Dr. Cassidy Freitas grew up watching her mom — a Hispanic judge who fought her way into white male spaces with no margin for error — come home carrying that same no-error version of herself. Her dad pushed straight A's as the path to financial safety. She absorbed all of it.

And then she became a mom.

She had a plan. A written, formatted, shared-with-her-doctor birth plan. When it fell apart in the operating room — her daughter already here, her husband saying "look at her," and Cassidy turning her face away — the drive that had gotten her through everything else had nothing to offer her.

Dr. Cassidy is a therapist and the author of Mom Needs a Moment. In this conversation with Dr. Becky, she traces how perfectionism forms in childhood as a survival strategy, why it works right up until you have a baby, and what it actually looks like to loosen the grip without losing your edge.

There's a phrase she comes back to: context is the bridge to compassion. You can't have compassion for the way perfectionism shows up in you as a mom if you don't understand where it came from.

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Looking for more support navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and life with a new baby? Good Inside Baby gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming in early parenthood.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Ole Henriksen: Use the code DRBECKY30 for 30% off the Banana Bright+ Eye Crème
• Airbnb: Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb
• Coterie: Get 20% off with the code GOODINSIDEBABY20

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Parents are being sold creativity like it's a subscription box. Workshops, kits, frameworks, scripts: the message being that your kid needs more imagination and it's your job to install it. Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist and Don't Call It Art, has a different take: your kid already has it. The imagination, the playfulness, the willingness to not-know — it's all there. The question isn't how to give it to them. It's how to stop blocking it. And maybe, while we're here, how to get a little of it back ourselves.

Dr. Becky and Austin talk about what creativity actually needs to thrive (not a workshop), what so-called "problem kids" and great artists have in common, why your kid's obsession with garage doors is not a problem, the link between play and depression, the game that got Austin through the pandemic, and the teeth-brushing song Becky invented entirely by accident.

Read Dr. Becky’s ideas for how to be a playful parent when you don’t feel like playing.

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From the newborn days to the teen years, Good Inside now supports parents through every stage of childhood — with practical guidance for the moments that matter most. 

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Play-Doh: Shop Play-Doh at Walmart for a summer of imaginative play
• Skylight: Get $30 off a 15-inch Skylight Calendar at myskylight.com/becky
• LMNT: Get a free gift with your purchase at drinkLMNT.com/goodinside

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You and your partner love your kids. So why does it sometimes feel like you're parenting in completely different worlds?

In this listener-favorite episode from the Good Inside archives, Dr. Becky talks with a mom named Carmella who feels stuck between two parenting styles: she's the one holding the routines and boundaries, while her husband tends to be more flexible in the moment. The result? More conflict, more emotional labor, and a growing sense that she's carrying the weight of consistency alone.

Together, they unpack what kids actually need when parents approach things differently, how to talk about parenting without turning your partner into the enemy, and why being "on the same page" doesn't mean becoming the same parent.

Because parenting was never meant to be carried by one person.

With Family Plans, annual Good Inside members can now invite a coparent or caregiver into their account - so you’re building from the same foundation, sharing the same language, and supporting your family together. Click the link to learn more.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Play-Doh: Shop Play-Doh at Walmart for a summer of imaginative play
• Airbnb: Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI is getting better at sounding human. Better at conversation. Better at reassurance. Better at knowing exactly what we want to hear.

So what happens when our kids start building relationships with machines designed to remove friction?

In this conversation, Dr. Becky talks with former Wall Street Journal tech columnist Joanna Stern about AI toys, chatbot companions, creativity, learning, and the surprising role frustration plays in healthy human development.

Together, they explore why “helpful” technology can potentially short-circuit the skills kids most need to build: patience, resilience, independent thinking, and real connection.

Joanna also shares what happened when she spent time building a relationship with an AI chatbot herself... and why it left her more concerned about kids and companion bots than ever before.

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From the newborn days to the teen years, Good Inside now supports parents through every stage of childhood — with practical guidance for the moments that matter most.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Play-Doh: Shop Play-Doh at Walmart for a summer of imaginative play
• Coterie: Get 20% off with the code GOODINSIDEBABY20
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/goodinside
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After kids, a lot of couples assume intimacy is supposed to disappear. You’re exhausted, touched-out, overwhelmed by logistics, carrying invisible mental load — and somewhere along the way, sex can start to feel complicated, distant, or impossible to even talk about.

But what if the story is more nuanced than that?

In this episode, Dr. Becky talks with board-certified OB/GYN, sexual wellness expert, and Chief Medical Officer at Hers, Dr. Jessica Shepherd, about new survey data exploring what actually happens to intimacy in long-term relationships and parenthood.

They discuss:

• why some married couples report better sex after kids
• how vulnerability changes intimacy
• the connection between mental load and desire
• hormones, perimenopause, and libido
• why “whose fault is this?” is often the wrong question
• what it means to approach intimacy from a same-team perspective

This conversation is honest, practical, funny at times — and ultimately hopeful. Because intimacy is about feeling seen, understood, connected, and able to locate yourself inside your relationship again.

Dr. Becky wrote up a few tips for talking to your partner about intimacy after kids. You can read those here.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Skylight: Get $30 off a 15-inch Skylight Calendar at myskylight.com/becky
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/goodinside
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Becky recently had a run-in with a ... dubious ... purveyor of NeeDohs, the outrageously popular, notoriously hard-to-find squishy toys. And it made her think twice about why this craze has taken over our homes in the first place. So she did what any reasonable person would do: she recorded an emergency podcast episode in her closet. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Lindsay C. Gibson has helped millions of readers understand the lasting impact of emotionally immature parents. In this conversation, she joins Dr. Becky to explore the other side of the equation: how we raise emotionally mature kids.

They discuss why kids’ behavior can feel so activating, the difference between emotions being a “master” versus an “advisor,” why emotional maturity has nothing to do with perfection, and how connection is built in tiny everyday moments—not just the hard ones.

This episode is for every parent who’s ever thought: Why did I react so strongly to that?

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Ergobaby: Use the code DRBECKY20 for 20% off for support at every stage
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/goodinside
• Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Learn more about Good Inside Baby.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For generations, fathers were taught that their job was simple: protect, provide, preside.

But what happens when those old rules no longer fit?

In this conversation, Dr. Becky talks with writer and father Kevin Maguire ("The New Fatherhood") about the emotional transformation happening inside modern fatherhood — and why so many dads are trying to parent differently than they were parented themselves.

They explore:

• why presence matters more than ever in parenting
• the hidden identity shift that happens when men become fathers
• why play can feel surprisingly hard for dads
• anger, emotional regulation, and repair
• the pressure men feel to disconnect from vulnerability
• paternal postpartum depression and why so few people talk about it
• how healing ourselves changes the way we show up for our kids

This is an honest conversation about masculinity, parenting, emotions, and the courage it takes to break generational patterns.

Kevin's new book is called The New Fatherhood: Why Everything They Told You About Being A Dad Is Wrong, and How Embracing It Will Transform Your Life.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Ole Henriksen: Use the code DRBECKY30 for 30% off the Banana Bright+ Eye Crème
• Airbnb: Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb
• Kt by Knix: Use the code GOODINSIDE for 15% off period underwear
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You’ve probably said it—or heard it:

“Nobody knows what they’re doing.”

It’s meant to comfort us as parents. And sometimes it does.
But… is it actually true?

In this episode of our ongoing Is It True? series, Dr. Becky and Myleik Teele take a closer look at this belief—and what might be more helpful to hold onto instead.

They explore:

• Why this idea can feel relieving… and also limiting
• The pressure to “prove” you’re a good parent in hard moments
• What it really looks like when a parent does know what they’re doing
• And the powerful role of curiosity—about your child and yourself

Through real-life moments (public meltdowns, getting hit in a school line, vacation chaos), they show how parenting isn’t about having it all figured out—but about learning, adjusting, and building skills over time.

Read Dr. Becky's follow up on the Good Inside Blog. 

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible: 

- Ergobaby: Use the code DRBECKY20 for 20% off for support at every stage 
- LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/goodinside
- Coterie: Get 20% off with the code GOODINSIDEBABY20 
- Skylight: Get $30 off a 15-inch Skylight Calendar at myskylight.com/becky

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you’re pregnant… just had a baby… or love someone who is about to become a parent… this episode is for you!

This is a preview of Rattled—a brand-new podcast from Good Inside, created for those early weeks and months of parenthood, when everything feels new, intense, and a little disorienting.

Each episode of Rattled starts with a thought—the kind that shows up at 2 a.m., the kind you don’t always say out loud, the kind that can make you wonder if something is wrong with you.

In this preview, you’ll hear from two parents:

Caro Chambers—writer, chef, and mom of four—on the moment it hit her:
“Oh… my whole life has changed.”

And Leah Smart—executive coach, podcast host, and new mom—on experiencing intrusive thoughts during pregnancy and postpartum, and what they actually mean (and don’t mean) about you.

If you’ve ever had a complicated thought around a baby… or worried about what your thoughts say about you—you're not the only one!

Subscribe to Rattled; new episodes every Thursday.
Learn more about Good Inside Baby.

Because the best way to care for a baby…
is to care for the person holding the baby!

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Ole Henriksen: Use the code DRBECKY30 for 30% off the Banana Bright+ Eye Crème
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/goodinside
• Hiya: Use the code DRBECKY for 50% off your first order

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

People will tell you: a baby changes everything. What no one tells you is how much you change — and how hard it is to love yourself when you don't quite recognize yourself anymore.

In this conversation, Dr. Becky sits down with poet and author Cleo Wade (Remember Love) to talk about what it actually feels like to lose yourself in early parenthood — and what finding your way back looks like. They go deep on postpartum depression, the guilt that masquerades as gratitude, why the hard thoughts hit so much harder than the hard moments themselves, and the small, unglamorous practices — a walk, a shower, two words on a post-it note — that can become a real turning point.

Cleo's line has stayed with so many parents who've heard it: your motherhood is only as powerful as your personhood.

This episode is a reminder of why that's true — and a guide for how to actually live it.

We're re-releasing this episode to celebrate the launch of Rattled, our new podcast for the early years of parenthood, as well as a whole new home for the baby stage inside the Good Inside app — with sleep support, lactation expertise, workshops, and tools built around one belief: a parent who feels held can hold their baby.

Subscribe to Rattled; new episodes every Thursday.

Learn more about Good Inside Baby.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.