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The Mom Hour

Happier motherhood starts here.

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New? Welcome! Start Here.

Welcome! We’re so glad you’re listening to The Mom Hour (or are interested in getting started). This page should have everything you need to get to know us, listen to our show, and become a part of our community.

(By the way, we’re Meagan and Sarah, your co-hosts since the show launched in 2015. You can find out more about us on this page.)

HOW TO LISTEN

If you’ve never listened to a podcast before, that’s OK! Here’s a handy guide to get you started.

If you’re podcast-familiar but aren’t sure where to find our show, we’re pretty much everywhere. Here are links to find us on your favorite distribution platforms:

  • Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)
  • Spotify
  • Pandora
  • Google Podcasts
  • Android (this link will open up your preferred app on an Android device)
  • Stitcher
  • iHeart Radio
  • TuneIn

POPULAR EPISODES

Here are some of our favorite episodes for new listeners to start with. You can click through to the show notes and press play on the media player at the bottom of each post, or search for the episode by name in your favorite podcast app.

If you don’t see the topics you’re looking for, use the search bar on the right to see if we’ve covered them. If you want to see one big list of all our episodes in chronological order, we have that here.

Episodes To Encourage All Moms

  • The Life-Changing Magic of Opting Out (Episode 161)
  • 10 Habits of Happy Moms (Part 1) (Episode 137)
  • 10 Habits of Happy Moms (Part 2) (Episode 138)
  • The Myth Of The Mom Tribe (Episode 144)
  • Body Confidence As A Mom (Episode 99)
  • When You Feel Criticized, Remember This (Episode 165)
  • Our Worst #MomFail Moments (Episode 157)

Episodes For Pregnant & New Moms

  • How Baby’s Personality May (Or May Not) Predict Big Kid Character Traits (Episode 181)
  • Things We Shouldn’t Have Freaked Out About (As New Moms) (Episode 19)
  • Strong As A Mother with Kate Rope (Voices, Episode 26)
  • Newborn Attachment with Alexandra Spitz (Voices, Episode 20)
  • Things We Shouldn’t Have Freaked Out About (Breastfeeding Edition) (Episode 114)
  • Pregnancy & Birth, In Hindsight (Episode 38)
  • Getting Ready For Baby (Episode 74)
  • Coping With Sleep Deprivation (Episode 87)
  • How To REALLY Help A New Mom (LIVE From Newport Beach)
  • Postpartum Symptoms & Surprises (Episode 88)

Episodes For Moms Of Toddlers & Little Kids

  • Toddlers vs. Teenagers (Episode 192)
  • Helping Kids With Doctor Visits, Shots, and “Appointment Fear” (Episode 180)
  • Potty Training & Other Bathroom Matters (Episode 156)
  • Things We Shouldn’t Have Freaked Out About (Toddler Years) (Episode 24
  • Bedtime Routines at Every Stage (Episode 80)
  • Ignore Bad Behavior & Enjoy Parenting More with Catherine Pearlman (Voices, Episode 16)
  • Kids in the Kitchen (Episode 70)
  • Things We Shouldn’t Have Freaked Out About (Starting School Edition) (Episode 62)
  • 8 Milestones & When Our Kids Met Them (Episode 34)
  • Gift Ideas For Babies, Toddlers & Little Kids

Episodes For Moms Of Older Kids

  • Screen Time Strategies Through The Years (Episode 209)
  • Helping Kids Learn From Mistakes with Jessica Lahey (Voices 35)
  • Helping Or Helicoptering? (Part 1, Part 2) (Episodes 194 & 195)
  • Chores, Life Skills, & Household Contributions (Episode 191)
  • Magical Night Visitors (Elves, Bunnies, Fairies & Jolly Fat Dudes) (Episode 96)
  • Raising Lifelong Learners (Episode 95)
  • Talking Sex Ed, Puberty, & Growing Up with Nora Gelperin & AMAZE.org (Voices, Episode 13)
  • Tweens (Is This A Thing? Yes, It Is): The Mom Hour, Episode 143
  • Choosing The Right School (Not As Scary As It Seems) (Episode 16)
  • How To Be A Happier Sports Parent (Episode 117)
  • Kids & Friendships with Eileen Kennedy-Moore (Voices, Episode 18)
  • Becoming Screenwise with Devorah Heitner (Voices, Episode 13

Episodes About Working Motherhood or Work/Life Balance

  • Productivity & Time Management Tips For Moms (Episode 169)
  • Stretched Too Thin With Jessica Turner (Voices 29)
  • How Do I Make Time For It All? (Episode 60)
  • Calendar Tips & To-Do List Strategies (Episode 83)
  • Meagan & Sarah’s Working-Mom Lives (Episode 140)
  • Listener Questions (Working Mom / SAHM Edition) (Episode 142)
  • Inside the Lives of 3 Working Moms (Voices, Episode 02)
  • Stay At Home, Work Full-Time, Or Something In Between? (Episode 105)

Listener Questions Episodes

The episodes that feature us answering listener questions are a great way to get to know us and hear a lot of parenting topics covered in a short amount of time. Here’s a handy list of all the episodes and the topics covered:

  • Episode 211: Creating family culture around vacations, whether we let our kids skip school for family trips, how to stick to sleep routines on the road, dealing with kid meltdowns while traveling, and budgeting tips for family travel
  • Episode 210: Coping tips for a mom whose husband travels, our thoughts on whether preschool is “necessary”, Sarah’s response to a listener anticipating a planned Caesarian birth, and encouragement for a mom of three who wonders when her family will all be able to enjoy the same activities together
  • Episode 199: Helping a little kid deal with big feelings about an out-of-state move, traveling as a nervous flyer, finding your groove as an at-home mom when kids are in school full-time, and getting dad involved when a toddler only wants mama
  • Episode 198: Helping school-age kids start to self-regulate around screens and sweets, navigating an awkward situation with a fellow preschool mom, and organizing the “drop zone” in our homes
  • Episode 176: Parenting a strong-willed kid, handling criticism about your family size or kids’ spacing, the first signs of kid crushes and puppy love, and gift ideas for your kids’ grandparents
  • Episode 175: Losing your cool and yelling at your kids (how it happens to us ALL, how to prevent it, and how to cope after it happens), dealing with a pinching/biting 19-month-old, and extracting your family from a sticky situation with neighbor friends whose parenting style makes you uncomfortable.
  • Episode 163: Helping a toddler with nighttime fears, taking a baby to the beach, the ideal age-spacing between siblings, and helping a two-year-old feel special when a new baby arrives
  • Episode 162: Helping a shy preschooler, saving money on groceries, and helping kids learn to deal with frustration
  • Episode 149: Setting up toddler playgroups, feeling overwhelmed by housework, and how to handle teachers who don’t see your kid the way you do
  • Episode 135: A toddler who won’t stay in his room at bedtime, a seven-year-old with a fibbing habit, what to do with a busy toddler while you nurse a new baby, and how to help kids who struggle with playing independently
  • Episode 123: When to start giving kids an allowance, whether or not to pay for chores, getting mentally psyched up for baby #2, and dealing with kids’ annoying habits
  • Episode 122: Closely spaced babies, tips on room-sharing, helping siblings get along, and dealing with super-shy toddlers
  • Episode 111: Transitioning a one-year-old to a big-kid bed, frustrating behavior patterns of toddlers and preschoolers, and evenings chaos at home with four kids
  • Episode 110: Requesting teacher changes at school, finding postpartum body acceptance while sticking to a realistic fitness routine, what to do when safety worries interfere with enjoying life as a mom
  • Episode 94: What we wish we’d worried about LESS in hindsight, what we’re doing differently–and the same–than our parents’ generation did, and our thoughts on sending a 7-year-old to sleepaway camp
  • Episode 93: Preschool boys interested in bad-guy play, fighting stereotypes while raising girls, and how to find the balance between self-acceptance and the desire to grow
  • Episode 73: Letting a five-year-old quit an activity she begged to start, helping a trio of cousins get along, and weaning a breastfeeding toddler
  • Episode 65: When a kid’s fears and anxieties dominate the household mood; a sticky situation involving wild kids, a restaurant, and a big family reunion; and a new mom struggles with her decision to co-sleep
  • Episode 52: Asking for help with childcare, what to do when close friends have dramatically different parenting styles, handling kids’ big emotions with elementary school friendship struggles, and how to stop apologizing for yourself and embrace chaos with confidence
  • Episode 41: Room-sharing siblings, planning first birthday parties, feeling left out when you have your kids earlier or later than your friends do, and the evolution of playdates

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

We’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We also have a Facebook group where fans of the show connect and support each other.

You can email us at hello@themomhour.com.

If you want to leave us a voicemail with a comment or listener question, we’re on Speakpipe, or you can simply record yourself using your phone’s voice memo recorder, and email the audio file to hello@themomhour.com.

We send a newsletter once a month with an essay about motherhood, life tips and hacks you didn’t hear on the podcast, and (wait for it) ALL OUR SPONSOR PROMO CODES all in one handy list. You can sign up for that list here.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Podcasts come to you for free (isn’t that amazing?). Our show is made possible in a few different ways, and you can show your support and help us continue to bring you encouraging comment by doing these little things:

  • Rate and review the show wherever you listen. The more reviews we have, the more other listeners can easily discover the podcast. It’s one of those algorithm things. 🙂
  • Support our sponsors! We work our tails off to bring you messages from brands we think you’ll like, and we only partner with brands we can get behind. When you use one of our promo codes or special links, you’re showing sponsors that our messages are resonating, and that helps the show. (FYI: Newsletter subscribers get a handy list of promo codes sent out each month.)
  • Tell a friend about The Mom Hour. Honestly? This is one of the biggest ways you can help. Thank you.

SPONSOR OUR SHOW

Interested in reaching thousands of engaged moms through authentic, personalized, host-read podcast advertising? Let’s talk. Send an email to sponsor@themomhour.com to request a media kit and discuss rates and availability.

Meet Meagan + Sarah

Where To Listen

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Listener Reviews

The “Surfboard Kid”

the story behind the "surfboard kid"

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About The Producers

Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers, principals of Life, Listened, and the voices and creative team behind The Mom Hour, a popular weekly podcast in continuous publication since 2015, are launching a brand-new podcast aimed at pregnant moms in 2019.

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Kindergarten Parent Primer: Podcast Episodes & Blog Posts From The Mom Hour

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Hometown Travel Guide: Los Angeles With Kids

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Top 10 parenting podcast hosted by @meaganfrancis (MI) & @powersofmine (SoCal). 8 kids between us, little to grown. Happier motherhood starts here.

The Mom Hour
Did you know...? We publish fewer More Than Mom ep Did you know...? We publish fewer More Than Mom episodes in the summertime, and then ramp back up in the fall. Do you have a fun, fluffy topic you'd like to hear Meagan and Sarah tackle in a MTM this fall? Drop a comment below! ⬇️ ⬇️
New episode! When to get kids their first cell ph New episode!

When to get kids their first cell phone brings up all kinds of questions: How do you know when your child is ready? How to talk to kids about safety? How to help kids develop a healthy relationship with their phone? Social Media? Phone etiquette? (The list goes on!) In today's episode, Sarah welcomes back her friend Dr. Catherine Pearlman to talk about kids and technology--specifically the learning that happens when kids start to navigate their own personal devices, like phones. Today Catherine (@thefamilycoachsays) helps us navigate the new and murky waters of personal devices for our kids and answers some of your burning questions about first phones. Plus, stick around for a short conversation Sarah had with her own 9- and 12-year-olds about what THEY think about this topic!

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
We're talking college on the podcast this week! No We're talking college on the podcast this week! Not necessarily the brass tacks of sending a kid for college, but more the role the very IDEA of it plays in our family culture.

Dressing tiny humans in university garb is for sure a little parenting joy - I had lots of fun doing it when my kids were small. Looking back at these photos makes me (Sarah) smile - and wonder what team colors are being flown in our listeners' homes!

Do you have little Longhorns or tiny Tigers or wee Wildcats? Do your kids know your college fight song? Are you a house divided by college sports rivalry? Is any of this this even a thing in your house? I'm here for it all. 💜 -S 

PS - Look for this image at the link in our bio to listen to the episode. It's as much for moms of littles as it is for those who have college on the horizon - and we tell some fun stories!
Listener Mail! 📬 Thanks so much for the travel Listener Mail! 📬 Thanks so much for the travel tip, Audrey! (Shared with permission.)

"I enjoyed your travel-related topics this summer and even though we had traveled quite a bit with our kids pre-pandemic, I found a bunch of the tips incredibly helpful as we have restarted our family travels again. One tip I would like to offer, is to put the kids in almost obnoxiously bright clothing on the day of travel. I make my two rambunctious boys wear neon-colored shirts when we are in airports for flight travel or crowded rest areas or restaurants on road trips. This allows my eyes to quickly spot them if ever they should lag behind or get ahead. It makes me feel more relaxed to think they would be a little easier to locate myself or for someone else should something happen, or if I’m overwhelmed trying to navigate new places and my attention is elsewhere." 

Don't forget that ALL our travel-related content is collected at http://themomhour.com/travel22! You'll find podcast episodes, packing lists, blog posts, Disney tips, and more. Click this image at the link in our bio to find the Travel Hub.

#travelwithkids #roadtriptips #familytravelhack #familytravel #familytraveltip #flyingwithkids #roadtripswithkids
New episode! College decision-making is influence New episode!

College decision-making is influenced by so many things--parents, peers, teachers, family members, your larger community and more. And as with everything else: all families approach this differently! While some bleed their alma mater colors, others don't see college as the only option for helping launch kids after graduation. In this episode, Meagan and Sarah have an open-ended conversation about the role college played in our own stories, our family-of-origin culture, and the narrative we're shaping for our kids now. We also give you a peek into our educational paths, how we made those decisions and how our eight kids perceive the idea of college today. This is a topic close to home for Meagan as she prepares to send Will off in the next few weeks to start his own journey.

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
Last week, on our annual extended-family up-north Last week, on our annual extended-family up-north trip, a few things struck me. 

One: this pack of boy cousins - now a mixed bag of older teens and young adults - has been goofing off for the camera pretty much just like this since they were toddlers and preschoolers. 

Two: things are changing almost unbelievably quickly. This year Will brought his car and drove several of his cousins to the meeting spot, a campground with spotty wifi in the middle of a data desert. With their own transportation and unreliable communication, that meant the boys were truly on their own for a good part of the trip.

There was a busy four-year-old boy with us on the trip, the son of my nephew's girlfriend. As the little guy leapt over roots and sprung from rock formations on one of our hikes, his (likely exhausted) mom keeping a wary and watchful eye, I was fielding texts from Will announcing that he and his cousins had decided to go shopping instead and would meet up with us later. I nearly protested, but stifled it with a sigh. 

When I was that wary, watchful mom with my own passel of busy boys, I would have given a lot for an hour's hike, unencumbered. But now that mine are rapidly growing and flying, I find myself wishing sometimes that the who's-in-charge and who-needs-whom dynamics were more cut-and-dried. 

Parenting young adults is a delicate balance between holding them accountable to everything - social expectations, their own commitments, basic politeness - and giving them the autonomy to decide for themselves when to strike out on their own and even what counts as quality family time. It's a tightrope walk between helping them make good decisions about bedtimes and dietary choices and letting them figure out for themselves the consequences of a 3 AM bedtime after a bag of chips and a two-liter of soda. 

It's a constant push-pull, albeit a lot more subtle than gripping a sturdy small hand for a stair-jumping assist, and full of deep breaths of suppressed frustration and small chuckles of appreciation when the moments come - and they do still come - when they momentarily shed those tough, adult exteriors, and ham it up like little kids again. -M
Getting ready for kindergarten? We’ve got you co Getting ready for kindergarten? We’ve got you covered!

We’ve talked about kindergarten over the years. A LOT. With the start of a new school year right around the corner, we've gathered all our kindergarten and kinder-adjacent podcast episodes and blog posts in one handy place to help you prepare for this milestone. 

Click this image at the link in our bio to access our kindergarten roundup of resources.

#kindergarten #firstdayofschool #motherhood #parenting #school #kindergartenreadiness #lunchpacking #choosingtherightschool #schoolvolunteering #tipsforstartingschool
We’ve had some big discussions on the show the l We’ve had some big discussions on the show the last two weeks about moms taking on extra emotional work: to keep morale up, to show up for a struggling kid, to shape our kids’ future identities within a sibling group. Even when we think we’re aware of these dynamics, it’s easy to assign ourselves extra work without even realize we’re doing it. (And often in areas where we really have very little control!)

Where can you give yourself a gentle free pass right now? Finish the sentence “It’s not my job to…” in whatever way rings true for you - and drop a comment if you want to share!

Here are just a few ideas, but please add your own! 🥰

It’s not my job to…
…prove that I’m a good mom
…keep my children constantly entertained
…prevent every disappointment 
…intervene in sibling dynamics
…be the sole keeper of the family schedule
…join my tween in her mood
Happy Birthday, @meaganfrancis! If you listened t Happy Birthday, @meaganfrancis!

If you listened to yesterday's podcast episode, we chatted about how Meagan is celebrating 45 in the UP with her extended family... possibly with a karaoke takeover of the campground bar and grill.

Meagan, this podcast wouldn't exist without you, full stop. It's no exaggeration to say that you've helped bring calmness and common sense to hundreds of thousands of families in your two decades of creating content about motherhood. (And, less notably but thank goodness nonetheless, to ME.)

That's worth raising a glass to, no?

Listeners, if you want some extra Meagan in your ears this week, head over to @motherofreinventionshow and subscribe to the podcast. I (Sarah) will be on with Meagan in her Season 3 finale tomorrow (7/28) talking about kids getting older, midlife, career pivots, and more. 

☀️ Sarah
New episode! What are Meagan and Sarah’s best t New episode!

What are Meagan and Sarah’s best tips for getting kids started with their first phone? And with a new school year right around the corner, a mom asks how to prepare her child for the first day of kindergarten and looks for some fun traditions to help celebrate back to school. The “bigger kids, bigger problems” stage arrives early for one listener’s family, and she looks for strategies for maintaining her mental health and other relationships while they navigate tough times. Lastly, a mom of bickering siblings sets us up for a lively discussion about whether it’s mom’s job to prevent kids developing a complex or identity stemming from their birth order and sibling roles. In addition to our own thoughts, we tap the wisdom of our contributors as we tackle your listener questions in Episode 375.

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
We posted this in our Facebook community last week We posted this in our Facebook community last week and the answers were GOLD. Midsummer family dinners are allllll over the place, and we're here to normalize cereal, takeout, leftovers, and all the shrug emojis.

What's for dinner tonight in your house? Real answers only. ⬇️
Please help us welcome our podcast sponsors for Ju Please help us welcome our podcast sponsors for July! Every month, we like to take a little time to show some 💛 to our partners who help support the show + remind you of some of the great deals our sponsors are offering. For promo codes and links, just search the brand name on our website, and they'll pop up in our episode show notes. We also collect ALL our active promo codes (even the old ones that are still working!) in our email newsletter - which is full of other great things we want to share with you, too. Tap on this image at the link in our bio to subscribe today.

New & featured partners this month . . .
😌 @wearluckyandme (25% off comfy kids' undies!)
💅 @oliveandjune (20% off your first mani system!)

And welcome back to . . .
⭐️ @connectspeech (early language support!)
⭐️ @paireyewear (15% off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @autoapprove ($100 when you refinance!)
⭐️ @outschool ($15 off your child's 1st class!)
⭐️ @stitchfix ($20 off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @thrivecausemetics (15% off your 1st order)
⭐️ @publicgoods ($15 off, no minimum!)
⭐️ @scholasticinc (books for kids of all ages!)
⭐️ @hiyahealth (50% off 1st order!)
⭐️ @kiwico_inc (50% off your 1st mo!)
⭐️ @ritual (10% off 1st 3 mo!)
⭐️ @athleticgreens (1yr of Vit.D + 5 travel packs!)
⭐️ @vionicshoes (free shipping on cute shoes!)
Load More... Follow on Instagram

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SPONSOR A PODCAST

We are accepting sponsor applications from brands in the pregnancy, baby, and early parenting space to partner with us on this project. For rates and availability email sponsor@lifelistened.com.

Apply Now!

dates + details

June 8 @ 11:59pm ET: Application Deadline
June 9-30: Interviews + Selection
July 5: Onboarding Begins
August 3: Contracts Begin

Send us an email

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Email hello@themomhour.com and we’re here to help!

Play Our Latest Episode!

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looking for something?

Did you know...? We publish fewer More Than Mom ep Did you know...? We publish fewer More Than Mom episodes in the summertime, and then ramp back up in the fall. Do you have a fun, fluffy topic you'd like to hear Meagan and Sarah tackle in a MTM this fall? Drop a comment below! ⬇️ ⬇️
New episode! When to get kids their first cell ph New episode!

When to get kids their first cell phone brings up all kinds of questions: How do you know when your child is ready? How to talk to kids about safety? How to help kids develop a healthy relationship with their phone? Social Media? Phone etiquette? (The list goes on!) In today's episode, Sarah welcomes back her friend Dr. Catherine Pearlman to talk about kids and technology--specifically the learning that happens when kids start to navigate their own personal devices, like phones. Today Catherine (@thefamilycoachsays) helps us navigate the new and murky waters of personal devices for our kids and answers some of your burning questions about first phones. Plus, stick around for a short conversation Sarah had with her own 9- and 12-year-olds about what THEY think about this topic!

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
We're talking college on the podcast this week! No We're talking college on the podcast this week! Not necessarily the brass tacks of sending a kid for college, but more the role the very IDEA of it plays in our family culture.

Dressing tiny humans in university garb is for sure a little parenting joy - I had lots of fun doing it when my kids were small. Looking back at these photos makes me (Sarah) smile - and wonder what team colors are being flown in our listeners' homes!

Do you have little Longhorns or tiny Tigers or wee Wildcats? Do your kids know your college fight song? Are you a house divided by college sports rivalry? Is any of this this even a thing in your house? I'm here for it all. 💜 -S 

PS - Look for this image at the link in our bio to listen to the episode. It's as much for moms of littles as it is for those who have college on the horizon - and we tell some fun stories!
Listener Mail! 📬 Thanks so much for the travel Listener Mail! 📬 Thanks so much for the travel tip, Audrey! (Shared with permission.)

"I enjoyed your travel-related topics this summer and even though we had traveled quite a bit with our kids pre-pandemic, I found a bunch of the tips incredibly helpful as we have restarted our family travels again. One tip I would like to offer, is to put the kids in almost obnoxiously bright clothing on the day of travel. I make my two rambunctious boys wear neon-colored shirts when we are in airports for flight travel or crowded rest areas or restaurants on road trips. This allows my eyes to quickly spot them if ever they should lag behind or get ahead. It makes me feel more relaxed to think they would be a little easier to locate myself or for someone else should something happen, or if I’m overwhelmed trying to navigate new places and my attention is elsewhere." 

Don't forget that ALL our travel-related content is collected at http://themomhour.com/travel22! You'll find podcast episodes, packing lists, blog posts, Disney tips, and more. Click this image at the link in our bio to find the Travel Hub.

#travelwithkids #roadtriptips #familytravelhack #familytravel #familytraveltip #flyingwithkids #roadtripswithkids
New episode! College decision-making is influence New episode!

College decision-making is influenced by so many things--parents, peers, teachers, family members, your larger community and more. And as with everything else: all families approach this differently! While some bleed their alma mater colors, others don't see college as the only option for helping launch kids after graduation. In this episode, Meagan and Sarah have an open-ended conversation about the role college played in our own stories, our family-of-origin culture, and the narrative we're shaping for our kids now. We also give you a peek into our educational paths, how we made those decisions and how our eight kids perceive the idea of college today. This is a topic close to home for Meagan as she prepares to send Will off in the next few weeks to start his own journey.

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
Last week, on our annual extended-family up-north Last week, on our annual extended-family up-north trip, a few things struck me. 

One: this pack of boy cousins - now a mixed bag of older teens and young adults - has been goofing off for the camera pretty much just like this since they were toddlers and preschoolers. 

Two: things are changing almost unbelievably quickly. This year Will brought his car and drove several of his cousins to the meeting spot, a campground with spotty wifi in the middle of a data desert. With their own transportation and unreliable communication, that meant the boys were truly on their own for a good part of the trip.

There was a busy four-year-old boy with us on the trip, the son of my nephew's girlfriend. As the little guy leapt over roots and sprung from rock formations on one of our hikes, his (likely exhausted) mom keeping a wary and watchful eye, I was fielding texts from Will announcing that he and his cousins had decided to go shopping instead and would meet up with us later. I nearly protested, but stifled it with a sigh. 

When I was that wary, watchful mom with my own passel of busy boys, I would have given a lot for an hour's hike, unencumbered. But now that mine are rapidly growing and flying, I find myself wishing sometimes that the who's-in-charge and who-needs-whom dynamics were more cut-and-dried. 

Parenting young adults is a delicate balance between holding them accountable to everything - social expectations, their own commitments, basic politeness - and giving them the autonomy to decide for themselves when to strike out on their own and even what counts as quality family time. It's a tightrope walk between helping them make good decisions about bedtimes and dietary choices and letting them figure out for themselves the consequences of a 3 AM bedtime after a bag of chips and a two-liter of soda. 

It's a constant push-pull, albeit a lot more subtle than gripping a sturdy small hand for a stair-jumping assist, and full of deep breaths of suppressed frustration and small chuckles of appreciation when the moments come - and they do still come - when they momentarily shed those tough, adult exteriors, and ham it up like little kids again. -M
Getting ready for kindergarten? We’ve got you co Getting ready for kindergarten? We’ve got you covered!

We’ve talked about kindergarten over the years. A LOT. With the start of a new school year right around the corner, we've gathered all our kindergarten and kinder-adjacent podcast episodes and blog posts in one handy place to help you prepare for this milestone. 

Click this image at the link in our bio to access our kindergarten roundup of resources.

#kindergarten #firstdayofschool #motherhood #parenting #school #kindergartenreadiness #lunchpacking #choosingtherightschool #schoolvolunteering #tipsforstartingschool
We’ve had some big discussions on the show the l We’ve had some big discussions on the show the last two weeks about moms taking on extra emotional work: to keep morale up, to show up for a struggling kid, to shape our kids’ future identities within a sibling group. Even when we think we’re aware of these dynamics, it’s easy to assign ourselves extra work without even realize we’re doing it. (And often in areas where we really have very little control!)

Where can you give yourself a gentle free pass right now? Finish the sentence “It’s not my job to…” in whatever way rings true for you - and drop a comment if you want to share!

Here are just a few ideas, but please add your own! 🥰

It’s not my job to…
…prove that I’m a good mom
…keep my children constantly entertained
…prevent every disappointment 
…intervene in sibling dynamics
…be the sole keeper of the family schedule
…join my tween in her mood
Happy Birthday, @meaganfrancis! If you listened t Happy Birthday, @meaganfrancis!

If you listened to yesterday's podcast episode, we chatted about how Meagan is celebrating 45 in the UP with her extended family... possibly with a karaoke takeover of the campground bar and grill.

Meagan, this podcast wouldn't exist without you, full stop. It's no exaggeration to say that you've helped bring calmness and common sense to hundreds of thousands of families in your two decades of creating content about motherhood. (And, less notably but thank goodness nonetheless, to ME.)

That's worth raising a glass to, no?

Listeners, if you want some extra Meagan in your ears this week, head over to @motherofreinventionshow and subscribe to the podcast. I (Sarah) will be on with Meagan in her Season 3 finale tomorrow (7/28) talking about kids getting older, midlife, career pivots, and more. 

☀️ Sarah
New episode! What are Meagan and Sarah’s best t New episode!

What are Meagan and Sarah’s best tips for getting kids started with their first phone? And with a new school year right around the corner, a mom asks how to prepare her child for the first day of kindergarten and looks for some fun traditions to help celebrate back to school. The “bigger kids, bigger problems” stage arrives early for one listener’s family, and she looks for strategies for maintaining her mental health and other relationships while they navigate tough times. Lastly, a mom of bickering siblings sets us up for a lively discussion about whether it’s mom’s job to prevent kids developing a complex or identity stemming from their birth order and sibling roles. In addition to our own thoughts, we tap the wisdom of our contributors as we tackle your listener questions in Episode 375.

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts

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