Parenting, apparently

Kids Are Weird: Why That's a Good Thing and the Unlock to Curiosity

This week on Parenting, apparently, Esther and Melissa explore how parenting can make the world feel big again. From dinosaurs, outer space, and gemstones, to basketball, poisonous plants, and library deep dives, they talk about the strange and joyful ways kids’ niche interests reignite curiosity in adults, too. The conversation unpacks learning alongside our children, supporting open-ended play, respecting kids’ obsessions as meaningful, and finding ways to nurture curiosity without turning every moment into a lesson. It is a warm, funny episode about parenting, child development, fostering creativity, and the lifelong value of asking “why?”. Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently] Pok Pok YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok] Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Trading “Bounce-Back” Culture for Maternal Well-being with Marlie Cohen

What happens when we reject “bounce-back” culture and bounce forward into who we’re actually becoming? Marlie Cohen, founder of Bounce Forward, has joined Esther and Melissa for a chat that celebrates the postpartum transformation and eases the pressure of getting back to our former selves. Marlie shares how postpartum anxiety, physical injury, COVID, and two young children pushed her to reject the “bounce back” narrative and create a more realistic fitness platform for moms. This isn’t just about exercise—It’s about designing supportive habits that respect the actual conditions of motherhood. For more about Marlie and her company Bounce Forward Co; https://www.instagram.com/kale_and_krunches/ https://www.bounceforwardco.com/ Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently] Pok Pok YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok] Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Lightening The Parental Weight of Wills, Work, and Future Worries with Erin Bury

Melissa and Esther sit down with Willful co-founder Erin Bury for a conversation that softens the heaviness of parenting responsibilities nobody wants to think about, but eventually has to. What starts with wills, guardianship, and estate planning opens into a bigger discussion about responsibility, money, work, death, privilege, and how becoming a parent changes the way you plan for the future. The episode weaves practical advice in with honest founder-parent reflections, touching on what kids understand about work, how families talk about death, and how parents try to raise grounded children while still giving them the best life possible. For more about Erin and her company Willful; https://www.erinbury.com/ https://www.willful.co/ Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently] Pok Pok YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok] Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Mother’s Day: Who Were You Before Parenthood?

Have you ever felt like the thing you really want for Mother’s Day is not flowers or macaroni art but… a break from your parental duties? Melissa Cash and Esther Huybreghts are back for a new season of “Parenting, apparently” (FKA “We’re Doing Great). This new name embodies the kinds of honest conversations they feel we could all use more of—like acknowledging the complicated feelings around Mother’s Day. They explore what it means to be a mom while also trying to stay connected to the person underneath it all. Like how this experience is affected by everything from their respective countries, hormonal changes, and career ambitions, to more systemic factors like parental leave. In the spirit of this new season, you will not be sold solutions or spewed off advice, but rather given permission to accept that there is nothing to solve. The uncertainty and constant evolution is parenthood, and normalizing that is how we find more peace on the journey. If you’re interested in the research Melissa mentioned from the TED Talk with Susana Carmona, Michael Feigelson, and Lee Gettler, you can explore more here: The Maternal Brain Project [https://wbhi.ucsb.edu/our-work/projects/the-maternal-brain-project] Susana's writings [https://neuromaternal.es/authors/susana-carmona/] Decreased Testosterone in Fathers Study [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21911391/] Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently] Pok Pok YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok] Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Raising Creative Kids through Play

What happens when you stop directing your child's play and simply let them lead? In this episode, Esther sits down solo with multidisciplinary artist and mom Mills Brown to explore the deep, sometimes surprising, places where play, creativity, and parenthood overlap. You'll hear about Mills's sensory play sessions for children as young as six months at Modern Art Oxford, her upcoming solo exhibition, and the Montessori philosophy that shapes everything she does, including why the most powerful thing you can do in a play environment is step back and say nothing at all. Whether you've been wondering how to nurture your own creativity or simply how to make more space for truly free, open-ended play at home, this conversation is warm, curious, and full of gentle reminders that you're doing better than you think. Mills Brown is a multidisciplinary artist whose work lives at the intersection of painting, illustration, animation, and sculpture, with play as the thread that ties it all together. She's the Producer of Early Years and Young People at Modern Art Oxford, where she creates sensory play experiences for children as young as six months old, and is the creator of the upcoming immersive solo exhibition Where We Overlap. She's also a mom to an 18-month-old, which means her studio, her gallery, and her living room all tend to blur into one big creative experiment. Thank you to Mills Brown for being on our show! Learn more about Mills at https://www.millsbrownart.com/ [https://www.millsbrownart.com/] or by following her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mills_brown_ [https://www.instagram.com/mills_brown_] Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently] Pok Pok YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok] Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.