Don't Tell the Kids

Melanie Hunter & Siobhan Lee
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Comedy

Two moms. Real life. Zero filters.The conversations we probably shouldn’t say out loud, but do anyway.Motherhood, identity, marriage, careers, and everything in between.No advice. No politics. Just honesty, and the chaos that comes with it.

  1. 6d ago

    Don't Tell the Kids… We're Not Sure We're Doing This Right

    Hey mama — if you've ever wondered if you're a good parent, this one's for you. We asked each other what we've gotten right and what we'd do over, and then we asked our kids. Nobody had a great answer. What we did have: a chore chart that's been "in progress" for over a year, a swearing rule that may absolutely backfire, and one uncomfortable realization about hovering that neither of us saw coming. Grab your coffee, hide in your car, and don't tell the kids. 🎧

  2. Aug 27

    Don't Tell the Kids… We Left Before the Cuddle Puddle

    Hey mama — we're back after a week off and so much has changed. New schools, new haircuts, and yes — Mel caved and got him a phone. (Siobhan is still holding the line. For now.) And then we take a hard left. Books, dragons, and a rabbit hole so far off the rails we had to Google a definition mid-episode. That's all we're saying. Grab your coffee, hide in your car, and don't tell the kids. 🎧

  3. Aug 13

    Don't Tell the Kids: Everything has a price.

    You finally start the thing. The idea you've been carrying around for years, the one that felt like it came from somewhere bigger than you. And then you notice what it's costing — not in money, but in the small invisible things you used to do for your family without thinking twice. This week Mel opens up about the honest math of running a business while being the person everyone else leans on. The summer camp signup that never got done. The parts of the work that drain her instead of light her up. The six-month window she's given herself to find out if this thing can actually work — and the quiet fear that stopping would mean she failed. We also get into the part nobody puts on a highlight reel: supporting your husband. Not in an outdated, small-yourself kind of way, but the real version — the night Mel walked upstairs and found Chris in the fetal position, convinced everything was about to collapse, and talked him back down.  There's no shortage to the amount of hats you wear in a single day.  And then, because it's us, it all takes a hard left into quantum physics, choosing your timeline, whether we existed somewhere before this one, and what psychedelics and prayer might have in common. Plus a perimenopause moment so on-brand we had to leave it in. If you've ever wanted something for yourself and felt guilty about wanting it, this one's for you.

  4. Aug 6

    Don't Tell the Kids... The Teenage Years Might Take Us Out

    Teenagers. That's it, that's the episode. Okay, not really — but this week we're deep in it. The boy who argues every single point until you want to lie down on the floor, versus the dad who says the exact same thing once and somehow it just... lands. (We have thoughts about this. None of them are fair.) We get into summer checklists and why 15 minutes of a math app apparently constitutes child labor, the chore chart that exists purely so nobody fights about who folds the napkins, and the hug that isn't a hug — you know the one, where he tips his head at you and keeps his whole body a respectful three feet away. We also talk about the daughter who stormed out the kitchen door, came back in the front door, and did it again. Twice. And how we sat there absolutely dying trying not to laugh. Then things get a little more real. Because here's the thing nobody warns you about: when you didn't grow up with much and now your kids have plenty, how do you teach them grit? We talk about the guy who says he makes his kids' lives hard on purpose, why we're both terrible at letting our kids be disappointed, whether the punishment should just fit the crime and we should stop Uber-ing forgotten items to school, and the conversation we're both circling — what our kids should know about money, and when. Plus: trust funds nobody's told them about, a mom who's convinced money just arrives through osmosis, and one very smart teenager who has started box-breathing at us mid-argument. If your house is loud right now and you're quietly counting the days until school starts — pull over, hide in the car, we're right here with you.

  5. Jul 30

    Don't Tell the Kids... Self-Care Needs a Rebrand

    Don't Tell the Kids... Self-Care Needs a Rebrand Okay so we finally did it — we brought in a friend who actually knows the science. Dr. Melissa Sonners is a doctor, nervous system regulation expert, and author of The Connection Code, and she came on to either validate our narratives or tell us we're crazy. (Spoiler: it's the first one.) We got into why we verbally process everything — the six-minute audio texts, the group chat spirals, the way we talk our way to an answer while our husbands go quiet for three days and come back with a plan. Turns out that's not a flaw, it's literally how we're wired. Melissa breaks down what's happening in the female brain versus the male brain, why we make decisions like a symphony instead of a straight line, and why "you're overcomplicating it" is the most annoying sentence in the English language (and also not true). We also talk about the hundred tabs, the part-time job running in the background that nobody sees, why getting ten hours of sleep still doesn't fix the tired, and what happens to all those open tabs when perimenopause shows up and estrogen — a.k.a. the lubricant for finding your words — starts to dip. And then there's the self-care conversation. Because the version we've all been sold — the 5AM routine, the ice plunge, the perfectly time-blocked recovery hour — was built for someone with no kids and a very different Tuesday. Melissa makes the case that self-care needs a rebrand entirely: it's twenty extra minutes in bed, it's your favorite song on the ride home, it's the coffee shop conversation that lights you up. It's connection, and it counts. Plus: how you do one thing is not how you do everything, building your village from the inside out, boundaries, the pile of clothes on the chair that apparently has a name, and why nobody on their deathbed is thinking about the dishes. Grab your coffee, hide in your car, and don't tell the kids. And, grab your copy of the connection code HERE.

  6. Jul 23

    Don't Tell the Kids... The Phone Isn't Actually Theirs

    Okay mama, pour the coffee and lock the bathroom door, because this week we're going THERE: kids and phones. Did you know teens are averaging 7+ hours of screen time a day — and that's not counting schoolwork? SEVEN. HOURS. We're breaking down what they're actually doing on there (spoiler: it's not knitting tutorials), why the algorithm is basically a stranger whispering in your kid's ear, and the genius advice that changed how we think about it all: never give the phone as a gift. It's a loaner. It's YOUR phone they're borrowing. Game changer. We also get into earning screen time vs. the free-for-all, why no teenager knows anyone's phone number anymore (it's all Snapchat, apparently), the lawsuits piling up against Meta, and a slight detour into dirt bikes, Gilmore Girls, and whether narwhals prove unicorns are real. Look — we don't have the answers. But we're holding the line together, one screen-time battle at a time. Hide in your car and press play. And obviously... don't tell the kids.

  7. Jul 16

    Don't Tell the Kids… The Struggle Is Real (and Never-Ending)

    Hey mama — this week we’re catching up over coffee and getting real about what it actually takes to build something from scratch. Mel opens up about the messy behind-the-scenes of her supplement company — the two-year (and counting!) journey, the frustrating formulation delays, and why she started it in the first place: nobody told her that ten years on birth control was quietly depleting her nutrients. If you’ve ever been on the pill, this one’s worth a listen. Then we spiral into the thing we all feel — being so over our phones. Why does scrolling leave us empty? Are we living for the moment or for the post? And why is it so hard to just be present? No answers, just honest talk from two moms figuring it out. Grab your coffee and hide in your car — we’ll keep it between us.

  8. Jul 9

    Don’t Tell the Kids… We Said We’d Never Do That

    Before kids, we had a long list of things we’d never do — screens at dinner, leashes at the airport, Gatorade at baseball. Then we became moms. This week, Mal and Siobhan get honest about the quiet judgments we all make (and receive), from impatient dads on airplanes to the kindergartner with a brand-new iPhone. They dig into why we over-parent when strangers are watching, how moms and dads parent differently — and why that’s actually a good thing — and the humbling reality that no two kids ever really get “the same parents.” Plus: a dance recital fire drill that proves even the most on-it moms drop the ball sometimes. Grab your coffee, hide in your car, and give yourself some grace.

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About

Two moms. Real life. Zero filters.The conversations we probably shouldn’t say out loud, but do anyway.Motherhood, identity, marriage, careers, and everything in between.No advice. No politics. Just honesty, and the chaos that comes with it.

Information

  • Creator
    Melanie Hunter & Siobhan Lee
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Don't Tell the Kids
  • Show Website
    Don't Tell the Kids