What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

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:

How the idea of the "reliable path to success" is actually harmful for a lot of parents and kids

Simple (and free/cheap) ways to use your home to create the family life you want

Why Gabrielle disagrees with the "you only get 18 summers" rhetoric that permeates parenting circles

Here's where you can find Gabrielle:

⁠designmom.com⁠

@designmom on IG

#thekidsareallright #thekidsareallrightbook

Buy THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT: ⁠https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781523526505⁠

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:

Why empowering kids works better than scaring them

How smartphones and social media shape adolescent brain development

The growing youth rebellion against addictive tech

How to shift from conflict to collaboration when it comes to screens

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

www.catherineprice.com

https://catherineprice.substack.com

@catherinepriceofficial on IG and LinkedIn

www.amazinggeneration.com

Buy THE AMAZING GENERATION: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9798217111916

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, 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:

Our Fresh Take with Susan Dominus, author of THE FAMILY DYNAMIC

Our episode Sibling Rivalry

Our Fresh Take with Dawn Huebner on Sibling Rivalry (And What Parents Usually Do Wrong)

Kevin Henkes: JULIUS, THE BABY OF THE WORLD


Stephen P. Bank and Michael D. Kahn: ⁠THE SIBLING BOND

Rachel Nuwer for Scientific American: How Childhood Relationships Affect Your Adult Attachment Style, according to Large New Study

Keely A. Dugan et. al for The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: A prospective longitudinal study of the associations between childhood and adolescent interpersonal experiences and adult attachment orientations

Dr. Ammara Khalid for RIA Social Services: On Sibling Relationships: Attachment and Birth Order

Leijten, P. et. al for Journal of Family Psychotherapy: Parenting programs to improve sibling interactions: a meta-analysis.

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. 

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:

The four different modes of learning that teens tend to engage in

What academic disengagement in a teen really signals about them

How parents can help their kids get more excited about learning

Here's where you can find Jenny and Rebecca:

⁠www.jennywestanderson.org⁠

⁠www.rebeccawinthrop.com⁠

⁠www.thedisengagedteen.com⁠

@jennyandersonwrites and @drrebeccawinthrop on IG

#DisengagedTeen #LearnBetterLiveBetter

Buy THE DISENGAGED TEEN: ⁠https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780593727072⁠

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:

www.daughtering101.com

@daughtering101 on FB, IG, and TikTok

Buy GOOD DAUGHTERING: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780063436428

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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