice That Which is Adequately Explained by Stupidity"
Farnam Street blog: Chesterton’s Fence: A Lesson in Thinking
Reallemon for Medium: Hitchens’s Razor and its Place in Debate
Kendra Cherry for Verywell Mind: How the Hawthorne Effect Works
Our episode on decision fatigue
Go to our Facebook group and tell us what rules and razors you live by!https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatfreshhellcastWhat Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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, decision-making, decision fatigue, productivity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 23, 2024 • 48min
DEEP DIVE: I've Figured Something Out...
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourThis Deep Dive series is titled "Things We've Learned After Doing This Motherhood Thing for a While." Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify.Have you ever figured out a thing and thought everyone must know about this? In this episode we discuss the things that we (and our listeners) have figured out about
how to pack
freezer organization
deciding once (this idea is from the Lazy Genius, and this Instagram thread is full of lazy genius)
making yourself want to clean a messy room
recognizing your best day
deciding where things belong
unloading a dishwasher
always knowing what’s for dinner
finishing what you start
snack stashes
making lists
and how to discern between good ideas for somebody, and good ideas for you
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, life-changing tips, life hacks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 20, 2024 • 43min
Fresh Take: Eli Harwood on Raising Securely Attached Kids
As parents, we've probably heard the term "attachment style.” But what does it really mean? Eli Harwood, author of the new book RAISING SECURELY ATTACHED KIDS, discusses practical parenting strategies for creating secure attachments with our kids.Eli and Margaret discuss:
How we define secure attachment and why it's important
The four different child attachment patterns
Why it's never too late to start repairing relationships with our kids
Eli Harwood is a licensed therapist who has been nerding out on attachment research for the past two decades and is on a mission to help make the world a better place, one relationship at a time. Here's where you can find Eli:
https://attachmentnerd.com
@attachmentnerd on IG/TikTok/Facebook
#raisingsecurelyattachedkids
Buy RAISING SECURELY ATTACHED KIDS: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781632175465
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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, kid behavior, child behavior, attachment style, secure attachment, secure attachment style, raising securely attached kids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 18, 2024 • 47min
Helping Kids Deal with Disappointment
How can we empower our kids to cope with negative feelings without our help? Here's why disappointment is an important part of childhood and how to build scaffolding for their emotional regulation.Amy and Margaret discuss:
How the purpose of having children has changed over the last century
Why disappointment is developmentally important
How to be a guide, not a fixer, for our kids
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Jim Taylor for Psychology Today: Parenting: Disappointment Is Good
Katie Hurley for PBS Kids Parenting: How to Help Kids Cope With Disappointment
THE GIFT OF FAILURE by Jess Lahey: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780062299253
Meghan Rabbitt for Parents Magazine: How to Help Kids Deal With Disappointment
RAISING RESILIENT CHILDREN by Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein
Emily Edlynn for Parents Magazine: How Do I Help My Mad Toddler Express Anger in a Healthier Way?
Our Fresh Take with Jessica Lahey
Our Fresh Take with Katie Hurley
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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, kid behavior, child behavior Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 16, 2024 • 50min
DEEP DIVE: I Really Thought This Would Be a Bigger Part of My Life
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourThis Deep Dive series is titled "Things We've Learned After Doing This Motherhood Thing for a While." Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify.What did adulthood mean to you when you were growing up? Staying up late? Doing algebra every day? Stopping, dropping, and rolling at least once a week? We asked our listeners what they thought would come in handy or plague them daily when they grew up.Amy and Margaret discuss:
"Oops! All Berries" Cap'n Crunch cereal
Chunky statement pieces
How to get the upper hand in "Jeopardy"
Here's the original thread in our Facebook group where we asked this questionSign up for our newsletter! 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, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 13, 2024 • 38min
Fresh Take: Carla Naumburg Tells Kids How to Stop Freaking Out
Kids sometimes lose their cool, and it can be easy to lose ours while trying to help them. Carla Naumburg, author of the new book HOW TO STOP FREAKING OUT, discusses why kids freak out, how we can help them, and how we as parents can keep our cool.Carla Naumburg is a clinical social worker, and a mother. She’s the author of four non-fiction books, including her international bestseller, How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids, as well as You Are Not a Sh*tty Parent.Carla and Amy discuss:
Why the point of Carla's book is not for kids to stop freaking out all together
Why kids (and all of us) are wired to occasionally freak out
How we as parents can keep calm when our kids are freaking out
Here's where you can find Carla:
www.carlanaumburg.com
@carlanaumburg on IG
@CarlaGeorge22 on Twitter
@cnaumburg on Facebook
Buy HOW TO STOP FREAKING OUT
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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, kid behavior, child behavior Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 11, 2024 • 45min
Are Our Kids Overscheduled?
So many of us spend hours chauffeuring our kids back and forth to their myriad activities. Why are kids so overloaded with activities these days, and can we get off of this ride? Here are some parenting strategies for navigating this issue.Amy and Margaret discuss:
Why kids are so overscheduled these days
How overscheduling really affects kids, beyond the mom guilt-inducing headlines
What questions to ask when assessing if our kids are overscheduled
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Dr Shimi King: Overscheduling Your Kids Isn’t the Fast-Track to Success it Once Was
Solution Health: Overbooked Kids: The Overscheduled Crisis
Anna Nordberg for Slate: The Fine Art of Underscheduling
Jill Barshay for Mind Shift: Overscheduling Kids’ Lives Causes Depression and Anxiety, Study Finds
Carolina Caetano, et. al for Economics of Education Review: Are children spending too much time on enrichment activities?
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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, kid behavior, child behavior, kids activities, kids sports, kids enrichment, kids extracurriculars, kids schedules Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 9, 2024 • 47min
DEEP DIVE: Which Parenting Rules Can We Break?
This month's Deep Dive series is about flouting parenting rules and advice that don't work for us. Listen to a Spotify playlist of all the episodes in the series here. Who makes the parenting rules? And how bendable are they? From picky eaters to sleep routines to playing outside, we all have to navigate the line between what we supposedly should and shouldn't allow as parents. But sometimes it's okay to break the rules if it works for you and your family. Amy and Margaret dive into the details in this listener-driven episode.In this episode, Margaret and Amy discuss:
The different types of parenting rules
Which parenting rules they have broken
"YOYO" dinners
Other episodes we mention:
Amee Severson on Intuitive Eating
Ask Amy: Helping Kids Deal with Comparison and Envy
Christina Martin on How Children Learn Through Play
What Fresh Hell Podcast is going on tour across the Northeast US this fall! Join us for a live version of the podcast and bring all your mom friends. We can’t wait to go back on the road! https://bit.ly/whatfreshhelltourWe 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, bad advice, bad parenting advice, parenting rules, family rules Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices