This is part two of a two-parter (Part 1 is Episode #63). We don't really love the whole concept of "Parenting Hacks," because any trick that promises to make this sh*t-show easy is typically a load of hooey, and one-size-fits-all solutions don't work nearly as often as they claim to. But there are a handful of things Max and Matt have figured out over the years - mostly through trial and a comedy of errors - that have made certain aspects of the grind a little bit easier. On this Hot Takes episode, The Boys are sharing those hopefully helpful strategies with each other. We worked backward from common hangups. Max sent a bunch of his daily annoyances over to Matt, who tried to offer any useful solves he's worked out over the years... and vice versa. These bad boys run the gamut from how to avoid "sheepdogging" your kid from one room to the next at bedtime, to finding fun summer activities that don't cost an arm and a leg, to dealing with your kids' inevitable desire to look at your phone. Here we go!

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Matt and Max talk about a very recent moment when Max screamed at his kids.

When=Now Episodes are a second bonus episode we drop some weeks. The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!

Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

We don't really love the whole concept of "Parenting Hacks," because any trick that promises to make this sh*t-show easy is typically a load of hooey, and one-size-fits-all solutions don't work nearly as often as they claim to. But there are a handful of things Max and Matt have figured out over the years - mostly through trial and a comedy of errors - that have made certain aspects of the grind a little bit easier. On this Hot Takes episode, The Boys are sharing those hopefully helpful strategies with each other. We worked backward from common hangups. Max sent a bunch of his daily annoyances over to Matt, who tried to offer any useful solves he's worked out over the years... and vice versa. These bad boys run the gamut from how to avoid "sheepdogging" your kid from one room to the next at bedtime, to finding fun summer activities that don't cost an arm and a leg, to dealing with your kids' inevitable desire to look at your phone. This is part one of a two-parter, y'all. Here we go!

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Matt and Max talk about how friendship is so important in today's world and how sometimes we can get different things from different people in our life.

When=Now Episodes are a second bonus episode we drop some weeks. The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!

Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

Trying something new here folks - it's our first ever Milkless Mailbag! Listeners sent in questions, and Max and Matt did their best to say useful things - with the help of good friend and returning guest Sam "Ice Man" Stolper. We cover topics ranging from overbearing grandparents, to sharing the load within a marriage, to the challenges of maintaining a clean home (and the value of recognizing that not everyone shares the same definition of "clean"). This is the hardest we've laughed making an episode in quite some time, so sit back and crank it.

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Max and Matt are joined by the famous Bez, as the three Dads dive into the often tricky balance between firm boundaries and gentle parenting. What does it look like to put your foot down kindly with a kid who's truly ready to test your limits? What can we do before that meeting of the wills that will hopefully make it go better? How do we calm our own worries that those necessary limit-setting clashes will create long term ripples in the relationship? We also talk a lot about how different this can look from one kid to the next, or even with the same kid at different points in their life. This is one of the many balance beams that we're always walking as parents: respecting our kids' feelings and who they are and creating an environment that doesn't feel like a dictatorship but does acknowledge the many ways in which our kids need us to say, "no" when they can't do it for themselves. We ain't got it figured out yet, but we're working on it. Here we go!

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Matt and Max talk about how one of the great mistakes of humankind is how we are more apt to follow consensus over what might yield the best outcomes.

When=Now Episodes are a second bonus episode we're dropping each week. The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!

Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

The data is overwhelming: adults who commit themselves to acts of service and make volunteering a part of their life are just way happier. And, like everything else, that's a muscle you start building when you're a kid. But unless you belong to a religious community, you've kind of got to bring your own beer in terms of incorporating service into your family's life. And with young kids, your options can feel a little limited, because... well, no offense, but five year olds suck at a lot of stuff. So how do you find opportunities that start to instill an instinct for service in your kids? How do we balance boots on the ground volunteerism with making thoughtful decisions about monetary donations? How do we create a healthy connection between privilege and responsibility without dipping into the shame zone. Max and Matt are joined by longtime friend Simon Salgado, who has put a lot of thought into all of these questions and helps make it a funny episode with a lot of laughs. He also shames Max and Matt by making the most disgusting joke of the episode. You win this round, Salgado.

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