Teaching Kids Self-Reliance
The Family Lab
Welcome to Season 8! This whole season we’ll be talking about how to teach our kids to eventually take care of themselves on their way to becoming self-reliant, responsible adults. This episode will help you take the first step: evaluating what your kids are already taking charge of and where they have room to grow. I introduce you to the system I’ve been using with my own kids for years, and show you how you can use it to help your kids progress from helpers to workers to managers. Then I talk to my son and some of my nephews about what they learned from their own...
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Top 5 Christmas Traditions: A Teen Perspective
The Family Lab
Ever wonder which of your holiday traditions are actually the most meaningful to your kids? For this episode, I went straight to the source and I asked five (incredible) teenagers what traditions they love the best: from that pesky elf to the jolly old elf himself, family bonding and family fights, re-enacting the nativity, and sibling sleepovers. It’s an episode filled with music and merriment. Here are more Christmas episodes you’ll enjoy!
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Beyond the Bins: Home Organization Strategy with Jen Martin
The Family Lab
A conversation with organization genius Jen Martin, founder of Reset Your Nest, about how to align our home organization with our goals, values, and routines; how to set up different organizational zones in our kitchens; and how to create systems for our comings and goings, among other organizing tips. You can find Jen Martin at and on Instagram And for another great conversation with Jen, check out: How Jen Martin Organizes
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Zoom Out: Thinking Strategically about Household Systems
The Family Lab
Stuck in the never-ending logistics of running a home? It’s time to shift to a strategy-first perspective so you can build systems that work. This episode talks about how to shift your thinking. Hence, you start with a strategy, then consider all the different tactics that could accomplish your strategy, and finally think about the logistics of getting it done. For episodes with lots of great ideas about different strategies and tactics, check out: How She Plans Meals: Workshop: How You Do Laundry
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Emotional Regulation with Emily Hamblin
The Family Lab
Tired of meltdowns? And I’m not just talking about your kids! Emily Hamblin is here to help us deal with our big emotions and teach our kids to deal with theirs. She gives practical tips about how to talk to our kids about their emotions, how to identify the skills they’re lacking, and how to teach emotional regulation and empathy. Then we both share experiments you can try at home. For more resources from Emily, check out .
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Top 5 Halloween Costumes, with the Dayton Sisters
The Family Lab
Join a coven of Halloween experts--my mother and her three sisters--for a costume parade through history as they reminisce and share photos about Halloweens past. We talk about the antics of my Grandpa, the Halloween king, and his legacy of papier mache and discuss useful skills like how to black out your teeth and create a lifelike beard with nothing but vaseline and coffee grinds. 😂
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Archibald (and McGavin) Experiments: Summer 2025
The Family Lab
My friend Ashley McGavin and I share all the experiments we tried this summer–in Ashley’s case with a brand new baby! We talk about feeding kids in the summer, keeping them entertained, summer jobs, chores, personal development, a senior trip, and how to achieve a throwback 80s and 90s summer. We both have 5 kids, but our families are in very different stages. My kids now range from 10 to 19, and her kids now range from four months to 14 years old. Join us at our weekly Open Labs! Tuesdays at 10:00 MT
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Top 5 Rollover Meals
The Family Lab
What’s for dinner tonight? How about tomorrow? This episode helps you answer both questions--with favorite rollover meals from me and my guests Andrea Clark and Hillary Hess. Rollover meals allow you to take parts of one meal and roll it into another meal, to save time, money, and the tedium of leftovers. Hillary Hess shares great recipes and resources at helpingofhappiness.com Andrea Clark offers courses and printables at apurposefulhome.com Andrea 1. Chicken and Rice/ Hawaiian Haystacks/Fried Rice 2. Tacos (Pork or chicken) to Nachos 3. Scrambled Egg and Sausage/Breakfast Burritos 4....
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Archibald Experiments: Back to School Roundup
The Family Lab
Archibald Experiments: Back to School Routine Roundup https://youtu.be/vRngguIVeas Transitioning from a lazy summer schedule to a back to school routine is no joke. So I went through past podcast episodes looking for experiments we’ve tried here in the Archibald home to make our morning, afternoon and bedtime routines run more smoothly during the school year, from waking kids up to getting them into the car, to cleaning up that car, to connecting with them during the after-school runaround. Here are links to listen to the full episodes about our past fall...
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Encore: How Dana Declutters
The Family Lab
Dana K. White is a decluttering expert for the rest of us. The ones who struggle. We discuss her decluttering process, her Cinderella story from slob to home management guru, clutter thresholds, and teaching our kids to declutter (or at least attempting to).
info_outlineThis week, we navigate the challenges of traveling with kids, discussing the joys that come with family travel, and various strategies that make it more enjoyable.
At the Family Lab, we investigate all things parenting and home management. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video episodes and shorts @thefamilylabpodcast, and find us on Instagram @familylabpodcast. You can also find us at familylabpodcast.com.