Hands Off Parents

Because of a recent email the ladies received about having a second child. Steph and Abby are stoked to welcome back a friend and previous guest, Nyala Wright Nolen. Nyala has a three-year-old and an 8-month old baby. The three ladies discuss "how that's all going," as it may seem like a nightmare to some. Nyala has some great tips about dealing with a toddler and a baby and some things she didn't anticipate (the three year old wants to sit in the baby's car seat!). It's a fun conversation and might just help you decide if you should have another one... you know if you were debating that or something.

In this week's episode Steph and Abby's husband's join the podcast to explore some of marriage and parenting's deepest, darkest questions: How do you rediscover your marriage post kids? Can you blame your children for making you just want to watch TV at night instead of having deep, philosophical conversations? Are married couples still happy and should they love their spouses more than their children? Or is it just a different type of love? What do dads worry about? Do dads have feelings even? Finally, Steph, Abby, Mike and Rob get to the heart of marriage, which just might be: Now that we have kids, do we love our spouses only 80% of the time? And if so, is that OK?

This week Steph and Abby chat about a New York Times piece that's been making the rounds about parenting in a time of fear. This kicks off a lively and scattered conversation about leaving your kids in the car, shaming moms into thinking that they are not good enough and feeling bad about yourself in general. And organizational systems or the lack thereof. Oh, you forgot that Steph and Abby meander in their conversations? Well, welcome back!Meander at them on their Facebook page!

On this week’s episode, Steph and Abby are blessed to have pro-parent Ty Mahany on the show to discuss gender norms, giving kids choices (and beer), nature vs. nurture, and the inevitability of becoming our parents. Warning: our kids are particularly loud and annoying this week. If you take a shot every time you hear a toddler scream “NO” in the background, you will be druuuunk. Also, guys, go to iTunes and review us if you like the show. If you don’t, um, don’t.

In this episode, we discuss SO MANY THINGS including the pros and cons of sending your kid to school sick (1:00), daycare correspondence (5:45), the endless sick loop (7:30), wanting to quit life (13:00) how to parent through grief/sadness/depression/etc. (15:00) and freezing your kids poop (25:00).

This week, Abby breaks down a bit in her frustrations with disciplining her kids. What should you do to channel all of that kid rage? Why do you feel like you're being held hostage in your own home? How do you get kids to listen when you don’t even know how to talk to them? If only there was a book! Steph reminds her that there is and Abby should listen to this podcast named Hands Off Parents. So should you!

In today’s episode, we candidly discuss all things infertility related (shame, sadness, self-loathing, desperation, price tag, twins, causes, etc.), suddenly becoming “geriatric” and “high risk" at age 35, and the fear of having another baby after having a difficult time the first go round.

This week Steph and Abby welcome Tish Ochoa, mom, business owner and PTO officer. With Abby entering "real school" she has many questions about the PTO, starting with, "So... what's the PTA then?" Tish shares some horror stories but also some of the reasons she feels it's worth being an active school parent. Are you in the PTO? PTA? Do you know the difference? Share in the comments!

In this week’s episode, we talk to YA author, Jennifer Mathieu, about her family's conscious decision to only have one child. Stephanie is on the fence, so Jennifer debunks many popular one-child myths and we pro/con the one-child choice. We also talk candidly about the dark days of early motherhood and the transition back to yourself. Jennifer explains how motherhood actually made her more productive and gives us tips on how to be a super human who is able to write four novels, hold down a full-time job, and raise a bad-ass 5 year old at the same time. We love her. Enjoy!P.S. If you guys love us, please follow us on Twitter. We have 14 followers. It’s pathetic.

This week Abby shares a story of her current experiences with the public school system. Her neighborhood school has some growing pains, and the activist in her wants to support by enrolling her kids but is also worried about being a guinea pig. Steph offers some sage advice, as always, filled with sarcasm. Then they share some good things that have happened with their kids lately and they struggle to think of any! How does your school system work? Share in the comments.

This week Steph and Abby discuss a recent Atlantic essay about throwing away your child’s art work. There’s just too much of it! But the question always remains: What to keep and what to toss? And are we keeping certain things in an attempt to hold onto the ephemeral nature of childhood or do we really want to preserve yet another picture of a stick figure with over-sized ears? What does it all mean on a deeper level? Is it really about a fear of our own mortality??? OH YES THEY DIVE DEEP TODAY, FRIENDS! They also talk about what we trash and treasure in our own lives. How do we as parents make room for what really matters? Let us know what you trash and treasure in the comments. And then go over to iTunes and write us a glowing review so we can treasure you. We also have a new Facebook group for "hands off parents." Find us and join today!

Are your kids back to school yet? Did you breathe a sigh of relief or is the back to school craziness making you...er... crazy? This week, Steph and Abby are joined by mother of 25 and all around amazing parent, Annie Stein. The three women share their first week of school successes and failures, among other back to school topics (make lunch the night before or...?) Share your own back to school stories on their Facebook page.

This week Steph and Abby are Thrilled (with a capital T) to welcome Marlon Hall to the show. Marlon is a renaissance man with a zillion jobs and talents: anthropologist, yoga teacher, lecturer, director of an arts nonprofit, AND he is a father. He also happens to have an amazing outlook on life and a tuned-in approach to parenting and being mindful. The ladies have been in a bad place of late, and they welcome his refreshing approach to seeing the world and parenting for what it is: a really crappy, hard, upsetting place but with so many silver-linings. Be ready to want to make Marlon your new BFF. And then go rate and review us on iTunes.

This week, the ladies are thrilled to welcome back Rabbi Josh Fixler to the show! After a particularly tough few weeks living on this planet and parenting small children, Steph and Abby are in need of some serious hope, and Josh has some serious words of wisdom. Of course there are lots of laughs too and Steph really does her best to earn that EXPLICIT rating.

In honor of the fact that it's the first day of school here in Houston, and Steph and Abby are having all kinds of trouble getting their s**t together, we present a rebroadcast of an episode from TWO years ago! It's the Hands Off Parents Back to School Throwback episode!On this episode, Steph and Abby are joined by a very special guest: elementary school teacher and parent of two, Brooke Smith! Brooke shares with the ladies all of the darkest secrets from the depths of the teachers' lounge: What makes parents really, really annoying? How can we form better relationships with teachers? And seriously, how much are the teachers talking smack when we forget things like book covers and dressing our kids in matching socks?Brooke gives the ladies some very practical and hilarious insights on life as a teacher and parent, including what we can all do to make the back to school transition as neat as the hair on our kids' heads that we didn't comb at all.Back with a brand new episode next week! xoxo

Today, on the show, we discuss the ever so popular dinner party topic: RELIGION. Steph’s family is dipping their toes in Judaism, while Abby wonders if her family is blowing it by raising her kids atheist. A ton of questions come up this week. Can you set your own family rituals or do you need the umbrella of religion? Can you join a religion with your family in adulthood if you weren't raised that way? What's the point of religion in child rearing anyway? Tradition? Community? Morality? Can TV be a religion? What TV shows teach morality to kids? Are we being offensive? We don’t mean to be. We really do accept whatever it is that you believe (or don’t believe.) Bottom line, we want our kids to be good people. So, is religion a necessary means to that end?

112: Is Something Wrong With My Kid?This week, Abby and Steph discuss what to do when you are worried that there is something wrong with your kid, behaviorally. Abby has had some concerns and Steph talks her off the ledge (What? Stephanie is the positive one here?) They decide that the best thing you can do for your kids is to be informed.

With the holiday season officially in full swing, Steph and Abby discuss some of their holiday stressors, buying the right gift, being the most merry, and over-spending/worrying/justifying/thenmorespending. They decide that their own best approach is to identify the things that get them worried, and do their best to avoid those things. Much easier said than done, but when all else fails, eat chocolate! What are you worried about this holiday season?

The summer of mat... JK! Stephanie returns!! Huzzah!Yay! Stephanie returns!! Abby and Steph discuss all the things you might not want to hear: maternity, quitting dairy as a nursing mother, postpartum blood, "wait, you also have a toddler?!" and Ugh you are still wetting the bed? It's a classic Hands Off episode if you ever knew one!

This week Abby welcomes back Maryocéane Guy, a now regular guest on the show. Both women are facing a crisis: Their kids are starting real school in the fall and it's frightening. But more than that, Mary has realized that she needs to let go of some things to make this transition smooth for her daughter but also herself. Boundaries are tough! You know what else is tough, audio recording- Forgive Abby for the low volume. Turn your headphones up.