Hands Off Parents

This week, Steph and Abby got lucky enough to welcome a living, breathing listener of the show as a guest: Aaron Reese -- and he's a dad! Of Twins! The three chatted about everything from sleeping issues, to international travel with two babies in tow, to the sainthood of his wife. What Steph and Abby learned (kinda happily, though not to be jerks) is that dads have lots of guilt too! Any dads who want to dump some guilt down, post on any of their various social pages @handsoffparents.

This week, Abby wanted to get some advice from Steph about whether or not she's messing up two kids at once. How do you encourage one kid to make good choices while not making the other feel bad because he's already making them? Do you scold the one and praise the other, praise the one and then reward the other or do you reward the one and... dah!!! Steph offers some good thoughts on the topic--this is not just about twins but siblings as well. What do you think about this? Send them an email at handsoffparents@gmail.com or leave a comment on their FB page!

This week, in between the rambles, Staph and Abby try and figure out what it means to "have rules." When implementing them and setting boundaries--such as no TV--who is really being punished? What is a strict rule anyway? Like no eating food from the garbage can or... is that OK to break sometimes when no one is looking? Also, it's Mother's Day and the ladies chat about the things they want most. Sleep. That's all they want. They also want you to share Hands Off Parents with the other parents in your life!

This week Steph and Abby welcomed Lydia Hance to the show! Lydia is the mother of a one-year-old and also runs a dance company (and dances often in shows), and the ladies were wondering, so like, how does that all happen? Lydia's approach: incorporate the kid into your craft! Check it out, share with your friends, and rate us on iTunes!

Not only were Steph and Abby lucky enough to get the very pregnant Katy Hamor Cartland on the show, but they got her on LITERALLY the day before she was to give birth to her new baby girl. As you are reading this, she is no longer pregnant and chugging that bottle of wine she told the ladies she was planning to bring in her hospital overnight bag. The three ladies talk all about the excitement and fear of new motherhood, having a second child with a toddler in the house, and that time Katy moved to France with a 6 month old. Congratulations to her!!!

This week Steph and Abby welcome Maryocéane Guy (AKA Mary) to the show to discuss a number of crucial topics. For one, Mary is a single mom with an adorable 3-year old. She is also an amazing person, with an absurdly-leveled head about it all and a great approach to parenting. She chats about what it's like to be a single mom and how you date with a child (not go out on dates with your child, obvs). Do you put your kids on your Tinder profile or leave that bit of info until later? Also, the three talk about posting images of your kid online in general and then Abby gets all sci-fi/doomsday on everyone. It's a lovely conversation that Steph and Abby wished could have gone on forever! Hopefully you do too. And then you can write that on iTunes.

When thinking about this week's topic of conversation, Steph and Abby decided that no topic was to be their topic, as this is true to parenthood. As such, they cover a wide variety of parenthood dilemmas: Pooping on the floor and stepping in it (the kids, not them), the meaning of Easter (which they both get very, very wrong), kids eating parsley, and '90s alternative music. In the end they decide: "Everything Zen" is a horrible song but a great motto in life.

Hey, so sometimes bad things happen: Like miscarriages. This week Stephanie bravely discusses her (very) recent miscarriage. It's sad, but she's OK (kinda). She and Abby discuss the societal taboos with this topic, and this launches them into a conversation on trolling websites, Hillary Clinton, and that HBO show about rich white ladies. It all makes sense, sort of. Or not. They want your stories too! Send them to handsoffparents@gmail.com.

This week Steph and Abby tried to have some semblance of a conversation about boundaries: how do you handle when kids are mean to yours, when should you call a teacher, when your child tells you something happened, do you take it as gospel and get involved? But during this highly important topic, they keep getting interrupted by their kids. Talk about boundaries! This conversation is all over the place just like parenthood. Oh, and, Abby is trying to potty train two 3-year old boys and it's the worst ever. Like them on Facebook and make them feel better about life @handsoffparents.

This week Steph and abby are joined by mom and all-around superstar, Jill Patir. Jill chats with the ladies about her bouts with anxiety and OCD, and how they manifested after her first child. To add insult to everything, Jill also recently dealt with a horrific bomb scare situation in her son's daycare and shares her harrowing experience. All of this is serious and they don't laugh or make jokes about their kids at all (JK!)

This week Steph and Abby talk about the pains of being an adult. Yes, it's taking care of a family, but it's also those pesky things like paying bills and making doctor's appointments. Don't parents have enough to deal with already? Why do we also have to do things like fold clothing and open mail? Is it a problem with organization? Time management? Abby suggests making unrealistic lists and Steph thinks we need to take it 15 minutes at a time. How about we just go back to being kids...? Here is something very adult that Steph and Abby have done: They are now available on the Mockingbird Network! http://www.mockingbirdnetwork.com/

This week Steph and Abby discuss that viral video that's been making the rounds - "dad interrupted" - the BBC interviewee who gets an uninvited visit from his kids. This leads them to a conversation on structuring children's time. Is more better? Do kids need to be entertained all the time or can we give them their down time? Is down time TV time (like it is for grown ups!), though, and is that so bad? Despite this conversation being about structure, take note at how completely unstructured it is.

This week Steph and Abby were thrilled to be invited to tape before a live audience at Houston's downtown hotspot and comedy club, The Secret Group. It was so weird. People were staring at them as they rambled on about ten reasons to have or not have kids. Most of them stuck around for the whole conversation and some even laughed! In the end, they acknowledge that the whole thing is a wash - so just have the kids! The best part was that the proceeds of the evening were donated to Gulf Coast Planned Parenthood! The worst part was that after the podcast, we all had to watch "What Women Want" starring Mel Gibson. Spoilers: Mel Gibson has no idea what women want! But you know what these women want. That's right: head over to iTunes and give us that glowing five star review!

This week Steph and Abby discuss the topic of yelling. Nope, not about their kids yelling, but them yelling at their kids. They don't like that they do it, but they've been having a hard time NOT yelling. They chat about being yelled at by their own parents, being scolded by their children for it, and when yelling can turn into something worse (like washing out mouths with liquid soap). Yell at them on iTunes (but nicely and with your inside voices).

This week Steph and Abby are joined by a very special guest, food writer and mom of an adorable 18 month old, Joanna Prisco. Joanna is a listener who thought the ladies needed some schooling on the value of mom's clubs. Joanna recently moved to a new town and found solace and friendship in an official "MOMS clubs," which happens to be a national organization (Right? Who knew?). Finding other moms to hang with and get support from and talk about pooping and (potentially) drinking some wine afterwards? Sounds like Handsoffparents! Are you a member of any mom/parent clubs? Tell us more on our Facebook page @handsoffparents.

This week Steph and Abby discuss when it's OK to give and get advice on parenting, and when you should just STFU. Is it cool to tell new moms that they are doing it wrong? Why do we always feel the need to compare our parenting to that of others? And moreover, is every parent sitting around judging each other all the time, wishing they could give advice? We know we are! JK we aren't judging you. Judge us on iTunes with only positive feedback.

This week Steph and Abby welcome special guest Rosie McGregor to the show, who just happens to be a fabulous person and a stay at home mom. The ladies ask Rosie the ins and outs of what it takes to be a SAHM (because they certainly couldn't hack it) and how it feels to spend all day dealing with your own child! Rosie gives some great advice about keeping sane and reaffirms what we all already know: Parenting is freakin' hard.

Once again, we tried, we really really tried... to not get into a discussion about the inevitable downfall of society. So Steph and Abby start off on an important topic: how to talk with children about set backs and from what perspective should a parent offer. But then the setback turned into the world and life and oh no there was some wine involved! We love you for listening.

This week Steph and Abby welcome a special guest parenting expert - Annie Stein - to discuss tactics top stop hitting and whining. What makes her an expert? Well, she has three kids and they're all still alive. Annie offers the ladies some great suggestions on taking action to combat aggression, as well as her own hands off/hands on approach to raising a good human being. Plus, hear all about Steph's ovaries!

Hands Off Parents 40th episode! Steph and Abby are as shocked as anyone that they have kept at it. They have continued because they've been getting some fantastic and helpful emails/messages, so this week they discuss YOU! Just kidding, they discuss themselves. But the topics are directly sourced from messages you sent including: using a treasure chest to get your kid to sleep, boring mom clothing, and Pinterest craziness. Send them more messages. They love it so much! Thank you for listening for 40 episodes! Share if you want them to keep at it.