Fresh Take: Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Golinkoff

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood

Kids & Family, Comedy, Parenting

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Amy talks with developmental psychologists Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Golinkoff, authors of the newly revised parenting classic EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASHCARDS, about why today’s parents feel more pressured than ever to optimize every moment of childhood—and why research shows that approach often backfires. From academic preschools to AI toys, screen time to early reading, Kathy and Roberta explain what actually supports healthy learning and development. You’ll learn: Why play-based learning leads to better academic and emotional outcomes The five key conditions for how the human brain learns best Why “faster” and “earlier” aren’t better for child development How everyday moments (like the grocery store or setting the table) are powerful learning opportunities The effects of AI toys and excessive screen use How simple games build executive function and social skills A practical mantra for overwhelmed parents: reflect, resist, recenter This episode offers science-backed reassurance that children don’t need flashcards, apps, or enrichment overload—what they need most is playful, joyful, human connection. Here's where you can find Drs. Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff: @drkathyanddrro on IG Buy EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASHCARDS: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780593980767 What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables. 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 podcast, 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, play-based learning, Einstein Never Used Flashcards, child development, early childhood education, parenting advice, executive function, screen time for kids, AI toys, learning through play, social emotional development, preschool learning, developmental psychology, parenting pressure, raising kids, how children learn, educational research, parent anxiety, technology and kids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, everybody. Welcome to What Fresh Hell, laughing in the face of motherhood. This is Amy.
0:07.0	Today we have two guests. I'm talking to Dr. Kathy Hirsch Passick. She is a professor in the
0:11.9	psychology department at Temple University. She directs the Temple, Infant and Child Laboratory,
0:18.0	where she studies how children learn and flourish.
0:26.0	We also have Dr. Roberta Michnik Golancoff, who directs the child's play, learning, and development lab at the University of Delaware.
0:29.8	They are co-authors of a parenting classic that is now out in a newly revised version.
0:36.2	Einstein never used flashcards, how our children really learn
0:39.9	and why they need to play more and memorize less. Welcome, Kathy, and Roberta. Thank you so much.
0:46.5	So great to be here. Thank you. So let's start in 2003, which is the year that this book first came
0:51.9	out and it was the year my first child was born at the end of
0:54.6	2002. So this is my late year of becoming a parent really was 2003. I remember it being in a
1:01.1	pretty intense moment. And not much has changed. So I'm curious what made you write the book
1:07.9	back then and what made you say, oh, we need to re-up this message?
1:12.3	I think it's the same message, don't you think?
1:14.4	Kathy, only worse.
1:15.6	Oh, my God.
1:16.7	You only need us more.
1:19.2	You talk about the hell that faces parents every single day.
1:23.7	Yeah.
1:24.0	And I think around that time, as I recall, is when we had the tsunami of pamphlets. Everybody was going to tell parents what to do. Now, as a parent, I was just trying to survive each day. The last thing I had time for with three kids was sitting around and reading your pamphlets. So what happened,
1:46.7	though, was amazing. Revert and I realized we wrote this book, it was a really successful book,
1:52.1	and then they asked us to rewrite it because it was so successful, so that's great. Yeah. But wait,
	...

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