

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms
Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson
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
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 1, 2020 • 6min
Ask Amy - My Toddler is Mean to Her Older Sibling
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question.Today Amy answers the question, "What can I do about my toddler who is giving a hard time to my older child?"Submit your question to: questions@whatfreshhellpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 27, 2020 • 49min
This One Thing Is Actually Going Well
What’s the one thing that’s actually working right now? Not grading on a curve, not a barely acceptable Band-Aid for these crazy times, but something you have found during these last months that you actually love and will totally keep doing? Our listeners told us all the things, from walking the dog to Grateful Dad cover shows, that they’re doing by themselves, with a socially distanced friend, or with a loved one at home, that are really enjoyable right now. The light-bulb moments for us in this episode were
in order to have fun socially-distanced friend time, you need to have a shared secondary activity. Even if it’s a beer pong app.
in order to have renewing personal time, you need to have a fully engrossing, sensory-filling activity. Even if it’s mowing the lawn.
keep it bite-sized. We don’t have to talk to our friends for half an hour, or not at all.
What all these discoveries have in common is that it took what our listener Mollie calls “the leisure to dwell on little things” in order to find them. We love that. For that one thing, we are pretty grateful.Here are links to a few things mentioned in this episode:Nowhere Comedy ClubGrateful Dead “Dead and Company” tribute showsTableTopics "Family Gathering" topic cards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 25, 2020 • 9min
Ask Margaret - The Bedtime Routine is Out of Hand!
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question.This week Margaret answers the question, "What Do I Do With a Four Year Old Who is Making Bedtime Last Forever?"Send your questions to questions@whatfreshhellpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 20, 2020 • 45min
The Great Regression: Why We're All Acting Like Babies Right Now
Potty training back-sliding? Pacifiers showing up at breakfast? Preschoolers in your bed? Tweens suddenly engaging in baby talk? Welcome to The Great Regression.It's no surprise that regressive behavior shows up in times of stress. Sometimes it's not as easy to spot, but whether it's more clingy behavior or more temper tantrums, regression is our kids' way of communicating that they are feeling insecure. As child development specialist Claire Lerner explains, "When kids feel out of control on the inside, they lose control on the outside."In this episode, we discuss
how regressive behavior can manifest, including for grownups
when we should let it be
what works to address it, and what definitely doesn't
Does it matter if your kid is still sucking her thumb in first grade because she was involved in a global pandemic? It does not. But addressing the underlying need for reassurance is the best way forward, for your kid and for you.Here are links to research and other writing on the topic that we discuss in this episode:Caroline Bologna for HuffPost: 10 Mental Health Signs To Watch Out For In Kids In The Age Of COVID-19Claire Lerner for Psychology Today: Regression in the Time of CoronavirusHermioni N. Lokko, MD, MPP and Theodore A. Stern, MD: Regression: Diagnosis, Evaluation, and ManagementHeather Marcoux for Motherly: Why your big kid wants to be a 'baby' right now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 13, 2020 • 56min
Getting Literally Anything Done (with guests Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger)
We're now on YouTube! Subscribe and catch our video shorts here: http://bit.ly/WFHyoutubeAfter eight weeks in this new normal, our to-do lists have started to get a little lengthy. These days, we're all full-time stay-at-home AND work-at-home moms, and while the larger world seemed willing to let things slide for a while, we're feeling a lot more pressure to actually get stuff done. How do we get to what's most important in the extremely limited bursts of kid-free productivity we might have?Our guests are Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger, co-hosts of the Best of Both Worlds podcast, on how to get more out of life at work and at home.We're featured on their podcast this week too- you can find that episode, on how to find humor in parenting right now, here!Here are links to research and ideas discussed in this episode: the concept of extinction burstsStrangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help by Larissa MacFarquharAlice Boyce for Harvard Business Review: How Working Parents Can Let Go of PerfectionismMichaeleen Doucleff for NYT Parenting: Turn Your Demanding Child Into a Productive Co-WorkerJennifer Wallace for Washington Post's On Parenting: Life in lockdown is testing parents’ bandwidth, but there are ways to protect your mental energy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 11, 2020 • 6min
Ask Margaret - Should I Sleep-Train During the Pandemic?
Every week Margaret or Amy answers one listener's most pressing question.Today Margaret tackles the question, "Should I sleep-train my baby while we're all stuck at home?"Submit your questions to: questions@whatfreshhellpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 6, 2020 • 47min
We'll Call It a Win! Microscopic Mom Victories
We asked all of you to tell us your “mom wins” since quarantine life started- the smaller, the better. We're all taking success wherever we can find it these days.Whether it’s synchronized napping, picky eaters trying meatballs, or a 5-year-old who finally slept past 7 a.m., we salute all these successes, no matter how miniscule.Thanks to all of you for making our own mothering journeys so full of community and laughter.Happy Mother’s Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 4, 2020 • 6min
Ask Amy - How Can I Help My Child Who is Having Nightmares?
Each week Amy or Margaret answers a listener's most pressing question.This week Amy answers the question, "How can I help my three-and-a-half year old daughter who is having nightmares?"Submit your question to quesitons@whatfreshhellpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 29, 2020 • 49min
Maintaining Momentum (Or Not)
Six weeks in, and most of us are having a lot of trouble with what one of our listeners called this "very strange limbo."That listener asked in our Facebook group what she might do to make herself get off the couch, stop looking at her phone, maintain momentum.Because that is the usual goal: we all know that once we stop running and rest, we won't be able to run as far when we try again. A body at rest tends to stay at rest.But here's the thing: when you run a marathon, and mile 19 gets really hard, you know what mile you're in. You know how much farther you have to go. And the people on the sidelines aren't small children yelling at you.Do the usual ideas we have about productivity and energy and momentum even apply in this moment?And if not, what are the new strategies we can put in place to help us make it to the next lamppost?Here are links to research and other things we discuss in this episode:our own Episode 142: Letting People Into Our MessBrené Brown's podcast Unlocking UsThe Lancet: The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidencePaul Ollinger for Forge: Your Only Goal Is To ArriveJudson Brewer for Harvard Business Review: Anxiety Is Contagious. Here’s How to Contain It. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 27, 2020 • 8min
Ask Margaret - I'm Burnt Out on Trying to Get My Kids to FaceTime with Relatives
Each week Amy or Margaret answers one listener's most pressing question.This week Margaret tackles the question, "What Can I Do About Relatives Who Constantly Want to FaceTime with My Kids?"Send your questions to: questions@whatfreshhellpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices


