The following podcast contains explicit language.

Hello and welcome to Mom and Dad are Fighting Slate's Parenting Podcast for Thursday, March 2nd, the Allison's Viking Funeral Edition.

I'm Allison, Allison Benedict, and editor at Slate, and the mom of Harry 8, Sam, 5, and Wally 3, but turning four this weekend. Oh, happy birthday, Wally. I'm Gabriel Roth. I'm also an editor at Slate, and I'm the dad of Eliza, who is 6, and Leo, who is 2.5. Hi, Gabe. Hi, Alison. On today's show, we'll talk to schoolteacher and occasional mom and dad are fighting guest, Matt Dix, about how parents can get the most out of parent teacher conferences.

Then, yes, we'll say goodbye to me. And like always, we'll have triumphs and fails, recommendations, and a listener call about relating to friends with kids when you don't have kids of your own. And for our Slate Plus segment, a special guest.

We are collecting parenting hacks, strategies, tips, the things that make your family life run a little bit more

smoothly than they might otherwise, the things that you've figured out or that somebody told

you that ease some of the friction. Go to our Facebook page, Facebook.com slash mom and dad are fighting

and post your favorite parenting hacks there.

We will quote you and share the love in a future episode.

I just got to pass along my favorite newborn hack.

I don't know if it's a hack,

but tip to one of our colleagues who just had a baby

whose baby was screaming through

every bath in those little, like, you know, the bath that you put in the sink and the baby can't really be submerged in the water at the beginning. They're like you're in a trampoline and we're running a hose on you. Exactly. So a friend of mine told me when, like, I remember newborn Harry was screaming all the time that you get all these washcloths and put them in hot water, warm water and cover the baby in warm wash glass and then just take off a washcloth when you need to wash that part. And so then the baby's not cold and the baby's not screaming. Sort of mummification back. Exactly. Yeah. Also, if you have not yet joined Slate Plus, despite me doing two Slate Plus segments on this very podcast recently, please consider doing it now.

For just $5 a month or $49 a year, you will not only be getting great perks like ad-free podcast, Slate Academies, and a cool weekly newsletter written by Gabe Roth.

Sorry. Hi, Gabe Roth. Sorry.

Hi, Gabe Roth.

You'll also be supporting the great and important work my colleagues do every day.

Most recently, Slate Plus helped send our staff writer Henry Grubar to Chuck Grassley's

Town Hall in Iowa, and he wrote a great piece, getting behind the viral town hall videos, trying to

understand what's actually happening at those events.

Henry's story is great.

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