We've reached the end of the countdown of the best parenting fails shared on the ParentNormal Podcast in 2017. This episode features the five most memorable stories of the year.
Keep in mind, we're not celebrating parenting fails. We're just recognizing every parent fails sometimes.
Parenting is stressful enough without beating yourself up for past mistakes. The best thing we can do is just acknowledge our mistakes, apologize and try not to make the same mistakes again.
Parents Featured in this Episode:
#5 Chris Pegula, author and creator of Diaper Dude, who was interviewed in episode 81 of the podcast.
#4 Lev Grossman, the New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians, who was interviewed in episode 65 of the podcast.
#3 Jenna von Oy, who played Blossom’s fast-talking best friend Six on the show Blossom, who was interviewed in episode 72 of the podcast.
#2 Jay Papasan, author of multiple bestselling books including The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, who was interviewed in episode 77 of the podcast.
#1 Heather Haupt, author of Knights in Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys, who was interviewed in episode 80 of the podcast.
We're continuing our countdown of the best parenting fails shared on the ParentNormal Podcast in 2017. Parenting is stressful enough without beating yourself up for past mistakes. And that's what this countdown is all about. Every parent makes mistakes. The best thing we can do is just say sorry and try not to make the same mistakes again.
2017 is coming to a close, and like every other year, it was a year full of parenting fails. But if you're feeling guilty about all the things you've done wrong, take comfort knowing you aren't alone. Every parent makes mistakes. The best thing we can do is just say sorry and try not to make the same mistakes again. Parenting is stressful enough without beating yourself up for past mistakes. And that's what this episode is all about.
This week we’re starting our countdown of the best parenting fail stories shared on the show in 2017. (Obviously, one parenting fail isn’t better than another. This countdown is just for fun.) Five stories will be shared in this episode and we'll continue the countdown from 10-6 next week.
This is the second of two parenting fail episodes I'm releasing this week in honor of my new book Perfect Parenting: A Complete History. (Spoiler Alert) There is no history of raising kids perfectly. Thus, every one of my new book’s 40 chapters are empty. It is the parenting book with the fewest words but most important lesson: You aren’t going to be a perfect parent. Get Perfect Parenting: A Complete History now on Amazon for only $5.
This week, I'm releasing two editions of parenting fails in honor of my new book Perfect Parenting: A Complete History.
I did the research and (Spoiler Alert) there is no history of raising kids perfectly. Thus, every one of the book’s 40 chapters are empty. It is the parenting book with the fewest words but most important lesson: You aren’t going to be a perfect parent.
If you want lessons on how to be a perfect parent, DON’T buy this book. But if you or a friend needs a funny reminder on your coffee table, nightstand or both that perfect parenting is impossible, this book could be the almost-perfect book for you. At the very least, it will be the easiest book for you to finish reading this year. It’s only $5 right now on Amazon, and again it’s called Perfect Parenting: A Complete History.
Here are the top ten parenting fails shared on the podcast so far! Two weeks ago, we started the countdown at number 30 and counted down to 21. In last week’s episode, we counted down from 20 to 11. And while all of those stories were great, and I hope you go back and listen to them if you haven’t already, this episode features the best of the best parenting fails shared on the podcast.
I realize that “best” is not really the best word when you’re talking about parenting fails, because one parenting fail isn’t better than another one - which made ranking these stories quite difficult. But I really think you will get something more than just comic relief by listening to these top 10 stories.
The takeaway I hope you get isn’t that mistakes are no big deal. It’s that we all make mistakes, and that there’s no such thing as a perfect parent. And that being the case, it’s much healthier to be able to laugh at yourself than beat yourself up - not to mention much more entertaining.
I'll continue to ask guests to share parenting fails, but here are the storytellers of the best fails shared on the podcast so far.
10. Kristen Chase, half of the duo from Cool Mom Picks, who were interviewed in episode 45 of the podcast.
9. Greg Pembroke, author of Reasons My Kid is Crying, who was interviewed in episode 4 of the podcast.
8. Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and author of more than 30 books, who was interviewed in episode 51of the podcast.
7. Hillary Frank, host of the Longest Shortest Time podcast, who was interviewed in episode 18 of the podcast.
6. Deva Dalporto, the YouTube sensation whose videos about parenthood have been downloaded millions of times, who was interviewed in episode 15 of the podcast.
5. Jill Smokler, the mom who created the Scary Mommy website, who was interviewed in episode 21 of the podcast.
4. Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, who was interviewed in episode 53 of the podcast.
3. Adam Mansbach, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep and the book You Have to F**king Eat,who was interviewed in episode 33 of the podcast.
2. Jeannie Gaffigan, comedian Jim Gaffigan’s writing partner who also happens to be his wife and was his co-writer on the Jim Gaffigan Show, who was interviewed in episode 38 of the podcast.
1. Michele Lepe, best known as Nina on the Good Night Show on Sprout. It’s not easy to rank parenting fails, but I knew this story would be number one as soon as I decided to do a countdown. I was so grateful when Michele agreed to be my first guest ever on the podcast. It helped launch the show with a great interview and she knocked it out of the park when she shared her parenting fail.
This is Part Two in the three part series of the best parenting fails shared on the podcast so far. I realize that "best" is not really the best word to use when you’re talking about parenting fails, because one parenting fail isn’t better than another one, but it is fun to do “best of” countdowns. So, the takeaway I hope you get from listening to this series isn’t that mistakes are no big deal. It’s simply that we all make mistakes, and that there’s no such thing as a perfect parent.
Make sure you subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts, so you don't miss the Top 10 Parenting Fails next week. As for parenting fails 11 through 20, here are the parents who made the list:
20. Amy McCready, the founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and author of The Me, Me, Me Epidemic, who was interviwed in episode 47 of the podcast.
19. Nick Thune, the actor and stand up comedian who has a Netflix special titled Folk Hero and a Seeso special titled Good Guy, who was interviewed in episode 6 of the podcast.
18. Sarah Maizes, Vice President of Children's Programming for The Jim Henson Company author of Got Milf?: The Modern Mom’s Guide to Feeling Fabulous, Looking Great, and Rocking A Minivan, who was interviewed in episode 41 of the podcast.
17. James Breakwell, the father of four daughters known by his 700,000 followers on Twitter as @xplodingunicorn, who was interviewed in episode 12 of the podcast.
16. Ilana Wiles, the mom behind the Mommy Shorts website and author of The Mommy Shorts Guide to Remarkably Average Parenting, who was interviewed in episode 54 of the podcast.
15. Greg Page, the founding member of the Wiggles also known as the Yellow Wiggle, who was interviewed in episode 8of the podcast.
14. Nate Bargatze, a comedian who has mutliple stand up comedy specials and has appeared on Conan and the Tonight Show multiple times, who was interviwed in episode 3 of the podcast.
13. Liz Gumbinner, half of the two moms who started Cool Mom Picks and host the Spawned Podcast, who were interviewed in episode 45 of the ParentNormal Comedy Podcast.
12. Jen Mann, author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, who was interviewed in episode 5 of the podcast.
11. Sarah Turner, author of The Unmumsy Mum, who was interviwed in episode 25 of the podcast.
Parenting fails are a such a big part of this podcast, I thought it would be fun to create a countdown of the best parenting fails shared on the show. Because who doesn’t love a countdown?
Now, obviously, it is really strange to say one parenting fail is better than another. That’s obviously not the case. But there have been some really entertaining stories shared on the show. Of course, like any countdown, there are probably some stories that should have made the list but didn’t. And there are probably some stories ranked too high or too low.
The reality is that all of these stories are great for parents to hear, and the takeaway I hope you get from listening is that we all make mistakes, but it’s better to laugh than get stressed out to the point of crying.
So this is part 1 of 3 episodes counting down the "best" parenting fails shared on the podcast. Parents in Part 1 of the countdown include:
30. Norine Dworkin-McDaniel, one of moms behind the Science of Parenthood book and website, who was interviewed in episode 9 of the podcast.
29. Karen Alpert, the New York Times bestselling author of I Heart My Little A-Holes and I Want My Epidural Back, who was interviewed in episode 31 of the podcast.
28. Rosie Pope, who starred in the Bravo Network's Reality Show Pregnant in Heels, who was interviewed in episode 30 of the podcast.
27. Mary Elizabeth Williams, author of A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science and Cancer, who was interviewed in episode 35 of the podcast.
26. Brian Gordon, creator of the Fowl Language webcomic, who was interviewed in episode 29 of the podcast.
25. Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post, who was interviewed in episode 34 of the podcast.
24. Asha Dornfest, author of Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids, who was interviewed in episode 56 of the podcast.
23. Clint Edwards, author of This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, who was inteviewed in episode 10 of the podcast.
22. Amy Bellgardt, the mom who runs Mom Spark, who was interviewed in episode 57 of the podcast.
21. Mike Spohr, editor of BuzzFeed Parents, who was interviewed in episode 36 of the podcast.
This seventh edition of parenting fails shared on show reveal even the most talented parents aren't immune to parenting fails. Enjoy this episode knowing you aren't alone in your failures, so you might as well laugh at your circumstances rather than get stressed out to the point of crying.
Parents featured in this episode include:
For every parenting victory, there is a parenting fail - perhaps several. But rather than get stressed out to the point of tears, it's usually better to laugh about the madness of parenthood.
This episode is the sixth edition of parenting fails featuring parents who have appeared on the podcast to share their stories.
Parents featured in this episode include:
This week we’re wrapping up our summer series of parenting fails. I hope it’s been helpful for you to hear other parents share their fails, not only because the stories are often entertaining, but because I think it’s helpful to hear that no parent is perfect.
No matter how hard we try or how much we love our kids, parenting fails are inevitable. The best thing we can do for our kids is just say sorry and try not to make the same mistakes again. Parenting is stressful enough without beating yourself up for past mistakes.
Parents featured in this episode include:
Mary Elizabeth Williams from Episode 35. Mary Elizabeth is the author of A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science and Cancer.
Mike Spohr from Episode 36. Mike is the editor of BuzzFeed Parents.
Christopher Monks from Episode 37. Chris is the editor of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.
Jeannie Gaffigan from Episode 38. Jeannie is comedian Jim Gaffigan’s writing partner. She also happens to be his wife and co-writer on the Jim Gaffigan Show, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it yet.
Sarah Maizes from Episode 41. Sarah is the author of Got Milf?: The Modern Mom’s Guide to Feeling Fabulous, Looking Great, and Rocking A Minivan.
If you think you're the only parent who has parenting fails, you're very wrong. This is fourth episode of the podcast dedicated strictly to parenting fails, which every parent has on a regular basis.
The featured storytellers in this episode include:
Rosie Pope from episode 30: Rosie Pope starred in Bravo's Pregnant in Heels, a reality show on which she guided soon-to-be mothers and fathers through the joys and perils of preparing for parenthood. Rosie is also the author of Mommy IQ: The Complete Guide to Pregnancy and she is a contributing editor at Parents Magazine. Rosie is also the creative force behind MomPrep, her prenatal, postpardum and parenting education studio and Rosie Pope Maternity and Rosie Pope Baby, her maternity and baby clothing and accessories lines.
Karen Alpert from episode 31: Karen Alpert is the New York Times bestselling author of I Heart My Little A-Holes: A bunch of holy-crap moments no one ever told you about parenting. Her new book is I Want My Epidural Back: Adventures in Mediocre Parenting and it’s already getting rave reviews.
Mike Sacks from episode 32: Mike Sacks is a comedy writer, podcaster and editor at Vanity Fair. He has also published two books I consider to be required reading for anyone who loves great comedy writing:
Adam Mansbach from episode 33: Adam Mansbach is the author of #1 New York Times Bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep and You Have to F**king Eat.
Arianna Huffington from episode 34: Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post. She is also a mom who has been on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world and Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women. Arianna has just released a new book called The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time.
Every parent has parenting fails - many, many parenting fails. It's a fact that we don't hide on the ParentNormal Comedy Podcast. This episode is the third collection of parenting fails shared on the show. The storytellers in this episode include:
Beau Coffron from episode 23: Beau is known as Lunchbox Dad. He’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show and several other top shows. He’s also appeared on ABCNews.com, Yahoo.com and he’s even been in People Magazine, all because he makes the most creative lunches for his kids.
Sarah Turner from episode 25: Sarah is best known to her fans as the Unmumsy Mum. She recently released a book called The Unmumsy Mum, which is already a Sunday Times bestseller in England. The book has its roots in her very popular parenting blog of the same name – The Unmumsy Mum – which was named Best Baby Blog at the 2015 MAD Blog Awards.
Bianca Jamotte from episode 26: Bianca is a mom, an actress and the creator of the webseries Real Mommy Confessions. If that wasn’t enough, she also owns a specialty mac and cheese restaurant and a coffee shop in Brooklyn, New York.
Charlie Capen from episode 28: Charlie is the co-creator of the How to Be a Dad website and co-author of The Guide to Baby Sleep Positions: Survival Tips for Co-Sleeping Parents.
Brian Gordon from episode 29: Brian is the creator of the Fowl Language webcomic. He has a new book out titled Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting, which is full of cartoons that perfectly poke fun at the daily struggles parents face.
No matter how much we love our kids or how hard we try to be perfect, parenting fails are inevitable, which is why it’s important to tell our stories - so nobody gets fooled into thinking any parent is as perfect as they pretend to be on Facebook.
This is the second time I’ve done an episode dedicated to parenting fails. You can go back and listen to episode 11 of the podcast, which features the parenting fails from the first 10 guests on the show. Now, for this episode, I’ve compiled the parenting fails from guests 11 through 15.
We are now 10 episodes into the show, and if you’ve listened to even a few seconds of the podcast, you know that I am not a parenting expert, nor do I even think it’s possible to be a parenting expert. And that’s really the purpose of this podcast - to show that we’re all imperfect parents and that it’s okay to laugh at how crazy parenting can get for all of us.