The following podcast contains explicit language.

Hello and welcome to Mom and Dad are Fighting, Slate's Parenting podcast,

the Thursday, August 15th, the Euro Trip Edition.

I'm Dan Coise.

I'm a writer and editor, Slate, and the author of the forthcoming book How to Be a Family,

and I'm the dad of Lyra,

who's 14, and Harper, who turns 12 today. Happy birthday, Harper. Hi, I'm Jamila Lemieux. I am a writer and

cultural critic and communication strategist, mother to Naima, who is in the room with me right now.

So if you hear some youthful glee and or parental reprimands, please excuse us.

And she's six years old.

Sometimes she's six months.

Sometimes she's 16.

It just depends on the day of the week.

We've all been there, Jamila. All right. Today on the show, we've got a question from a listener about second-guessing a second kid. And we've also got a worried mom whose kid wants to go to Europe and she wants to know whether she should let him. Plus, triumphs and fails and recommendations, as always, but let's start

with triumphs and fails. Jamila, do you have a triumph or fail for us today?

I think I have a triumph this week. I, you know, as we talked about last few weeks, making this

New York to California move after my child has relocated out here in California at the moment.

And for the past four days, we've been reunited.

And it's been really great.

And she's happy and healthy.

And she still loves her mother despite the fact that she spent most of the summer away from me.

And I feel good.

...