Most parents are doing everything they can to raise good kids, and still feeling exhausted, reactive, and unsure if they’re actually helping in the long run.

So much parenting advice is obsessed with today’s behavior: listening, sharing, cooperating, “being good.” But this episode zooms out and asks a much bigger question: Who are you raising your child to become?

Kristin sits down with parenting researcher, Whole Parent founder, and author Jon Fogel to challenge one of the most deeply ingrained ideas in parenting: that control and obedience create resilient kids. Together, they unpack why obedience can look like a win in the short term, while quietly undermining confidence, resilience, and emotional health over time: and what actually builds those skills instead.

They explore how everyday power struggles shape the adult your child will eventually become, why so many well-intentioned discipline strategies backfire, and how shifting from rules to values can completely change your home dynamic.

This episode will:

* Help you shift your focus from short-term obedience to long-term emotional health

* Reframe discipline as skill-building, not behavior control

* Clarify the difference between rules and values — and why values actually stick

* Explain why yelling is a nervous system issue, not a discipline strategy

* Give you a framework for parenting with respect, boundaries, and authority

This conversation will change how you think about discipline, power, and success in parenting. It’s for parents who want to stop micromanaging behavior and start raising confident, capable adults, without losing boundaries or authority along the way.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re back with one of our favorite episodes of the year: the trends of the year episode where we scour the internet for the hottest trends forecasted for 2026. Your resident besties, Kristin and Deena officially give the tired mom stamp of approval of which trends we're into, which ones are crazy AF and which trends need to be stopped, stat.

We’re talking:

• Fashion hot takes (including the audacity of the internet declaring leggings are dead 😭)

• The return of BIG bows (bigger. floppier. sadder??)

• The end of sad beige everything and the rise of serious color

• The AI takeover (journaling prompts, bedtime stories, “emotional support” bots… and why it gives us the ick)

• And the parenting trends we’re actually cheering for: less overscheduling, more sanity, more presence, more “we’re not doing this just to keep up.”

Plus: rapid fire “in or out,” voice notes vs texting, being offline as a flex, micro-rests, quitting activities, and the most freeing trend of all: you don’t owe anyone an explanation.

This episode is your permission slip to laugh, roll your eyes, and walk into 2026 like: I can do whatever the hell I want. (And yes, Deena is absolutely being sent a sad bow + Adidas tracksuit.)

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The world tells us the newborn stage is supposed to be magical. Soft lighting. Sweet snuggles. “Soak it all in.” But for so many parents? It’s a blur of no sleep, hormonal whiplash, identity loss, and quietly asking yourself, “Why am I not okay?” Deena is back from maternity leave, and in this raw, deeply honest conversation, we’re finally talking about what she actually lived through. Not the highlight reel. Not the “grateful, glowing, cherishing every moment” version. The real one.

We talk about the adrenaline of the first weeks… and the crash that hits after. The rage no one warns you about. The intrusive thoughts you don’t want to admit. The weird grief that can exist right next to overwhelming love. The exhaustion of juggling a newborn and other kids. And the pressure to be “back to normal” when your nervous system is still in survival mode.This episode is for the parent who loves their baby fiercely… and still feels like they’re barely holding it together.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why the postpartum hormone crash can hit weeks in, not right away

• Why irritability, rage, and numbness are just as real as anxiety or sadness

• How struggling is so much more common than you think

• And how to stop telling yourself you’re doing this wrong

Whether you’re in the thick of the newborn stage right now or still carrying the emotional imprint of it years later, this episode will make you feel seen, understood, and a help-you-breathe-again kind of relieved."

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Bobbie - Head to hibobbie.com to find the formula trusted by parents and loved by their babies–700k and counting.

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Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Parenting has never been easy , but parenting in the age of AI, social media, and private digital spaces is something no generation has navigated before. And truthfully? It’s terrifying, for so many of us with kids entering the digital age. In this episode, Deena sits down with digital wellness expert and Ginko co-founder Larz to break through the fear and give us what we desperately need when it comes to smartphones, iPads, and technology: clarity, language, and actual tools.

This episode will:

• Help you connect your child’s screen habits to their emotional health
• Give you tangible tools so that you feel empowered in your approach to your child’s screen usage
• Help you prevent your biggest fears lurking on the internet by instilling *prevention* tools
• Find out how AI changes the risks — and the conversations — for kids

This episode will change how you think about technology, safety, and emotional health at home. Instead of feeling exasperated, you’ll feel empowered to set boundaries, know what tools to use to optimize your kid’s relationship with their screen, and breathe easy knowing you’ve got this.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Boll & Branch - Get 15% off your first set of sheets plus free shipping at bollandbranch.com/BLF with code BLF.

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Hiya Health - Receive 50% off your first order of Hiya’s best selling children’s vitamin. Head to hiyahealth.com/BLF.

Ka’Chava - Go to kachava.com and use code BLF. New customers get twenty dollars off an order of two bags or more, January 1st through the 31st!

Our Place - Stop cooking with toxic cookware and upgrade to Our Place today! Visit fromourplace.com/BLF and use code BLF for 10% off sitewide.

Pique - Head to piquelife.com/BLF for 20% off.

Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Before kids, travel was a vibe. After kids? It’s CrossFit, hostage negotiation, and a team sport you didn’t train for. If you’re traveling with kids this holiday season — flying, driving, or doing both — this episode is your survival guide. We’re talking about why travel melts kids down hard, what’s actually happening in their brains at 29,000 feet, and the simple shifts that make the entire day go better (without needing a color-coded itinerary or superhuman patience).

You’ll walk away with:

• Why meltdowns hit harder when routines disappear

• How to prep kids so they’re more regulated before the chaos even starts

• What to do in the moment when everything goes sideways

• How to reset your expectations so the day feels like a win — not a failure

• And the permission to use screens, snacks, and survival tools without guilt

This episode isn’t about making travel smooth. It’s about getting there with your relationship intact. If you’ve ever whispered “never again” in an airport bathroom…If you’ve spent $52 on a stuffed animal you didn’t plan to buy…If you’ve boarded a plane already exhausted…You are not alone. And you are doing an incredible job. Pop this on before you leave for the airport — or while you’re hiding in the bathroom pretending to pee.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Visit chrysler.com/pacifica to build your family's perfect minivan.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The holidays are supposed to be magical. They’re also loud, overstimulating, emotionally charged, and somehow happening every single day for a month straight. So this episode? This one’s for the parents who are hanging on by a thread of tinsel. In this Holiday Confessions special, Kristin and Tyler are dropping the filters and saying the quiet parts out loud — the hot takes, the opinions you’re not supposed to have, the moments you feel guilty for even thinking.

We laugh. A lot. We admit things we probably shouldn’t. And we give you full permission to stop trying to make December look like a commercial. Because your kids don’t need perfect holidays. They need you — the real you. The one who’s tired, trying, showing up, and doing their absolute best. This episode is your reminder that: Lowering the bar doesn’t ruin the magic. It’s usually where the magic actually lives.

Pour the coffee. Hide in the pantry. Pop in your earbuds. We’ve got you 🤍

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

If you want to feel good about what's in your baby's bottle, get 10% off with code FEELINGS at hibobbie.com.

Visit chrysler.com/pacifica to build your family's perfect minivan.

Use code BLF at monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year!

Head to WAYFAIR.COM right now to shop all things home. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.

Save an extra $25 off on Crib and Kid Mattresses on top of their holiday sale at avocadogreenmattress.com with code BLF

Use code BIGLITTLEFEELINGS at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a FREE cool gloss with your first purchase!

Get 20% off of all orders with code BLF at myvitalvitamins.com.

Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You’re touched out. Your brain is fried. And sex feels like one more thing on the list. In this episode, Kristin and Deena sit down with sex therapist Vanessa Marin and her husband Xander Marin to talk honestly about what really happens to intimacy after kids, and why so many loving couples feel disconnected during this stage.

This conversation goes beyond surface-level advice and digs into the real blockers to desire: exhaustion, resentment, mental load, body changes, and the pressure to “get back to normal.”

You’ll learn:

• Why “low desire” is often a pleasure, energy, and safety problem, not a you problem

• How mental load and invisible labor quietly shut down intimacy

• What your partner is really asking for when they initiate sex (even when it comes out clumsy or annoying)

• Why going back to the honeymoon phase isn’t possible - and what’s available instead

• Simple, realistic ways to reconnect when you’re already depleted

If you’ve been missing closeness but don’t know how to get back there, or don’t even know where to start... Nothing is broken. You’re not failing. You’re just in a season no one talks about. And this episodes gives you real tools, real relief, and a clear path forward.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Discover all of the ways a Chrysler Pacifica can make your life and your family's rides easier and more enjoyable by visiting chrysler.com/pacifica

Head to WAYFAIR.COM right now to shop all things home. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.

Save an extra $25 off on Crib and Kid Mattresses on top of their holiday sale at avocadogreenmattress.com with code BLF

Use code BIGLITTLEFEELINGS at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a FREE cool gloss with your first purchase!

If you want to feel good about what's in your baby's bottle, get 10% off with code FEELINGS at hibobbie.com.

Get 20% off of all orders with code BLF at myvitalvitamins.com.

Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.