For the last two decades, I've worked closely with infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents - listening, guiding and supporting families and their young children. I've connected with so many parents through my social media account, texts, calls, and leading moms' groups. When we have open, honest and vulnerable conversations - no matter who you are as a parent - that's how we connect, learn and grow.
We also discover so much about ourselves and how that plays into our parenting. That's why I created We Didn't Turn Out Ok, a podcast where you'll hear real conversations about challenges we face in parenting, hear how we uncover the roadblocks, often from our own stuff, and listen to how we work through what's often keeping us stuck. There will be professionals in the field, noteworthy guests and everyone in between.
Using my own parenting journey and approach, combined with research-backed best practices, I am determined to help us all move forward from our areas of where we "didn't turn out ok." Every guest will be sharing openly and honestly knowing that it will help them grow as a parent but will also help all of you listening.
Welcome to We Didn't Turn Out Ok.
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Discover shows related to We Didn't Turn Out OK with Jennie Monness, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
55: Giving Our Kids the Voice We Didn't Always Have
Thursday, February 19, 2026 ⢠Duration 47:24
In this episode, I talk with Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen, the founders of Slumberkins, a parenting resource designed to help both parents and children build resilience through meaningful stories, characters, and emotional tools that families truly see themselves in.
From transitions and repair to grief, gratitude, emotional courage, and the development of a loving inner voice, what theyâve created reaches far beyond plush dolls and books. At its core, Slumberkins speaks to something universal: the inner child we all carry, and how parenting our own children often reveals the voices we needed but didnât always receive.
We connected deeply over our own seemingly âgreatâ childhoods that still held moments of not feeling fully seen or heard, and how those experiences shaped us into people-pleasing adults who struggled to set boundaries without questioning our lovability. Kelly and Callie share vulnerably about stepping away from marriages where emotional safety wasnât present, choosing instead to model honesty, courage, and self-respect for their children as single mothers.
This one felt really special to record, and Iâm so grateful for the work and community theyâve created.
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54: What is Confidence Really?
Thursday, February 12, 2026 ⢠Duration 17:00
In this short solo episode I'm sharing what I think confidence really is - not praise, not performance, not getting everything right and not even owning a room. It's a belief in oneself as we are. I introduce the powerful role we play as parents in shaping that belief through our reactions, tone and presence.
I also share on how stumbling upon meditation gave me the ability to pause and choose how I react to my kids. It gave me more control over how I respond to them - and I even attempt to guide you through a 60 second meditation practice on how you can start this.
TLDR: raising confident kids starts with the work happening inside us.
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53: Doing This for the First Time
Thursday, February 5, 2026 ⢠Duration 40:16
Rebecca Smith is a friend of my sisterâs but sheâs also the founder of Mamala Organics, a new mom brand born from a very real moment: becoming a mother and realizing how hard it was to find even a few minutes to nourish herself.
She began noticing something so many of us do, dipping into our childrenâs snacks just to get through the day, and Mamala grew from that shared truth into something meant to feel like a hug for mothers when they need it most.
But this conversation goes far beyond a brand story.
Rebecca and I naturally found ourselves talking about grit, as founders, as mothers, and as people deeply triggered by the idea of âgiving up" and feelings around things we quit as a kid. We explored what it means to keep building for our children, the role our partners play as safe places when we hit those I canât do this anymore moments, and how that safety is exactly what we hope to become for our own kids.
We talk about energy, confidence, and the quiet realization that none of us were born knowing how to do any of this. Weâre all learning. Weâre all doing this for the first time.
I love this episode. It feels like a snapshot of where I am right now, in parenthood, in work, and in life.
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52: Breaking Cycles and Becoming Ourselves
Thursday, January 29, 2026 ⢠Duration 43:09
Erika and I met through the mom influencer world, but our connection felt instant and deeper than coincidence - like one of those meetings thatâs meant to happen. Since then, the universe has kept weaving our lives together in ways this conversation brings to light.
This episode begins with me in the middle of a full-blown âhot mess mom week,â opening up about the spiral of self-judgment, the fear of other peopleâs judgment, and how easily we turn inward when weâre overwhelmed. From there, we talk each other through the ways weâre hard on ourselves, and the ways weâre learning to meet ourselves with more grace as we actively break generational patterns, navigate our marriages, and raise daughters we want to grow up unburdened, proud, and free.
Youâll hear Erikaâs origin story, losing her job at nine months pregnant at the start of COVID, continuing to follow her purpose through uncertainty, and now arriving in a completely different season of life as she approaches nine months pregnant with her second child, six years later.
We also talk about her bringing her brand to life withâ Edenâ - a womenâs clothing line designed for every season of motherhood, with quality and comfort at its core, pre, during, and post-partum. But whatâs most powerful is that Eden isnât just a product, itâs a symbol. A vehicle for her real purpose: building support, safety, and community for mothers.
This is a conversation about identity, resilience, alignment, and becoming - in motherhood, partnership, and selfhood.
Youâre going to fall in love with her, just like I did. đ
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51: Step into the Group Chat
Thursday, January 22, 2026 ⢠Duration 53:11
In this episode, I got to Zoom-hang with three women who feel like instant soul-friends: Allison Williams (Girls, M3GAN, Get Out) and her lifelong best friends Hope Kremer (early childhood educator) and Jaymie Oppenheim (therapist).
Itâs a four-way Zoom, so it feels exactly like being dropped into a private group chat, the kind where nothing is curated and everything is real. We talk about momming on meds, realistic expectations changing our parenting lives, confidence and bag size (yes, really), the pressure we put on moments that maybe donât deserve it, and the ways we all carry high stakes without even realizing it.
What surprised me most wasnât just how honest the conversation was, it was how familiar it felt. Different lives, different paths, same nervous systems. Same fears. Same gratitude. Same joy. Same constant recalibration of who we are and who weâre becoming as mothers.
And thatâs exactly the energy theyâre bringing into the world with what theyâve created through Landlines: connection, honesty, and a sense of youâre not doing this alone.
This episode doesnât need a long explanation.
Just know this:
It feels like listening to a lifelong group text thread between three best friends who became moms -Â and suddenly realizing it sounds exactly like your own.
And thatâs the magic.
Join their substack.Â
Listen to their pod.
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50: How Loss Shapes Belonging
Thursday, January 15, 2026 ⢠Duration 52:00
In this episode, Jamie Kolnick peels back every layer.
As a mom of three, Jamie is constantly navigating her own growth and healing, shaped by profound loss after losing both of her parents and her brother. Many know her as the founder of the beloved childrenâs music brand Jam with Jamie. What you may not know is how much inner work she has done - and continues to do - to make sense of grief, belonging, and identity.
Rather than summarizing this conversation, I want to urge you to listen.
This is one of the most raw episodes yet. Jamie opens up about losing her brother at just 13 years old, how the attention and popularity surrounding that loss shaped her understanding of belonging, and how those early experiences still echo in her life today, as a parent, a partner, and a public figure on social media.
Through therapy, medication, deep reflection, and honest self-inquiry, Jamie has come into herself in ways that feel both brave and deeply relatable. She speaks candidly about couples therapy, learning her triggers, the lifelong work of feeling âenough,â and what it really means to live alongside loss rather than try to move past it.
Jamie also shares about spearheading Little Jam Fest, offering classes through Jam with Jamie, and her ongoing fundraising work with the Reach for the Stars Foundation.
This episode will stay with you.
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49: Sister Episode
Thursday, January 8, 2026 ⢠Duration 40:37
In this episode, I sit down with my sisters for what started as a âget to know usâ conversation, and quickly turned into something much deeper. At some point, we forgot we were recording and simply began reminiscing. It felt like therapy. It felt grounding. And it felt especially meaningful during a time when weâre navigating some of the hardest things weâve faced together.
What kept coming back to us was this: getting through life together has always been our anchor.
We reflect on our childhood and the sisterhood we share, one that, surprisingly, was never rooted in competition or jealousy. We donât remember being at odds (aside from a few scratch marks from toddler toy disputes). As a mom of two young girls close in age, currently deep in the trenches of sibling rivalry, I found myself wondering how our experience was so different⌠and what, if anything, I can learn from it.
Listening back to this episode, what moves me most are the moments you canât fully hear: the quiet looks, the tears, the shared smiles. Those nuances are what hold this conversation together. I hope this episode gives you a glimpse into my upbringing, the shaping experience of being the middle of two sisters, and the quiet magic that sibling relationships, especially sisterhood, can hold.
Youâll also meet my sisters:
Katy Leinoff, my younger sister, is a collage artist living in Florida with her husband and their 3-year-old daughter. Sheâs currently seven months pregnant with her second child.
Lindsey Lamchick, my older sister, is a real estate agent, title owner, and the founder of Project Disco Ball, a nonprofit inspired by her journey through breast cancer. She lives in Florida with her husband, their 16-year-old twins, and their 6-year-old daughter.
There will be more sister episodes in the future, Iâm already sort of hoping I can create a spin off podcast for the three of us to have regular sessions.
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47: The Psychology of Sleepaway Camp (for Kids and Parents)
Friday, December 19, 2025 ⢠Duration 42:17
This week Iâm joined by the hilarious, honest NYC moms behind the podcast Micâd & Medicated, Eva Heyman and Caroline Leventhal, in what starts as a conversation about sleepaway camp turns into something much deeper (and very funny).
Sleepaway camp might sound niche, but itâs a topic I get asked about constantly ever since I started sharing about how we were looking at camp for Tess this upcoming summer (I canât believe sheâs leaving us so soon!). I get questions from parents all over the world. Why do we send our kids away for the summer? Who is it really for? Our kids? Us? Both?
We unpack the phenomenon behind camp and all the questions that come with it:
â What age is ârightâ?
â Co-ed or single gender?
â How long is too long?
â Is camp about independence, identity, resilience⌠or parents needing space to breathe?
â And how much of our own childhood experiences shape the decision?
We also go inward, sharing whether we went to camp ourselves, the experiences that stayed with us (good and hard), and how those memories quietly inform the choices weâre making now as parents.
For me, camp was the first place I truly felt like I belonged. It shaped who I became, gave me lifelong friendships, and remains one of the most formative chapters of my life. That belief deeply influenced the schools I chose for my daughters and the camps we explored together.
This episode is real, reflective, laugh-out-loud funny, and full of nuance. Itâs a conversation about sleepaway camp not just as a parenting decision but as a decision about giving your child an experience where they discover who they are, who they can be without us and what it feels like to truly belong.Â
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46: Blending not Balancing with Jenny Fleiss
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 ⢠Duration 47:52
Todayâs conversation with Jenny Fleiss is one that stayed with me long after we stopped recording. You may know Jenny as the co-founder behind major ventures like Rent the Runway and Jetblack, or recently from Roll Rider, the kidsâ luggage company she dreamed up with her children. Sheâs also been recognized with awards such as Inc.âs 30 Under 30, Fortuneâs 40 Under 40, and Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs â but what we explore in this episode is the part of her story that accolades donât capture.
We dive into the inner work of adulthood and parenting: the moments when we realize weâre not validating what matters to our kids, even though weâve spent our whole lives wishing others would validate what matters to us. We talk about how this work doesnât necessarily get easier, but it becomes clearer⌠and how awareness is often the biggest shift of all.
Jenny shares why she doesnât believe in the word balance â and why blend is the more honest, compassionate way to approach working motherhood. We talk about what happens when we include our kids in the worlds weâre building, how it softens us, surprises us, and reveals the parts of ourselves still in need of slowing down, rewiring, or healing.
Itâs a warm, honest, deeply human conversation about ambition, presence, stress, creativity, and raising kids while still raising ourselves.
Discount for listeners:
Get 20% off Jennyâs kidsâ luggage scooter company Roll Rider with code RollOK.
This one is just SO GOOD.
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45: Hear it from my girls
Friday, December 5, 2025 ⢠Duration 16:19
This was the most I have learned from any guest so far. It was a 45 minute episode cut down to 12 minutes because of how moving this entire conversation was I felt compelled to keep the majority of it private. What I left in, I hope helps give you ideas for questions you can ask your own kids, letting them know you are curious about what they think and that it sparks conversations like the one I had here. I was able to hear some of their innermost thoughts and what I am sharing here I hope puts perspective on how their minds work, they want magic, they want presence, they want us.
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