How She Moms

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 grandchildren repeating some of her famous sayings. I made this video for her 95th birthday party.   

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 Alan Gratz Jacob (15): Magic Treehouse Series, by Mary Pope Osborne Halloween Party by Agatha Christie Slacker series by Gordon Korman Katie (13): Resistance by Jennifer A Nielson A Night Divided by Jennifer A Nielson The False Prince and the rest of the Ascendant series by Jennifer A Nielson Abel (15): Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans Aiden (16): Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls Percy Jackson Series, by Rick Riordan My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Four Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss The House of Months and Years Fablehaven by Brandon Mull Claire (12): Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Anything by Gordon Korman Lydia (8): Charlotte's Web by E. B. White Stuart Little by E.B. White Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling Matilda by Roald Dahl Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner Heidi (10): The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate Wayside School Series by Louis Sachar Catwad by Jim Benton The Odd 1s Out by James Rallison The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak Ezra (9): James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl Holes, by Louis Sachar My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis Whitney: The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo Because of Winn Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo Masterminds, by Gordon Korman From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Anne of Green Gables Series by Lucy Maud Montgomery Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene  

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 her podcast on YouTube  Past episodes about motherhood and work: How She Dismantles the Mommy Wars What She Calls Herself How She Transitions To Motherhood: Work How Ashley Freehan Works from Home How She Outsources How She Identifies Her Passions How Wendy and Alex Pursue Their Passions (Flamenco and Podcasting) How Leslie Graff Pursues Her Passions (Artist, Child Life Specialist, Mother) How Nancy Maldonado Pursues Her Passions (helping underserved communities)   Listener Survey 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, solve problems, craft experiments, chat about past and future episodes, or just drop in to say hi!  https://riverside.fm/studio/listener-ideas?t=880793c622433a15fcce  

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, solve problems, craft experiments, chat about past and future episodes, or just drop in to say hi!  https://riverside.fm/studio/listener-ideas?t=880793c622433a15fcce

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, craft experiments, chat about past and future episodes, or just drop in to say hi!  https://riverside.fm/studio/listener-ideas?t=880793c622433a15fcce

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 excited to kick it off with this episode. We'll talk about why it's important for kids to help around the house, how to teach them to do so, and of course we'll have some experiments for you to try.   Other episodes about teaching kids to clean:  Lab: Teaching Kids to "Notice and Do" with Sam Kelly How Maria Kemp Teaches Her Kids to Work--On a Ranch How Emily Teaches Kids to Work How She Motivates Kids to Work How To Teach Kids to Be Tidy How To Teach Kids to Clean Workshop: How She Shares Family Work: Part 1 Workshop: How She Shares Family Work: Part 2   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 about past and future episodes, discuss this quarter's book, or just drop in to say hi!  https://riverside.fm/studio/listener-ideas?t=880793c622433a15fcce

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 them. I'll omit the ones that we mentioned but do not recommend. (Sorry, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) We also talk about how we make family movie nights happen and what they look like for each of us.  Of course, check ratings and Commonsensemedia.org to decide if these movie are appropriate for your families.  Movies from Our Childhood (80s and 90s) Musicals: Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, Newsies, Meet Me In St Louis, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (proceed with caution), Peter Pan (with Mary Martin. Definitely niche), Alice in Wonderland (made for TV movie), Into the Woods All ages:  Three Amigos, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nacho Libre, Princess Bride (Teen? Those ROUSes are pretty scary), Hook, Sandlot, Three Ninjas, Swiss Family Robinson, That Darn Cat, Flight of the Navigator, Sister Act Teens: Happy Gilmore, Goonies, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Life Is Beautiful Suspense: Rear Window Top Movies for our Own Families Whitney: Dan in Real Life, Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Hitch, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (language), The Truman Show, Castaway Cassie: Jurassic Park, Blackbeard's Ghost, Remember the Titans, Princess Bride, Night at the Museum, National Treasure Brad: Safety Last, School of Rock (language), Fantastic Mr. Fox, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (language), The Red Balloon, What About Bob, Raising Arizona Brett: My Neighbor Totoro, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Surf's Up, Three Ninjas, All Lego Movies Hayley: School of Rock (language), Princess Bride, Hook, Singing in the Rain, Music Man, Newsies, Paddington 2, Napoleon Dynamite, Monty Python and the Holy Grail   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 about past and future episodes, discuss this quarter's book, or just drop in to say hi!  https://riverside.fm/studio/listener-ideas?t=880793c622433a15fcce

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 links below:  Art of Gathering Part 1 Art of Gathering Part 2

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. She is now in a hospital back home in Utah, still in critical condition, undergoing a series of surgeries. You can follow along with her recovery at instagram.com/elisecaffeeupdates I decided to change my planned schedule to bring you a conversation I had with Elise about friendship in 2022. I used clips from it in two different episodes, but never released the entirety of it. Elise had so many beautiful things to say about friendship and kindness. Please enjoy her wisdom today and say a prayer for Elise and her family.  Donate to the driver's family here: Go Fund Me 3kidstravel.com  

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 be amazing in your own unique way.  To learn more from the wonderful Maria Eckersley, check out this episode of How She Moms:  How Maria Makes It Fun And you can find fun ideas, printables, and her scripture study courses at Meckmom.com. To join my open studio on Wednesdays, go to this link:  Open Studio Wednesdays, 10-11 MT

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.  Here's the link for my weekly Open Studio time, Wednesdays at 10:00 MT. Hope to see you there! https://riverside.fm/studio/listener-ideas?t=880793c622433a15fcce This week we'll be talking about your Top 5 Picks for family movie night! (And whatever else you want to talk about.)

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 Friends How She Makes Friends How Christina Builds Community

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 experimented with this in their homes, and suggest experiments you can try in your own home.  For more resources from Sam Kelly, visit hellosamkelly.com For more episodes about teaching kids to work, check out:  How Maria Kemp Teaches Her Kids to Work--On a Ranch How Emily Teaches Kids to Work How She Motivates Kids to Work How To Teach Kids to Be Tidy How To Teach Kids to Clean Workshop: How She Shares Family Work: Part 1 Workshop: How She Shares Family Work: Part 2

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--including that elusive challenge of getting our kids to go to sleep!  Here are our lists, with links for where to find these fabulous podcasts, including recommendations for good episodes to start with.  Andi Smiley: Top 5 Sleep Podcasts Snoriezzz (fav episode: The Selfish Giant) Bedtime History (fav episode: Unsinkable Sam the Battleship Cat) Sleep Tight Science (fav episode: Dolphins) Story Train (fav episode: No Dancing at the Dinner Table) Nothing Much Happens Merideth Kelly: Underrepresented Favorites Armchair Adventures (fav episode: The Shakespeare Adventure) Reading Bug Adventures (fav episode: Inner Space) Culture Kids  The Story Forest (fave series: Dash Away Detectives) Solve It for Kids (fave episode: How Do You Study Manatees) Whitney Archibald: Kid Podcasts that are also Fun for Adults  Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest Whose Amazing Life Circle Round Kidnuz Six Minutes   Adult Podcasts that are Fun for Kids Radiolab (fave episode: colors) Radiolab for kids/Terrestrials Everything Is Alive (fave episodes: Maeve, lamppost; Vinny, Vending Machine; Alligator, Alligator) Twenty Thousand Hertz (fave episodes: The Sound Design Behind Bluey, Soundalikes, The Dark History of Popular Nursery Rhymes)   Friendly Podcast Guide Episodes Circle Round Nothing Much Happens Three Excellent Podcasts My Five-Year-Old Loves My Son's Current Favorite Kid Podcasts: Something Scary, Fun, and Adventurous

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 Greg McKeown    

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 book:  February 11: Art of Gathering Part 2--Chapters 2-3. We'll talk about hosting informal gatherings with friends and extended family March 11: Art of Gathering Part 3--Chapters 4-8. We'll talk about hosting more formal gatherings like weddings, funerals, reunions, and parties.

Connecting with your kids takes effort, creativity, patience--and a lot of experimentation! Whitney Archibald, Angelynn Singley, and Paola Jellings, who have (gasp) 18 children between them, talk about experiments they've tested to connect with their kids, and come up with a few for you to try. Then four contributors share their ideas as well. Here are the books mentioned in this episode: The Five Minute Time In by Brittney Smart Atomic Habits by James Clear  To contribute to future episodes, email whitney@howshemoms.com A few upcoming topics: Dividing home management and caregiving responsibilities with your partner Getting Kids to Pitch in Around the House Teaching Kids Hygiene Habits Building Family Culture  

If your child struggles with anxiety, you know the balancing act between helping them feel safe and helping them become more resilient. Dr. Mary Wilde is here to help. In this episode she explains what anxiety is and teaches us how to focus on building our kids' (and our own) resources rather than putting our energy into minimizing risk.  Dr. Mary Wilde is a licensced integrative pediatrician and the mother of 8 boys! You can find more of her resources at drmarywilde.com Sign up for her free masterclass here: Empowering Anxious Kids.  Listen to her Ted Talk Here: Compassion Parenting:Transceding the Myth of Perfect Conditions If you enjoyed this episode, check out:  How Chantel Allen Manages Anxiety How She Takes Care of Herself Part 1 How She Takes Care of Herself Part 2    

Do your kids have good manners? What does that even mean? Today we talk to Brooke Romney, author of 52 Modern Manners for Today's Teens, Volumes 1 and 2, and 52 Modern Manners for Kids. We discuss this idea of manners and how we can teach our kids social skills that will help them connect with other people and become more confident. You can find more resources from Brooke Romney at brookeromney.com and follow her on Instagram @brookeromneywrites. Brooke was also featured on another episode of the How She Moms podcast:  How Brooke Learns from Other Moms And she contributed to several other episodes, including: What She Calls Herself and How She Discovers Kids' Talents Find all past episodes and other resources at Howshemoms.com

Whitney interviews moms from the village that helped raise her. They talk about friendship, the work that goes into building it, and some of their kids' shenanigans. 

This summer I fell 30 feet in a rock climbing accident. Here's my story.

Screentime is a struggle--setting boundaries, resetting those boundaries, keeping kids safe, teaching them how to be intentional about tech. In this episode Whitney shares some of the ups and downs of screentime experiments in her own family.  For more episodes about managing screentime, check out the rest of the series:  68: How Andrea Davis Manages Screentime 107: How Catherine Teaches Kids to Manage Technology 115: How She Creates a Heathly Tech Culture 116: How Hillary Creates Healthy Screen Habits  

Jessica Jackson's framework for transitioning from surviving to thriving might just transform your whole way of looking at motherhood and life (because survival mode isn't exclusive to motherhood). Best of all, Jessica has given me words to describe the transition from survival mode to re-entry to normalizing to exploring to thriving and even soaring. Don't worry. She'll explain the whole thing. Find Jessica at thrivinginmotherhoodpodcast.com

Hillary Wikinson, one of the founders of Healthy Screen Habits tells the story about how she helped start this organization, shares research about kids and screens, walks us through some safeguards we can put in place, shares some great ways we can connect with our kids through tech,  and teaches us some healthy screen habits.

Seven ways to create a healthy digital culture and connect with your kids. Featuring advice from seven different tech-savvy moms:  Andrea Davis, betterscreentime.com Hillary Wilkinson,  healthyscreenhabits.com Catherine Pearlman, thefamilycoach.com Jen Brimhall, raisethegood.com Alex Fales, mindfulwithmedia.com Kailan Carr, quietbookqueen.com Chanelle Neilson, chanelleneilson.com

In which we talk about all the expectations in the winter season, plus parenting expectations in general. I also talk about some of the experiments going on here in the Archibald home from family discussions to chores to Christmas gifts, plus a new podcasting adventure for me. 

Christina Acosta shares practical tips for building friendships, from analyzing and repairing past friendships to going deep and getting beyond surface relationships. Christina is the founder of Growing Up Gorgeous, a community for black women of faith. 

Ideas for making time to connect with friends and organizing gatherings, from one-on-one activities to small groups, to parties and even traveling with friends.

Twelve tips about making new friends from seven different moms. 

Katherine Wintsch struggled with self-doubt and perfectionism for years—even while outwardly achieving all her goals as a successful advertising executive. Then she decided to confront and slay those dragons of fear and doubt, rethink her priorities, and start her own company, where she could redefine work-life culture.

In which I discuss some of the fall experiments that have been working for us as we drive kids from one activity to another. I'll talk about our big push to improve hygiene and sleep habits, our holiday experiments, and then update you on some plans for How She Moms and other related projects.

Kathryn Thompson was having a great day--just killing it. But then self-doubt tried to creep it's way in. Right then and there, she stopped those thoughts and started a new practice--collecting drops of awesome, little successes that add up to a full bucket of awesomeness. She tells her story and other practices that help her keep self-doubt at bay. 

Dr. Catherine Pearlman, author of the fabulous book, First Phone, talks about how we can empower kids to make good choices about how they use technology.  For more resources from Catherine, go to thefamilycoach.com

Gini Ewart's teenage daughter was getting in some serious trouble. Just when Gini thought she had tried everything, she learned some key principles that transformed her relationship with her daughter.

Fourteen tactics for connecting with teens, from ten different moms. 

In 1983, Ellen Weir Casey delivered the first "test-tube baby" born in Colorado,paving the way for the more than 8 million in vitro babies that have been born since--including my own miracle baby. She tells her amazing story on the podcast today.

My kids help me evaluate all of our summer experiments, from jobs to swimming to family reunions and lots of bravery. 

Teenagers are people too! Camille Ward, co-host of the Family Looking Up Podcast, shares her connection-first approach to parenting teenagers, while still setting boundaries and preparing them to go out into the world. 

Mary Van Geffen is spicy. Which is why she's made it her mission as a parenting coach to help parents understand their own spicy children. In this episode, Mary teaches how to manage our own reactions as we parent these amazing kids.  Get Mary's guide to Finding Your Calm here: https://maryvangeffen.ck.page/42c9542683

100 episodes! To celebrate, I thought I'd put together an episode of some of the ways the amazing moms I've interviewed have helped me (and maybe some of you) rethink motherhood. I somehow narrowed it down to 12 (or so) ideas that have helped me become a better mom over the past three years. Here's to many more (years and great ideas)! 

Welcome to Season 4! Here's a teaser of some of the topics and guests I plan to feature in this season, plus a behind-the-scenes look at how I put the podcast together. 

Bryce Reddy is a family therapist specializing in maternal mental health, and one of the most quotable people I've ever interviewed. In this eisode, she shares her insights about mom guilt, judgement, and how we can support each other.

Devan James and Alexis Mayberry have known each other since middle school. They've supported each other through relationships, babies, and more babies. Last year, they decided to spread the love and support to other moms by recording season one of their podcast, Word2yamuva. We had a great conversation, from mommy wars to mom guilt to discipline to career choices.

A conversation with Renee Reina, host of The Mom Room Podcast, about mom guilt, comparisons, toxic mom culture, and the division of labor at home.   

A quarterly update on the experiments host Whitney Archibald is trying at home. This one includes setting boundaries (or not) about how many activities to pack into one season, travel, bedtime and morning routines, and of course, screentime.

Ten tips from sixteen different moms (and one dad) about how to support each other, make healthy comparisons, and just be good neighbors. Cue Mr. Rogers.

Are Mommy Wars real? And if so, how do we end them? Today, we discuss the history of the Mommy Wars, what they're all about, and how we can end them, already. 

Today we get to take a deep dive into organizing our homes with Jen Martin, founder of the fabulous company Reset Your Nest. We'll talk about Jen's overall approach to organizing, from the perspective of both organizing for clients and in her own home. Then we'll go deeper into three specific areas: the kitchens, the toy room, and the garage.