Is American Parenting the Problem? Or Is It Parenting *in* America?
2026/05/06 | 44 mins.
We're often told that the American style of parenting is inferior—that we're doing it all wrong compared to, say, a laissez-faire Parisian whose kids eat whatever is served.
But is it our too intense/ too lax/ too snack-heavy parenting style that is making us (and our kids) so stressed? Or is it where we're doing that parenting?
In this episode, we explore the forces shaping parenting in America today, and the ways in which other countries offer parents more support. From the pressure to “do it all” to the lack of community support, we examine how our American struggles may be rooted in American ideals.
There's no doubt cultural expectations can shape our parenting decisions, leading to the "intensive parenting" that's so easy for others to criticize. But there's plenty about our circumstances as American parents that makes things harder.
Our friend Janelle Hanchett (whose writing inspired this episode) was exactly right when she wrote:
"As much as we may in the US give lip-service to universal healthcare, parental leave, labor rights, and childcare subsidies as key tenets of good parenting, just below these assertions is the implication that if American parents simply tried harder, they would not be so stressed and they would parent better.
The narrative bombards American parents relentlessly: Others do it better because they are culturally superior.
They are not better people. They live in societies with better policies."
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Jannelle Hanchett on Substack: They aren't better parents because they're culturally superior
Claire Cain Miller for the NYT: Today’s Parents: ‘Exhausted, Burned Out and Perpetually Behind’
Reddit/attachmentparenting: Thoughts on “Bringing Up Bébé” book?
Kate Cray for The Atlantic: Parenting in America Keeps Getting More Intensive
Kate Juilan for The Atlantic: What Happened to American Childhood?
Joe Pinsker for The Atlantic: ‘Intensive’ Parenting Is Now the Norm in America
Patrick Ishizuka for Social Forces journal: Social Class, Gender, and Contemporary Parenting Standards in the United States: Evidence from a National Survey Experiment
Yu-Chin Her for Population Research and Policy Review: Having Fun or Having Kids? Leisure Aspirations and Attitudes Toward Parenthood in Europe
Susan Kelley for The Cornell Chronicle: Hands-on, intensive parenting is best, most parents say
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:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
DEEP DIVE: Olivia Martinez-Hauge on Special Needs Parenting
2026/05/04 | 34 mins.
This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities.
Olivia Martinez-Hauge is a marriage and family therapist specializing in the treatment of families, couples, and individuals who are caregiving for children or adults with neurodiversity. She is also a licensed occupational therapist with over two decades of experience helping children and their families.
She is also a mother of three children, two with neurodiversity.
In this "Fresh Take" interview, Olivia explains
the grief and isolation that might come with special needs parenting
her own journey moving past those emotions by parenting "from a place of present"
the team of support that a parent of a special needs child needs
how we can change our friend groups, schools, and societies to be more supportive of families with children who have special needs
Whether you're a parent of a special needs or neurodiverse child, or just want to be a better friend to someone who is, you'll learn so much from this interview.
Find out more about Olivia and her work at The Center for Connection and Neurodiversity here: https://www.thecenterforconnection.org/
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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fresh Take: Elizabeth Preston on What Animals Have to Teach Us About Parenting
2026/05/01 | 35 mins.
Why does modern parenting feel so difficult? If a chimpanzee knows what to do without reading a hundred parenting books, why doesn't it just come naturally?
Science journalist and author Elizabeth Preston is the author of The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care. Drawing from animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience, this book explains why studying the parenting of every species from poison frogs to bonobos, from rats to birds, can remind us how human parenting is supposed to work—and how parental anxiety may result from the belief we were ever supposed to do things differently.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why humans are “cooperative breeders”
Why maternal anxiety and hypervigilance is an evolutionary advantage, not a personal failure
The truth about “mom brain” and what actually happens to the brain during pregnancy
Why fathers and non-biological caregivers are equally capable of deep caregiving
The role of alloparenting and why kids benefit from many trusted adults
Why caregiving is central to what makes us human
Here's where you can find Elizabeth:
https://elizabethgpreston.com/
@by.elizabeth.preston on IG
https://elizabethgpreston.substack.com/
Buy THE CREATURES' GUIDE TO CARING: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780593657102
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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Getting Our Kids to Help Around the House
2026/04/29 | 44 mins.
How do you get kids to help out—ever, at all—without default resistance that makes it feel like it's not worth the trouble of your having asked?
Kids *should* contribute to their families' lives without their parents resorting to nagging or threats. Kids in other cultures, we are told, participate willingly and fully. Why does this seem so hard for so many of us?
We discuss:
Whether "chores" framing is part of the problem
How gender roles shape the expectations of who's helping
Whether they have to like participating for it to matter
Why we seem to find this harder than our parents did
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Susan Newman for Psychology Today: Raising Baby Hunter-Gatherer Style
Jennifer Katzenstein for Johns Hopkins Medicine Wellness and Prevention blog: How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores
Reem Raouda for CNBC Make It: I’ve studied over 200 kids—parents who have an easy time getting their children to listen never use these 5 ‘toxic’ phrases
Amy Sutherland for the NYT: What Shamu Taught Me About a Healthy Marriage
Frank Bruni for the NYT: Tolstoy and Miss Daisy
Deborah Gilboa: GET THE BEHAVIOR YOU WANT...WITHOUT BEING THE PARENT YOU HATE!
Our Fresh Take with Michaeleen Doucleff, author of HUNT, GATHER, PARENT
Subscribe to our newsletter here!
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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
DEEP DIVE: Dr. Lynn Koegel on the Hidden Brilliance of Autism
2026/04/27 | 36 mins.
This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities.
What if we're looking at autism in the wrong way? Dr. Lynn Koegel, co-author of Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism, explains how to engage with the strengths in kids with autism rather than focusing on what they're lacking.
Dr. Lynn Koegel is a clinical professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. She and her husband developed Pivotal Response Treatment which focuses on motivation. She has been supporting autistic individuals for more than 40 years.
Dr. Koegel and Margaret discuss:
Why we're focusing on the wrong things when we assess kids with autism
The power of peer support
Connecting authentically with kids with autism
Dr. Koegel explains that professionals are often trained to look at what's "wrong" with children with autism rather than what's right. It helps to look at the differences in children with autism, as Margaret likes to say, as morally neutral.
Here's where you can find Lynn:
autismPRThelp.com
@lynn.koegel on Facebook
hidden-brilliance.org
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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
About What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms
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
Listen to What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms, Podcast and Chill with MacG and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
South Africa