Parenting, apparently

This week on Parenting, Apparently, Esther and Melissa speak with Ben Drury, co-founder and CEO of Yoto, the screen-free audio platform for kids designed to support independence, imagination, and choice in what children listen to.Together, they explore what it means to design intentional media for kids, how their own parenting experiences shape their views on children’s technology, and reflecting on growing up with different forms of media.The conversation moves beyond business into the real parenting questions behind products like Yoto and Pok Pok: how kids develop taste, why audio can support autonomy, and how families navigate screen time in a world of AI-generated content and addictive algorithms. Ben also shares how Montessori thinking and his experience as a parent shaped his approach to building for children.For parents thinking about balancing calm screen time for kids, screen-free activities, and more thoughtful children’s media, this episode explores how different types of technology can support a healthier relationship with tech as kids grow.To learn more about Yoto;https://www.yotoplay.com

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?”.

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/

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/

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 ProjectSusana's writingsDecreased Testosterone in Fathers Study

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/ or by following her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mills_brown_

How much of your parenting anxiety is influenced by what you read and see online?Melissa Cash and Esther Huybreghts sit down with Vanessa Grant to explore how parenting has become something you do in public. They unpack the pressure created by media, social platforms, and endless advice, and how it affects the way you show up for your child. You will walk away with permission to tune out the noise and trust your instincts more.Vanessa Grant is the editor in chief of Today’s Parent, where she blends journalism, data, and real parent needs to shape modern parenting conversations.Thank you to Vanessa Grant for being on our show!Learn more about Vanessa and Today's Parent: https://www.todaysparent.com/

Are you carrying invisible responsibilities that no one else even realizes exist?If your brain feels like it has forty tabs open at once, this episode will feel painfully familiar in the best possible way. Melissa and Esther have an honest, funny, and thoughtful conversation about the invisible labor of parenting, the resentment that can build around it, and the ways parents sometimes add pressure to their own plates. You will walk away with a sharper way to think about mental load, more compassion for yourself, and a few simple ideas for talking about it at home.

Can you love your kids deeply and still wonder what life without them would have looked like?This episode is an honest, funny, and unexpectedly deep conversation about what motherhood asks of you and what it gives back. You will hear Melissa and Esther talk through the daily chaos of raising young kids, the tension between work and family, and the quiet questions many parents carry but rarely say out loud. If you have ever wondered whether you are handling the mess, the guilt, and the love of parenting “right,” this conversation will feel both comforting and refreshingly real.