How can we tear our kids away from the increasingly addictive video games they can't get enough of? Dr. Alok Kanojia, author of the book HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY GAMER, explains how to talk to kids about their video game addiction. Dr. Kanojia is a former gaming addict and a Harvard-trained psychiatrist who has developed evidence-based programs that helped tens of thousands of gamers overcome their addiction. Margaret and Dr. Kanojia discuss: Signs that someone is addicted to something and why gaming can fill a void How to talk to your gamer about healthy habits Enforcing boundaries around gami ..read more

How can we tear our kids away from the increasingly addictive video games they can't get enough of? Dr. Alok Kanojia, author of the book HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY GAMER, explains how to talk to kids about their video game addiction. Dr. Kanojia is a former gaming addict and a Harvard-trained psychiatrist who has developed evidence-based programs that helped tens of thousands of gamers overcome their addiction. Margaret and Dr. Kanojia discuss: Signs that someone is addicted to something and why gaming can fill a void How to talk to your gamer about healthy habits Enforcing boundaries around gami ..read more

Follow us on YouTube! Are you worried your picky eater will never eat a vegetable as long as they live? Here are some parenting tips for picky eaters—and some updates on Amy and Margaret's own picky eaters since recording our very first episode 8 years ago! (It's good news.) Amy and Margaret discuss: Why it's helpful to make food the least interesting thing at the dinner table How to maintain your own sanity around mealtimes by meeting kids where they are Why dinnertime is actually the worst time of day to get kids to try new foods How pairing and "food chaining" can help expand your picky ea ..read more

Parenting as a team is an ongoing challenge– even when your relationship with your co-parent is usually harmonious. But matching headspaces with your co-parent about a problem your family, or one of your children, is dealing with doesn't have to be the goal.  Parenting as a team can often mean taking turns, whether it's with the pancake-flipping, the hard talks with teenagers, or the 3 am worried Googling of ICD-10 diagnoses. In this episode we talk about what’s worked for us in moments of disagreement or struggle with our spouses, and how we found common ground. If getting through the pa ..read more

Why are stereotypes of teenage girls rarely flattering? And what important traits are we not acknowledging in these young women? Chelsey Goodan, author of the new book UNDERESTIMATED: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls, explains what teenage girls really want and need from us. Chelsey and Amy discuss: The generational shift towards a culture of support and empowerment among young girls today The significance of offering agency to young girls in shaping their identities and futures What teenage girls want from their parents more than anything else Here's where you can find Chelsey: https ..read more

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into the division of household labor—why it's often unbalanced, and what we can do about it. You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. Kate Mangino, PhD, is a gender expert and professional facilitator who has been working internationally for nearly 20 years. She is the author of the new book Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equity at Home, an informed guide about how readers can rewrite harmful gender norms and create greater household equity. Here's where you can find Kate: https://www.katemangino.com @Mangino ..read more

Cognitive biases are self-deceptive thought patterns we all use to make sense of the world. In a world that makes less and less sense, Amanda Montell argues, humans have become more irrational than ever. In her new book THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING, Montell explains how our brains' coping mechanisms have become overloaded—and how to slow down our panic responses when the world becomes too overwhelming. Amanda, Amy, and Margaret discuss: How magical overthinking has manifested from the modern age of mass information overload and an epidemic of loneliness The types of cognitive biases that c ..read more

We all know what extreme "oversharenting" is when we see it. It's the gray areas that get harder. When we post about our kid's adventures in potty training, are we supposed to think twice? What will happen when our kids are old enough to want to curate their own internet presence? How concerned should we be about the privacy we may have given away without thinking? Amy and Margaret discuss: the digital footprint and the "right to be forgotten" what to check in your privacy settings when to start asking kids for permission before you post the benefits we gain from sharing about our families on ..read more

This month, we're doing a deep dive series into the division of household labor—why it's often unbalanced, and what we can do about it. You can find the playlist with all of the episodes in the series here. Want to see a mother get mad? Tell her she's "nagging" you after she's been obligated to repeat an entirely reasonable request several times over. And just why is "nagging" a word that's almost exclusively applied to women? We need the other members of our households to show up and do their share. As the default parents, we own the lists. So do we stop caring whether others like how we ask ..read more

Is it even possible to declutter your home for more than one minute at a time when you've got kids? Diane Boden, host of the Minimalist Moms podcast, offers parenting tips for cutting down on possessions in a manageable way. Diane Boden is the host of the Minimalist Moms Podcast and author of Minimalist Moms: Living and Parenting with Simplicity. She lives in Ohio with her husband and three kids. Diane, Margaret, and Amy discuss: What minimalism can mean for different people Simple steps for starting the decluttering process—and some more radical strategies too How to reconcile different set ..read more