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

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

Episodes

October 10, 2025 38 mins
Amy and Margaret sit down with Dr. Jean Twenge, renowned researcher of generational differences and author of the new book 10 RULES FOR RAISING KIDS IN A HIGH-TECH WORLD. Dr. Twenge shares what her research reveals about smartphones, social media, and gaming—and how they impact kids’ mental health, sleep, and friendships. From the rise of teen depression since the smartphone boom, to the addictive power of algorithms, to the eve...
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Mom firsts? We prefer to reminisce about Mom WORSTS. In this episode we relive some of our all-time lousiest experiences as mothers, from family-wide Coxsackie virus to elaborate homework assignments achievable only with extensive parental participation. Margaret mentions the song "Tim Finnegan's Wake" in this episode, which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRXWWZ74Qe8 We love the sponsors that make this...
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The human tendency to solve problems by adding something is called "additive solution bias." However, sometimes a problem is more quickly and effectively solved by taking something away. In this episode we talk about how "additive solution bias" can play out in our parenting strategies, and how we can become more aware of the times when what we actually need to do is take something away. Amy and Margaret discuss: Why our brai...
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Margaret sits down with Suzanne Warye—sobriety influencer, host of The Sober Mom Life podcast, and author of the new book THE SOBER SHIFT. Suzanne shares her story of walking away from alcohol, the truth about moderation, the concept of gray area drinking, and why sobriety can feel like abundance, not deprivation. Together, they explore how alcohol affects motherhood, anxiety, and identity, and how community can make the journey to...
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Is your kid extremely resistant to the simplest of requests? Or completely impossible to wake up in the morning? Or sure their peers don't like them, despite pretty clear evidence to the contrary? All of these are extremely typical kid behaviors. All of these also have more intense manifestations—PDA, DSWPD, and RSD, respectively— which meet clinical definitions and which may require more concrete support, for both you and your k...
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September 29, 2025 44 mins
A recent report found that the division of home responsibilities is still grossly unequal. Mothers—whether they are married or single—do significantly more than fathers. In fact, the ⁠“The Free-Time Gender Gap” ⁠report found that “simply being a woman is linked to spending more time on unpaid childcare and household work, and having less free time, even when controlling for age, income, race/ ethnicity, parental status, and marital...
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September 26, 2025 35 mins
What happens when you finally, as an adult, understand for the first time that your brain has been wired differently all along? Writer and mother Carla Ciccone joins Amy and Margaret to discuss her memoir NOWHERE GIRL: Life as a Member of ADHD’s Lost Generation. Together, they explore how ADHD in women often presents differently than the “hyperactive little boy” stereotype, and the lasting impact on many adult women with ADHD of ha...
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September 24, 2025 43 mins
From road trips to reclaim lost lovies to birthday extravaganzas with six-month planning windows, parents will do just about anything for their kids. Amy and Margaret share listener stories—and their own—about the wildest, weirdest, and most over-the-top lengths we have all gone to make their kids happy. Read the saga of the missing Tortellini We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the spec...
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We've all felt the guilt that comes with taking time away from our kids to do something we enjoy. But if we're always being told how liberating it is to do things for ourselves, why do we have such complicated feelings about? Dr. Amber Thornton tells us how we can successfully balance our lives both as women and as mothers. ⁠Dr. Amber Thornton⁠ is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Millennial Motherhood Wellness Coach. She is th...
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September 19, 2025 41 mins
How do women balance being both effective and likable? It shouldn't be ours to manage, and yet it is. This week Margaret and Amy talk with Dr. Kate Mason, communications coach and author of POWERFULLY LIKABLE: A Woman’s Guide to Effective Communication. What you'll learn in this episode: Why women often feel trapped between being “powerful” or “likable” The cultural roots of authority and expertise—and how they still af...
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Have female friendships become more complicated than they need to be? Amy and Margaret dig into the dynamics of their own female-female friendships and what the research says: why some friendships last decades, why others drift apart, and why friendship “breakup texts” have become a thing. In this episode you'll learn: Why women expect more intimacy and reciprocity from friends than men do Why conflict styles play a bi...
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Natalie Mayslich is the President of Consumer for ⁠Care.com⁠, where she is responsible for expanding, building and delivering the Company’s portfolio of Childcare and Senior Care products and services. Blessing Adesiyan is the Founder of ⁠Mother Honestly⁠, a platform that provides financial technology and work-life infrastructure to employers and is reshaping the future of women and families at home and in the workplace. Natalie ...
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Amy sits down with Trevor Hanson, coach and founder of The Art of Healing and the Secure Self Club, to unpack the power of attachment theory and how it shapes our relationships. Trevor explains the differences between secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles—and why understanding your patterns can transform the way you love, communicate, and connect. Trevor shares practical tools for breaking free from people-pleasing, over...
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September 10, 2025 41 mins
It's what you've all been waiting for: Even More Husband Crimes, Part Two. This episode's charges include: napping on Mother's Day seasoning food like he's on a cooking show booking weeklong holidays to the in-laws' house Book 'em, Dano. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars. 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 ...
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Ericka Sóuter has over 20 years of journalism experience and is a regular contributor on Good Morning America and other national broadcast outlets. Ericka speaks to parents across the country about the issues, controversies, and trends most affecting families today. She's also the author of ⁠How to Have a Kid and Life: a Survival Guide.⁠ In this episode, Ericka and Margaret discuss: The greatest predictor of kids' socioemotion...
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Amy and Margaret sit down with sociologist and author Allison Daminger to unpack the cognitive labor many of us fail to recognize in our families' daily lives— what's come to be known as the "mental load." In her new book WHAT'S ON HER MIND: The Mental Workload of Family Life, Allison unpacks her years of research to explain how cognitive labor—anticipating needs, planning, decision-making, and follow-up—shapes family dynamics a...
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September 3, 2025 44 mins
Right now your kid doesn't like you. At all. What is really going on? And how can we respond without losing our cool, even when our feelings are genuinely hurt? In this episode Amy and Margaret discuss: Why kids say “I hate you” (and why it’s rarely about you) How to handle boundary-testing without escalating conflict The importance of letting kids push against limits... while holding firm to those limits Keeping con...
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How do we help our kids succeed in school without becoming the dreaded "snowplow" parents? Here are some parenting tips for advocating for your child at school when necessary, while also empowering our kids to navigate their own learning. Amy and Margaret discuss: How school environments have changed in the last few decades Best practices for helping kids of different ages manage homework How to start a productive conver...
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Toddler meltdowns, stroller mayhem, ear infections. Doesn't that sound so relaxing? In this listener-sourced episode, moms everywhere unleash frustration over the "monsters" who have made their vacations difficult - nay, impossible. 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/prom...
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Amy and Margaret dive deep into the concept of radical acceptance—what it is, what it isn’t, and how it can transform your approach to parenting, relationships, and life’s toughest moments. From the wisdom of the Serenity Prayer to Buddhist teachings about the “second arrow,” the hosts unpack how accepting reality (without judgment or resistance) can help you move forward, even when things are hard. In This Episode: What is ra...
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