Trying something new here folks - it's our first ever Milkless Mailbag! Listeners sent in questions, and Max and Matt did their best to say useful things - with the help of good friend and returning guest Sam "Ice Man" Stolper. We cover topics ranging from overbearing grandparents, to sharing the load within a marriage, to the challenges of maintaining a clean home (and the value of recognizing that not everyone shares the same definition of "clean"). This is the hardest we've laughed making ...

Max and Matt are joined by the famous Bez, as the three Dads dive into the often tricky balance between firm boundaries and gentle parenting. What does it look like to put your foot down kindly with a kid who's truly ready to test your limits? What can we do before that meeting of the wills that will hopefully make it go better? How do we calm our own worries that those necessary limit-setting clashes will create long term ripples in the relationship? We also talk a lot about h...

Matt and Max talk about how one of the great mistakes of humankind is how we are more apt to follow consensus over what might yield the best outcomes.When=Now Episodes are a second bonus episode we're dropping each week. The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

The data is overwhelming: adults who commit themselves to acts of service and make volunteering a part of their life are just way happier. And, like everything else, that's a muscle you start building when you're a kid. But unless you belong to a religious community, you've kind of got to bring your own beer in terms of incorporating service into your family's life. And with young kids, your options can feel a little limited, because... well, no offense, but five year olds suck at a lot of st...

Matt and Max talk about how important it is to have adult time away from kids and then meander into how strange the parenting social media universe can be.When=Now Episodes are a second bonus episode we're dropping each week. The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

If you haven't listened to Part 1, go back and start there at Episode #55 (which is Part one of this two part episode). We know we keep talking about this, but we (and just about every other parent we know) keep struggling with it. How is it that - no matter how many times it happens, no matter how aware we are of the dynamics, and no matter how much we work against it - sometimes the temperature in the house just gets turned up so high that things explode? Luckily, we've got a new brain and ...

We know we keep talking about this, but we (and just about every other parent we know) keep struggling with it. How is it that - no matter how many times it happens, no matter how aware we are of the dynamics, and no matter how much we work against it - sometimes the temperature in the house just gets turned up so high that things explode? Luckily, we've got a new brain and a new perspective entering the conversation: our old friend and father of one Matt Rose, who pushes us into whole new wa...

Matt and Max talk about how when you have a second child often times the older child feels like they are pushed out of the way and sometimes fight for attention.When =Now Episodes are a second bonus episode we're dropping each week. The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

There’s a fair amount of research to support the notion that spirituality and religion can be awfully good for people (and for their kids). But organized religion doesn’t exactly have a spotless track record - no matter what faith you’re talking about. Plus Matt and Max both grew up pretty much full-on heathen, so even if they do buy into the benefits, is religion really something that they could genuinely incorporate into their families’ lives? The Boys welcome the refreshingly open-minded D...

Matt and Max talk about how kids are doing travel sports younger and younger with their good friend Simon Salgado.When = Now is a new episode format for us. This will be the second episode we drop each week! The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

Has one of your kids ever asked you to look at them? How about in the last hour? How about in the last five minutes? This one seems to be totally universal, and boy can it drive you up the wall. It is simply not possible to live a full adult life while looking at your kids every time they ask you to. But the son-of-b*tch is that it's also really important for kids to consistently feel seen by their parents. So how do you balance this impossible task? How do you handle those moments when your ...

Matt and Max talk about how watching science videos with their kids can be a fun way to learn about the world and the wonder within it.In case you missed Episode #48 (When = Now (Uncut) | Modern Frustration), we're dropping a second episode each week! The format of the second episode is called "When = Now." The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, no editing, and more free flowing. Enjoy!Buy Violet Archer on Amazon Here

We've got another kickass guest - and this one's kind of, like, a famous guy. Colton Underwood's resume is truly unique: a Catholic-raised college football star from rural Illinois who made it all the way to the NFL, then appeared on three seasons of The Bachelor... then came out as gay at age 29. Colton is now married with a kid on the way and hosting the hit podcast Daddyhood, but coming out was a long and painful process that he wouldn't wish on anybody. Colton joins Max and Matt for an ho...

We're going to start dropping a second episode each week! The format of the second episode is called "When = Now." The topic is something that's going on in our life right now. Less research, more gritty, less editing, and more free flowing. Take a listen and if it's your jam, then you just got 2x the MILKLESS in your life. (But if it's not for you and you like the regular episodes, we won't be offended if you skip over some or all of them).Matt and Max talk about why we seem to be getting a ...

We're always watching our kids to see how they're doing, and to make sure they get the help they need when they need it. But the question of if and when to intervene is seldom clearcut. Whether it's language development, physical or emotional well-being, or even just climbing up high on a counter - parents are constantly asking themselves whether this is the right time to get in there, or if it would be better to hang back and let the kid figure it out. Of course that equation gets even more ...

Just a little somethin' between seasons 2 & 3 of the show. Matt tells a story about his daughter, and about the man who told him - long before Matt had kids - that being a father is "the best thing you'll ever do."

Holy sh*t, The Boys are turning forty. This one's literally coming out on Max's 40th birthday. Is it just a number, or an opportunity to look at life in a whole new way? Maybe both? Maybe neither? Maybe it's what you make of it. But all the research shows that having a positive perspective on getting older makes the back half of your life a whole lot better (not to mention healthier and longer). So, how do we get there, in spite of the aching joints and inevitable humbling that life deals...

Our kids spend a LOT of time looking to us to figure out how they're doing. Does this work? Am I not supposed to do this? Do people like it when I try this thing? It's a little bit terrifying how much power we as parents have in shaping not only what our kids see as positive or negative behavior, but in how they see themselves and their identity. That means praise and critique are a pretty big part of parenting. But not all praise is actually helpful, and not all criticism is constructive....

You heard it here first, y'all: eating healthy and exercising makes you live longer AND does wonders for your mental health. Oh, wait, literally everyone is already saying this? Well, then maybe we should talk about how the f*ck you get yourself to do it consistently - particularly with young kids. This is not something Max and Matt have mastered, which is exactly why it's not intolerable to listen to them talk about it... because aren't we all a little tired of six-packed influencer parents...

If you haven't listened to Part 1, go back and start there at Episode #42. Look, not everything about being a parent is that awesome. We all know it. Let's just say it. Actually, let's make a list, and then hang out and holler about how mad we sometimes get about this stuff. Sounds great, actually. Carthadic. Let's do it. We might even figure out some things to try, see if we can't make it all go a little smoother. It's a Hot Takes, y'all. Ten things Matt and Max hate about parenting Part...

Look, not everything about being a parent is that awesome. We all know it. Let's just say it. Actually, let's make a list, and then hang out and holler about how mad we sometimes get about this stuff. Sounds great, actually. Carthadic. Let's do it. We might even figure out some things to try, see if we can't make it all go a little smoother. It's a Hot Takes, y'all. Ten things Matt and Max hate about parenting. Support Milkless by buying the best kids book ever (seriously). Matt wrote it,...

First off, don’t worry. We’re not coming for your phones. We LOVE our phones! Also, without them, it would much, much harder for you to listen to this podcast. But then there’s this uncomfortable truth that nobody really wants to talk about... including The Boys. It might just maybe be possible that we're all waaaaay too connected to our devices, and it's really f*cking with our heads and frequently forcing its way into the middle of our relationship with our kids. But dude, it's 2024 - going...

Hey y'all, so Matt wrote a kids book! Violet Archer and the Case of the Purple Martin is an early chapter book (the first in a series) that follows the investigations of kid detective Violet Archer and her investigative partner, Baba - a Jack Russell Terrier. Max read the manuscript and freaked out over the writing. Then he spent the next 6 months (and hundreds of hours) moving mountains to get the kids mystery book published. And holy sh*t it just came out! This less-than-typical episode...

For parents, there are few things more grating than the sound of your kids whining. It is biologically engineered to snap us into action. Unfortunately, it frequently snaps us into a rage, and literally all children do it - at least sometimes. Matt and Max are on a mission to handle their kids' whining better - and to try to dodge it completely whenever possible. So, why do kids whine? Why does it instantly turn us into Jack Nicholson from The Shining? And how do we GET IT TO F*CKING STOP...

Kids cry. It's universal. It's also one of the hardest things to handle well as a parent, because - as effed up as it feels to say - upset kids can be really GD frustrating. And to make things more complicated, they don't always want to be doing it either! Even our kids get embarrassed when they get emotional at a moment where they'd rather have held it together. So, how are we supposed to validate their feelings, while giving them the tools to not lose their shit when they can't make the...