The Family Lab: Experiments in Parenting and Home Management

Maria Eckersley shares her insights on navigating motherhood, family traditions, and creating fun meaningful connections with your kids.    At the Family Lab, we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video episodes and shorts  @thefamilylabpodcast , and find us on Instagram  @familylabpodcast . You can also find us at  familylabpodcast.com .

This week, we navigate the challenges of traveling with kids, discussing the joys that come with family travel, and various strategies that make it more enjoyable.    At the Family Lab, we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video episodes and shorts  @thefamilylabpodcast , and find us on Instagram  @familylabpodcast . You can also find us at ...

A recap of the experiments in the Archibald home in the summer of 2020, including meal planning, cooking, chores, screen time, music lessons and read alouds.  At the Family Lab we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video episodes and shorts @thefamilylabpodcast , and find us on Instagram @familylabpodcast . You can also find us at familylabpo...

Andrea Davis shares how her family has learned to navigate technology within her home, from phones to TV usage.    At the Family Lab, we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video episodes and shorts @thefamilylabpodcast , and find us on Instagram  @familylabpodcast . You can also find us at  familylabpodcast.com .

Recap of the experiments in the Archibald home in the summer of 2021 when my kids were 5-15. We talk about developing interests and talents, cooking class, chores, screentime, and a neighborhood concert. At the Family Lab we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video episodes and shorts  @thefamilylabpodcast , and find us on Instagram  @familyl...

Throwback to the experiments we did at the Archibald home in the Summer of 2022--with each of my kids as special guests. They talk about what they tried that summer and how it all went, including summer jobs, hosting Lego Camp, fighting boredom, facing fears, family vacations, screen time, and setting goals.  At the Family Lab we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to o...

Happy 95th birthday Grandma! In honor of this delightful, hilarious, loving woman, I'm re-releasing this episode where my grandma talks about motherhood (and life) in the 50s and 60s.  If you can't get enough Donna, here are a couple of YouTube links: Home:  A beautiful video my cousins made, interviewing my Grandma in her home  Grandmas Say the Darndest Things:  A video of Donna's great grandchil...

Three moms share self-care tactics beyond spa days and manicures. KaeCee Reed focuses on sleep and hobbies, and works with her husband to make sure both of their needs are met.  Brittney Smart got out of a mothering slump by spending one-on-one time to get to know her kids bettter. And Andrea Quimby deliberately schedules down time. 

Myth: Moms are bad at self care. Truth: Moms are bad at prioritizing self care. In fact, moms have honed their caregiving skills caring for others; now all they have to do is apply those same skills to themselves. This episode is chock full of experiments you can try to figure out what fills you up and then carve out the time for it. 

Nothing like curling up under a tree with a good book! This episode is full of summer reading recommendations from kids for kids--with a good mix of avid and reluctant readers ages 8-16 with interests spanning all the genres. Here's a list of all the recommendations: (I'm an Amazon affiliate, so buying from these links helps support my podcast!) Hudson (14): Refugee   by Alan Gratz Ground Zero, by...

Ready for a career change? Wondering what to do in the next stage of your life? Heather Nemelka to the rescue! In this episode we talk about how to transition back to a traditional job after focusing on caregiving and home management, how to figure out what you want to be when you grow up, and how to gain the confidence to make big changes.  For more from Heather, check out elavare.com  or watch h...

Latest update on the experiments in the Archibald home--from new milestones to sleep habits to meal planning to morning routines.  Listener survey HERE! I'd love your input for next season. Plus, I'll send you a free Independent Kids Self-Evaluation. Weekly Open Lab:  Wednesdays at 10 am MT (through April 30 2025, then resuming in September)  Join Whitney in her virtual studio to share ideas, solv...

We're bringing the band back together! The podcasters formerly known as Family Looking Up--Andrea Nielson, Beth Millward, and Camille Ward--reunite to talk about their unique family cultures and how to be deliberate as you design your own.  Weekly Open Lab:  Wednesdays at 10 am MT (through April 30 2025, then resuming in September)  Join Whitney in her virtual studio to share ideas, solve problems...

Spring is in the air, and it's time to open the windows, grab the cleaning supplies and get 'er done--with the help of our guest Joy Williams. Joy has developed a whole series of step-by-step guides to help kids (and adults) learn how to clean every room in the house. I've been meaning to try them for years, and this is finally our year. This will be our main family experiment for April and I'm ex...

This week, I invited my four siblings--Cassie Gadd, Brad Singley, Brett Singley, and Hayley Kirkland--into the studio to talk about our top family movies. We intended to each share 5 favorite movies from our childhood and then in our own families, but we definitely got carried away. I'm going to list our childhood movies and then our current favorite family movies by the person who recommended the...

Time to tackle larger events, like weddings, funerals, family reunions, and community events! In this third installment, we talk about the structure of events, from the invitations to the send off. This week Whitney is joined by Angela Halliday and Debbie Siebert. The book we've been discussing is The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. To listen to the other two episodes about this book, click the...

On March 6, 2025, Elise Caffee was in a terrible car accident in Cancun. The car she was in was hit by an asphalt truck, and she was rescued, but severely burned. Since this was published, Elise passed away from her injuries. You can find more of her story at instagram.com/elisecaffeeupdates I decided to change my planned schedule to bring you a conversation I had with Elise about friendship in 20...

So you have never been a room mom. (Guilty!) Look how many books you read with your kids, or magnificent meals you made, or epic hikes you went on. In this episode Maria Eckersley and Whitney Archibald talk about the tradeoffs that come with discovering and leaning into our superpowers. You can't do everything all at once. But you can build different strengths in different seasons and turn out to...

How do you run your family calendar? Manage projects around the house? Keep track of kids' money? Whitney and guest Sami Bedell-Mulhern talk about the top 5 tech tools they use to help their homes run smoothly.  Weekly Open Lab: Wednesdays at 10 am MT (through April 30 2025, then resuming in September)  Join Whitney in her virtual studio to share ideas, solve problems, craft experiments, chat abou...

This week I boil down the Family Lab philosophy into ten different ideas--mostly things I've learned the hard way through lots of first-hand experimentation.  Here are some links for things I mention in the episode:  Open Studio Wednesdays at 10:00 MDT --Please join in! American Man, Age 10 by Susan Orlean How She Shares Family Work How You Do Laundry  

When you're hosting an event are you Inclusive or exclusive? Chill or bossy? These are a few of the controversies we'll cover in today's discussion about the Art of Gathering by Priya Parker, with Whitney Archibald, Angela Halliday, and Emily Bean. Watch Part 1: The Art of Gathering Part 1 (Intro and Chapter 1) Other episodes about gathering: How She Builds a Village How She Spends Time with Frien...

Sure, your kid is capable of picking up his socks. But does he notice those socks are on the floor in the first place? This aspect of carrying the mental load--noticing what needs to be done and then doing it--is the foundation of Sam Kelly's strategy for teaching kids to work in the home.  In this episode, Sam and Whitney investigate how to help kids develop this skill, talk about how they've exp...

Have you discovered the amazing and ever-expanding world of kid podcasts? In this episode Whitney gets recommendations from two kid podcast experts, Merideth Kelly (founder of Storitopia.com ) and Andi Smiley (host of The Friendly Podcast Guide ). All three of us share our top five (Ok, I shared eight) podcasts for kids, and we talk about how we use podcasts with our kids in our daily lives--inclu...

It's been a wild year and a half in the Archibald home--deep in survival mode. Here's a peek into the experiments--intentional and unintentional--that we've tried in the wake of my rock-climbing accident. Including simplifying, kitchen cleaning experiments, new hobbies, and more.  Episodes mentioned: How She Falls Off a Cliff How Jessica Goes from Surviving to Thriving Essentially and Simply with...

How do you gather with your family? And how could you make gatherings like dinnertime, family scripture study, driving kids around, and family meetings more purposeful? Join Whitney and her friend Angela Halliday as they discuss the intro and first chapter of The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. This episode will focus on gatherings of your nuclear family.  Here's the schedule for the rest of the...