The following podcast is for parents. Maybe not for kids. Welcome to Mom and Dad are Fighting, Slate's Parenting Podcast for Thursday, March 18th, the end of the pandemic edition. I'm Dan Cois. I'm a writer for Slate. I'm the author of the book How to Be a Family. I'm the dad to Lyra, who's 15, and Harper, who is 13, and we live in Harlington, Virginia.

I'm Jamila Lemieux.

I am a writer, contributor to Slate's care and feeding parenting column.

They're very kind to have me after I fell for the worst troll ever last week and had to resubmit my column.

I am also the co-host of Slate's Wild and Wise evening chat

show, and I am mom to Naima, who is just about eight years old, and we live in Los Angeles,

California. I'm Elizabeth Newcamp. I write the homeschool and family travel blog Dutch Dutch

Goose. I'm the mom to three little, Henry, who's eight, Oliver's six, and Teddy who's four, and we live in Navar, Florida. Welcome. Jamila, they love sending in the fake questions to Karen feeding. Don't you sweat it. Remember the time someone sent in the plot of little women. I do remember that. I do remember that. once again with the deep cut white folks stuff that I don't know about.

I'm remember that. I do remember that. Once again, with the deep cut white folks stuff that I don't know about. I'm just kidding. That's right. I'm always getting you. Someone sent the plot of phantom thread and you were like, what is this?

On today's show, we are going to tackle the divide between sports obsessed kids and parents who, like our letter writer, have fallen out of love with sports.

Then I'm going to sit down with Professor Emily Oster to talk about what this spring and summer are going to look like as we approach the end of COVID.

How should we think about safety and families where some of us are vaccinated and others of us are not?

You will not want to miss this conversation.

On Slate Plus, we will be comparing the songs that would make up the soundtrack to our parenting.

But let's start today, not with triumphs and fails, but with a dilemma.

I have a dilemma I would like Jamila and Elizabeth to weigh in on so that maybe I can spare myself the fail later on.

Here's my dilemma.

So you guys remember the olden days when people went out, right?

Yes.

So during those olden days, we had a rule with our kids with Harper, specifically, that you could wear makeup at home for fun, but you did not wear it out. You were not old enough to wear it out, we said, and you especially didn't wear it to school. So whatever, a little lip gloss is fine, but no, like, real makeup. And Harbor did not like the rule. You know, she would put on, like, these immaculate faces, and then she'd be very annoyed when you're like, wash it off. You have to go to softball practice. Wait, so how old was she when this begins? She's been playing with makeup for years and has been annoyed that we've made her take it off for at least since fourth or fifth grade. Okay. But what we've told her for all those years is this is a thing for high school.

When you're in high school, you can wear makeup to school.

You can wear makeup out.

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