One Bad Mother

Biz and Theresa wonder if everyone deserves a trophy or if the cut-and-dry world of "1st, 2nd and 3rd Place" make us stronger. Maybe just the act of having to explain winning and losing to our kids makes us strong enough. Plus, Biz takes it offline, Theresa runs away to the woods, and we get some help from Theresa’s mom, Marriage Family Therapist Beth Hossfeld, on how to go on parenting when we're...

You've heard of the "'tween" years, but Biz and Theresa think there's another awkward in-between time that comes earlier and doesn't get as much attention. Those years after infancy but before total kid autonomy...Why didn’t anyone tell us they would be a little repetitive and boring…I mean magical in their own unique way? Plus Biz starts camp early, Theresa stops getting out of her chair and we t...

Biz and Theresa talk about our decisions to stop having kids and how even these supposedly settled matters can leave us feeling uncertain. Oh and don’t forget, life can always laugh in our faces and find a way to remind us that we don't necessarily have the power to control the outcome of our decisions! Plus, Biz is scared of Halloween, Theresa looks great, and we talk to the queen of children’s m...

This week on a special Halloween episode of One Bad Mother: aaaaaahhhh!!!! Something is hitting you...and it's coming from within the house! Biz and Theresa talk about our toddlers hitting, how much it sucks and what, if anything, we can do about it. Plus Biz embraces her inner witch and there are no babies in Theresa's house! Happy Halloween! Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as...

Biz and Theresa explore how we try to change gears when we're stuck in a funk. “I know I am supposed to be enjoying this moment… why can’t I get out of my funk and enjoy it?” Is it the guilt, is it the need to carry every emotional triumph or difficulty around till we get recognized for it, or do we just need to be nicer to ourselves when a day is turned upside down by a toddler tantrum? It may be...

Biz and Theresa revisit potty training and delve into what really makes this a difficult milestone… us! Plus, Biz paints herself in a new light, Theresa has a kindergarten update, and we call the very funny and very real Jamie Glowacki. She's the author of Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right, and she joins us to help with some tough love. ...

Biz and Theresa discuss how major schedule changes, like dropping naps, later bedtimes, and new morning routines, are natural and unavoidable...not to mention mildly traumatic for us. Is it strange that our kids can roll with these changes better than we can? Nope. They don’t rely on a set schedule to organize their lives like we do! Plus, Biz feels all alone, Theresa is still pregnant, and we tal...

Biz and Theresa explore all the ways in which transitions from crib to big-kid bed can make us crazy. From spending all evening by your child's bed making sure they don't get up to super-nanny-style walking your kid back to bed 10,000 times a night to just plain keeping that crib around long past its welcome, there are dozens of ways to handle toddler bedtime shenanigans and we have yet to meet th...

Watch your step! Biz and Theresa are talking about milestones this week. From those developmental ones like walking and talking to the more emotional ones like getting a big-kid bed or the first day of school, we explore the ways in which milestones can make us feel stressed, relieved, judgmental, and worried -- sometimes all at once! Plus, Biz does not want Ellis’s popcorn and Theresa has a dirty...

Biz and Theresa wonder who really gets punished when we take away fun things like TV, iPads, toys and special outings? (Short answer: US!) What's so hard about this? Is it just the realization that we now have to fill that time in a different way, or is there something amiss in the way we're doling out punishments in the first place? Plus, Biz gets recognized for her efforts and Theresa gets lazy!...

This week on One Bad Mother it is the 6th Ever Genius Fail Spectacular, Plus Rants where we celebrate you guys and how you are doing a great job most of the time.   Share your genius and fail moments! Call 206-350-9485* *Be sure to tell us at the top of your message whether you're leaving a genius moment, a fail, or a rant! Thanks!! Share a personal or commercial message on the show! Subscribe to...

Biz and Theresa talk about the things we do for our kids that we'd otherwise never do. Whether you're an introvert spending Saturday socializing at a playdate, you're someone with a balloon phobia blowing up balloons for your kid's party because she HAD to have balloons, or you're the least crafty person on earth but you wake up one morning in the middle of Michael's with your five-year-old and a...

Biz and Theresa reflect on summer and wonder why, looking back, it didn’t seem like we had any...fun? Plus, Biz wonders how you assess perfection, Theresa salutes parents going back to work, and we talk with comedian, journalist, and mother, Faith Salie, about her very funny and insightful new book of essays,  Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much .   Get the book!   http://faithsalie.com...

Biz wants a new job, one where she isn’t President of All The Stuff. In any relationship, is it inevitable that one person becomes the boss of a majority of day-to-day stuff? Is it resentment that we can feel over this arrangement, or just fatigue? Regardless, it seems like sometimes we just want someone else to be the boss….BUT, OH NO….can we let go of being President? Maybe we just need to be th...

Biz and Theresa deal with our kids breaking rules and just being generally "sneaky." We thought it would be cute, a rite of passage for all kids, but - surprise - it turns out it's not as fun when it's happening in your own house. Plus, there's something fishy going on with one of Biz's family's pet fish, Theresa's kids delight in the fruits of their of sneakiness, and we talk about infertility wi...

Biz and Theresa demand to know why our kids don’t like some stuff that ALL OTHER kids seem to like. Not liking pizza or coloring books seems like breaking some sort of child law and it seems particularly criminal when the things they don’t like would make it easier for the parent if they just liked it! Plus Biz is at her breaking point and naming every person in a book or car on the road for her t...

Biz and Theresa wonder if we're overstepping our boundaries when our kids' friends ask us questions about the way the world works or need our help solving a problem. Are we "parenting" other people's kids, or is this just what they mean when they say, "It takes a village!" Plus, Biz is inconsistent in her feminist teachings, Theresa's kids are taking "dress up" to a n...

Biz and Theresa get down to the nitty-gritty of sibling bedroom-sharing: fighting, space-sharing, sleep schedules, and more! Biz is afraid to try it with her kids and Theresa knows no other way. Plus, Biz is cooking beautiful meals for her children to reject and Theresa has been whined at one too many times. And we get a wonderful and very informative visit from Gwen Glazer, Recommendations Librar...

Biz and Theresa are glad to be back from vacation and are ready to talk Kid Hangovers! Can they be cured by hair of the hotdog? Is there any way to help our kids recover from a night at Nana’s or the Chuck E Cheese birthday party or is this where they have to gain insight from experience? Either way, comparing this process to a hangover makes it less painful. Plus, we talk with Julie Falatko, auth...

Biz and Theresa discuss the emotional roller coaster that is parenting a two-year-old. Our kids are often intense, clingy, loving, and on the verge of a tantrum. It takes all our energy to stay calm in the face of the hurricane (and let's get real - plenty of times we don't stay calm, and that takes energy too)! Plus, Biz is losing her mind over Band-Aids, Theresa is losing her mind over sunscreen...

This episode was recorded live at MaxFunCon on June 12th! We're talking slumber parties this week so it's time to freeze someone's bra and practice the occult while levitating a friend and not waking up anybody's parents! Plus, Biz is unsettled by the quiet of being away from her kids, Theresa is exhausted from traveling with her kids, and we're joined by singer-songwriter, podcaster and Third Sex...

Biz and Theresa discuss our love for our kids' artistic creations and our simultaneous exasperation at the sheer volume of it. We explore ways to throw stuff out without traumatizing anyone! Plus, Biz has a Shopkins update and Theresa has a kindergarten breakdown. And we talk to the genius behind Theresa's all-time favorite children's book, Who Needs Donuts?, Mark Alan Stamaty! Share your genius a...

Biz feels like she used to do many things well but now seems to do many things poorly. We explore this very real place and how much it sucks! Plus, Biz turns to boxes for comfort, Theresa has emotions about her kids’ hair, and we talk to the creators of the inspiring blog RaiseAMother.com ! Share your genius and fail moments! Call 206-350-9485* *Be sure to tell us at the top of your message whethe...

It's the week after Memorial Day and you know what that means! Time for another episode of One Bad Mother devoted entirely to your most epic listener calls. Join us as we celebrate everyone from the dad who cooked a needlessly elaborate meal because his fussy two-year-old was in a playdoh trance to the mom who somehow managed to hair-spray herself in the face while trying to compliment her childre...

Biz and Theresa get honest about bribing our kids. It's the thing you're not really supposed to do but it seems like everyone kind of does and -- dare we say -- it maybe kind of sort of...WORKS! Eek! Call the parenting judgment police! But, how far can we go with bribery before it backfires? Plus, Biz hits a major milestone with her toddler and Theresa tries not to feel guilty when she realizes sh...