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

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

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

By: Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson
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 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.comCopyright © 2016-2023 What Fresh Hell, LLC Parenting & Families Relationships
Episodes
  • DEEP DIVE: Ellen Kahn On Supporting Our LGBTQ Kids

    DEEP DIVE: Ellen Kahn On Supporting Our LGBTQ Kids
    Jun 23 2025
    Ellen Kahn⁠ is the Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign. In her role, Ellen provides national leadership and expertise in public education and advocacy efforts on behalf of LGBTQ youth and families. Ellen is nationally recognized as an expert on LGBTQ family life and LGBTQ youth. She's also a proud mom of two teenage daughters. In this interview, Ellen explains how parents can create a home environment that affirms and accepts LGBTQ children, and how to advocate for LGBTQ kids in the larger world– whether they're our own children or not. As Ellen explains: "It's all of us together, chiseling away at the reason parents can be fearful when they find out their child is LGBTQ. Let's just not raise bullies anymore." Here are a few additional resources mentioned in this episode: Human Rights Campaign's ⁠welcomingschools.org⁠ ⁠pflag.org⁠ "Serendipitydodah- Home of the Mama Bears" Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Serendipitydodah 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, inclusive, inclusivity , transgender, trans kids, transgender kids, support for trans kids, trans rights, queer kids, lgbtq kids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Fresh Take: Dr. Morgan Cutlip on Redistributing the Mental Load

    Fresh Take: Dr. Morgan Cutlip on Redistributing the Mental Load
    Jun 20 2025
    Amy chats with Dr. Morgan Cutlip about her new book A Better Share, which offers practical, research-based strategies for managing the mental load in relationships. They discuss how default parenting, gender socialization, and communication missteps can create resentment—and how couples can reconnect through clarity and shared responsibility. You’ll hear why the mental load is the real relationship villain, not your partner— and how to invite your partner into the solution . Amy and Morgan discuss: why our invisible labor is so hard to talk about without sparking defensiveness why curiosity offers a secret to lasting connection how being the default parent impacts one's desire for intimacy how to help kids develop initiative, not just complete chores the power of “gracious interpretations” and the ultimate compliment formula Here's where you can find Morgan: https://drmorgancutlip.com Listen to Morgan's podcast "Love Thinks" @drmorgancutlip on IG Buy A BETTER SHARE: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781400239672 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, household equity, household equality, gender household equality, gender household equity, maternal mental health, postpartum health, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Trad Moms and Trad Wives

    Trad Moms and Trad Wives
    Jun 18 2025
    We dive into the world of #tradwives and trad moms—mothers who embrace their traditional gender roles and showcase homemaking all over social media, usually with a heavy dose of curated perfection, aspiring to a bygone ideal that may never exactly have actually existed. Amy and Margaret discuss: what actually defines a trad wife the influence of social media algorithms in boosting—and polarizing—this content the aesthetic fantasy of cottagecore, nap dresses, and homesteading versus the messy reality of modern motherhood Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: Sophie Elmhirst for The New Yorker: ⁠The Rise and Fall of the Trad Wife⁠ Maddie Garfinkle for People Magazine: ⁠What Is a Tradwife? All About the Controversial Lifestyle — And Why It's Having a Viral Moment⁠ Amy X. Wang for The New York Times: ⁠Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Tradwife? 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, household equity, household equality, gender household equality, gender household equity, trad wives, trad moms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    46 mins
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