Many of us grew up believing in that women are particularly biologically designed to nurture—which means that a mother will immediately and instinctively know how to parent, be better at it than the other adults around her and the baby, and that she'd really prefer to do the caretaking work on her own.

Nancy Reddy says all of that is THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH, and in her new book, uncovers the shoddy and old-fashioned science beneath our bad ideas about how to be a good mom.

In this interview, Nancy and Amy discuss:

• where the "good mother myth" originated


• how being a good mother is all-encompassing so that we never lift our heads to see the larger picture or argue for structural, societal change


• how the expectation that mothers can or should do it all harms all parents

Here's where you can find Nancy:

• www.nancyreddy.com


• @nancy.o.reddy on IG


• @nancy_reddy on X


• Subscribe to the "Write More, Be Less Careful" newsletter at nancyreddy.substack.com
  


• Buy THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781250336644
  

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson.

mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, parental stress, kids stress, brain development, mom brain, child development research, motherhood research, motherhood myths, #thegoodmothermyth #alreadygreat #givingupongoodness #lessadvicemoresupport #fewerexpertsmorecommunity

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices