What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms cover art
Podcast · 197 episodes

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms, page 8

by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson · English

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

All episodes, page 8

Fresh Take: Allison Daminger, WHAT'S ON HER MIND- The Mental Workload of Family LifeThe episode interviews sociology professor Alison Daminger about her book “What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life,” explaining “cognitive labor” (mental work in family…5 Sep 2025 · 39 min · 15 chapters
Oops! My Kid Hates Me Parenting when a child says “I hate you,” reframing it as normal boundary-testing/dysregulation, and offering age-by-age responses (especially when the child is “in red brain”).3 Sep 2025 · 45 min · 14 chapters
BEST OF: How Involved Should We Be With Our Kids' Schools? How involved parents should be with kids’ schools, balancing helpful advocacy with avoiding anxiety/achievement pressure.1 Sep 2025 · 47 min · 23 chapters
BEST OF: What Kind of Monster? Family Vacation Edition“What Kind of Monster? Family Vacation Edition” (best-of) from What Fresh Hell, where Amy and Margaret read listener stories about “monsters” ruining family vacations—especially spouses/partners,…29 Aug 2025 · 47 min · 19 chapters
Radical Acceptance—What It Is, and How It Can Help Our ParentingRadical acceptance for parenting and relationships—what it is, what it isn’t, and how to use it to reduce shame and “second arrow” suffering while still taking wise action.27 Aug 2025 · 41 min · 15 chapters
BEST OF: What Fresh Hell Is Back to School?“What Fresh Hell? Best Of: What Fresh Hell Is Back to School?” A comedic roundup of back-to-school stressors for parents, plus listener mail and “ready confetti” reactions, ending with advice for…25 Aug 2025 · 39 min · 20 chapters
Fresh Take: Jyoti Chand, FITTING INDIAN Interview about Jyothi Chand’s debut graphic novel Fitting Indian, which uses humor and art to depict a 16-year-old Indian American girl’s mental health decline—self-harm, suicide attempt history,…22 Aug 2025 · 39 min · 16 chapters
How to Make the Back-to-School Transition a Little EasierBack-to-school transition support for parents—pushing back against the “back-to-school industrial complex,” and focusing on practical routines (sleep, morning readiness, snacks, visual schedules),…20 Aug 2025 · 41 min · 17 chapters
DEEP DIVE: Kelly Corrigan on Letting Big Kids GoParenting and relationships through “letting big kids go,” focusing on better listening, emotional autonomy, and resisting the urge to fix everything.18 Aug 2025 · 43 min · 14 chapters
Fresh Take: Mike de la Rocha, SACRED LESSONSMike de la Rocha discusses his memoir Sacred Lessons: Teaching My Father How to Love, sparked by the sudden death of his father after back surgery.15 Aug 2025 · 42 min · 15 chapters
More Husband Crimes (Part One) “Husband crimes” (partner/spouse/roommate misdeeds) shared by listeners, plus the hosts’ own examples, focused on everyday domestic annoyances and “why won’t you just do it right?” moments.13 Aug 2025 · 44 min · 19 chapters
DEEP DIVE: Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Dr. Cara Natterson on PubertyHow modern puberty timing and experience differ from past generations, and how adults should talk with kids through many small, nonjudgmental conversations—especially for early/late bloomers and…11 Aug 2025 · 40 min · 11 chapters
Fresh Take: Amy Larocca, HOW TO BE WELLAmy LaRocca’s book How to Be Well critiques the U.S. “wellness” industry as a self-care “epidemic” that often repackages beauty/weight-loss, exploits women’s unmet medical needs, and never…8 Aug 2025 · 40 min · 15 chapters
Why Kids Lie: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and What to DoKids lie as a developmental milestone, not a moral failure. The episode explains when lying is typical by age, what skills enable it (theory of mind and executive function), why kids lie (avoid…6 Aug 2025 · 48 min · 20 chapters
DEEP DIVE: Your Tween, ExplainedTweens (roughly ages 10–13) and why they become “sassy,” emotionally distant, and obsessed with fitting in; how marketing and early puberty/hormones shape behavior; and how parents can maintain…4 Aug 2025 · 46 min · 14 chapters
Fresh Take: Rebecca Bloom, WHEN WOMEN GET SICKRebecca Bloom discusses her book When Women Get Sick and how the U.S.1 Aug 2025 · 34 min · 15 chapters
Is It Normal to Feel Jealous of Other Moms? Whether it’s normal for moms to feel jealous of other moms, and what to do with jealousy instead of shame.30 Jul 2025 · 44 min · 16 chapters
DEEP DIVE: Best Advice for Dealing with Teenagers Advice for parents on handling teenagers, spanning ages 13–18 and the wide range of teen experiences (from “sheltered” kids to riskier behaviors), with strategies for communication, boundaries,…28 Jul 2025 · 43 min · 18 chapters
Fresh Take: Shannon Watts, FIRED UPShannon Watts discusses her book Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age, arguing women often live on “shoulds” and obligations instead of desires.25 Jul 2025 · 41 min · 15 chapters
Fresh Take: Genevieve Kingston, DID I EVER TELL YOU?Fresh Take interview with author Genevieve Kingston about her memoir Did I Ever Tell You?—how her mother, diagnosed with breast cancer when Genevieve was 3, prepared a “box” of letters and gifts for…23 Jul 2025 · 30 min · 17 chapters
BEST OF: Kids with Big ImaginationsImaginative play in kids—how it develops, when it can interfere with school/social life, and how to “put brakes on” imagination without killing it.21 Jul 2025 · 54 min · 18 chapters
What to Say to Our Kids When Bad Things HappenHow parents should talk to children about tragic, scary events they may hear about (e.g., floods, school shootings, deaths), using “ages and stages,” answering only what kids ask, and helping kids…18 Jul 2025 · 40 min · 16 chapters
When One of Our Kids Takes Up All of Our BandwidthHow one child can consume a family’s “bandwidth” (emotional, mental, logistical, even literal time/money), and how families can recognize whether it’s an unavoidable season (illness, chronic needs,…16 Jul 2025 · 37 min · 15 chapters
BEST OF: Dumb Things We Thought When We Were Kids“Best of” episode from What Fresh Hell? Laughing in the Face of Motherhood, focused on dumb/magical things the hosts and listeners believed as kids—often later revealed as wrong or based on parents’…14 Jul 2025 · 42 min · 20 chapters