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

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into mom guilt—why it's so pervasive and what we can do about it. You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here.
In this episode we discuss all the reasons we’ve felt like failures as mothers, why we’re never as hard on others as we are on ourselves, and what we have done to mitigate these feelings of failure in our own lives.  
“I feel like I’m failing at parenting fairly often,” our listener Becky wrote when she suggested this topic. If it makes you feel any better, Becky, you’ve got plenty of company. These self-inflicted guilt trips are nearly universal among mothers.
But why? Is it the 24/7 nature of the job? Is it the admittedly high stakes that come from nurturing small humans towards successful adulthoods? Is it our parenting culture, which tells us no matter how much we do, how hard we try, there’s another mother doing it just a little bit better?
We think it’s all of the above. We also think talking to other mothers is the best solution. Thanks for being part of our mothering community.
Here’s links to research and other writing on this topic discussed in this episode:
Regan Long for Motherly: To the Mom Who Feels Like She's Failing: You're Not. Promise.
Heather Marcoux for Motherly: 66% of working parents feel like they're failing—but the system is actually failing them
Doug Parker for Babble: I Feel Like I'm Failing This Parenting Thing Every Damn Day
Denise Rowden for Empowering Parents: “I Feel Like a Failure as a Parent.” How to Turn That Hopeless Feeling Around

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:
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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, mom guilt
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What do women's diaries tell us that's not in the history books? What has changed about women's experiences in the last 400 years, and what remains frustratingly familiar? Historian Sarah Gristwood, author of SECRET VOICES: A YEAR OF WOMEN'S DIARIES, explains the common threads she found among the stories women felt they could tell only to themselves.
Sarah and Amy discuss:

The most common emotion expressed in all the diaries contained in this book

The meaning of a diary as a secret-keeper, as a historical record, and sometimes both

Whether our social media posts and Substacks today can serve the same purpose—and where they fall short


Here's where you can find Sarah:

http://sarahgristwood.com/

Buy SECRET VOICES: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781849948159



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https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/
mom friends, diary, journal, history, herstory, feminism, women's voices
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When we have a kid who just doesn't seem to fit in—or who is a loner, if a fairly content one—it can be hard for parents. But putting our own anxiety about it aside, and getting clear on the lagging skills and social cues that may not quite be in place, is the best way to help kids get on a better path. This episode is full of specific and useful advice!
Amy and Margaret discuss:

all the reasons kids can have trouble making (and keeping) friends

five "unwritten social rules" that some kids take longer to comprehend

how figuring out the specific issues at play can lead to the most useful solutions


Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Jamie Howard, et. al for Child Mind Institute: Kids Who Need a Little Help to Make Friends


The Sue Larkey podcast: Promoting Social Understanding – Social Scripts


Gwen Dewar for Parenting Science: How to help kids make friends: 12 evidence-based tips


Christine Comizio for U.S. News Health: Understanding Kids' Friendship Struggles: Common Causes and Solutions


Lexi Walters Wright for Understood.org: 5 “unwritten” social rules that some kids miss


Andrew M.I. Lee for Understood.org: Why some kids have trouble making friends


ADHD Dude: "How to Help Your ADHD Child Keep Friends"



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, friendships, making friends
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This month, we're doing a deep dive series into mom guilt—why it's so pervasive and what we can do about it. You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here.
Fess up: everyone's got a Bad Mom Moment. Or twelve.
We tend to hold these things really close, our shame rooted in deep certainty that no other mother has ever temporarily forgotten their baby in the toy aisle at Target.
Guess what? You're not alone. Here are some of our listeners' Bad Mom Moments– and more than a few of our own.
Our guest this week is Arianna Bradford, the brains behind The NYAM (Not Your Average Mom) Project, a website dedicated to helping parents -- moms especially -- celebrate the person they are outside of their role as a parent. Her book, SHAME ON YOU: BIG TRUTHS FROM A BAD MOM, is a hilarious collection of parenting essays that focus as much on a mother's mental health as they do on kids, and how very, very strange they are.
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,
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Contrary to popular belief, the gender wage gap is widening, not narrowing. Naomi Cahn and June Carbone, authors of FAIR SHAKE: WOMEN AND THE FIGHT TO BUILD A JUST ECONOMY, discuss why working women still lag behind men both in wage equity and in positions of power.
Naomi Cahn is the Justice Anthony M. Kennedy distinguished professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law. June Carbone is the Robina chair of law, science, and technology at the University of Minnesota Law School.
Naomi, June, and Amy discuss:

How the "winner takes all" economy rewards men and not women

The "triple bind" that sidelines women in the workplace

How things get even more complicated for working parents

What solutions for this problem look like at a societal, organizational, and personal level


Here's where you can find more of June and Naomi:

June Carbone: https://law.umn.edu/profiles/june-carbone

Naomi Cahn: https://www.law.virginia.edu/faculty/profile/nrc8g/2915359

@carbonej and @NaomiCahn on X

Buy FAIR SHAKE: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781982115128



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, feminism, feminist economy, feminist economics
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How do we know when our kids are old enough to walk home alone? Wear makeup? Get a phone? It definitely depends on the kid, your family situation, and the community where you live, but we think there are few ground rules—and some scaffolding it's a good idea to have in place.
Amy and Margaret discuss:

why social media may be the thing to delay, more than the phone

why it can be tricky to leave older siblings in charge of younger siblings even when they actually are old enough

when kids are old enough to "date" (which depends on what the meaning of the word "date" is)


Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Our Fresh Take with Camilo Ortiz

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:
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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,
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