We are so excited to be back for SEASON TWO of Millennial Mom Thoughts! Our holiday breaks were filled with travel, thoughtful gifts from our husbands, goal setting, and even a podcast retreat held at the former home of the Awesome Blossom aka Chili’s. And in case you haven’t been to Chili’s in a while, spoiler alert: they no longer have any fried onion appetizers. But don’t fret-- Helen can attest to the tastiness of their veggie burger. Make sure to check out our Instagram account because we now have a link to an online store called Bonfire, where you can purchase the coolest MMT sweatshirts, t-shirts, coffee mugs, and tumblers ever! Helen and Jordan each share how it was slightly strange to sit across from each other and have a face-to-face conversation despite talking to each other literally every week. We give a brief preview of what our next episode will be: our history with and the history of Facebook. Jordan shares a new adventure of starting up a book club for Jean Twenge’s 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. We talk about Helen’s history with dance and her secret dream of being discovered. And Jordan is so excited to learn more about Helen’s plans for her upcoming course about the history of education. Naturally, we close the episode with a story of how Jordan was once accused of having a fake name.

We kick off the final episode of Season 1 by discussing the recent social media restriction that Australia enacted for kids under the age of 16. We draw parallels from the social media age restriction to how the U.S. has driving, drinking, and voting ages. Prompted by a a school drop-off line conversation Jordan had with a mom listener, we then reflect on the range of topics we have discussed over the first season. Jordan then shares some books that she is currently reading. After discussing a point from Screen Damage about how sleep is more than rest but is analogous to the supermarket being closed at night for cleaning and reorganizing, Helen breaks out into “The Supermarket Shuffle” tune from elementary school music class. Jordan shares a recent family decision to opt her kindergartener out of using the iPad at school. Helen reflects over the past semester of teaching multiple courses, including both successes and frustrations. For the spring semester, Helen will now be teaching a course at ISU about the history of education in the United States. We are grateful for the ability to share what matters to us over the past 22 weeks with our listeners and wish a happy holidays to all and to all a good night!

We’ll catch you on the flippity flip in 2026!!

Helen couldn’t hear out of one ear and Jordan lost her voice, so ‘tis the season to talk about gifts (while doing our best to hold back coughs)! We start off by reflecting on the meaningful discussion that happened after the latest community film screening of Can’t Look Away. Jordan then shared a concerning discovery in her segment called: Social media is terrible and here is the evidence. After creating an account posing as a 14-year-old girl, Pinterest’s algorithm instantly (literally in under 30 seocnds) fed her drug, sexually graphic, eating disorder, and other inappropriate content. We then jump into sharing an AI Toys Advisory from FairPlayForKids.org. Helen then discusses her concerns about her students using AI and demonstrating a lack of confidence in their own writing voices. We then dive into some of our Christmas gift plans for this year as well as our favorite childhood gift memories. Jordan and Helen then end by detailing their latest professional adventures: screen-free community busy bags and an international working group on disciplinary AI literacy.