We’re Doing Great | A Podcast for Imperfect Parents by Pok Pok

About We’re Doing Great | A Podcast for Imperfect Parents by Pok Pok

Parenthood doesn't come with instructions, and neither does building a company. Melissa and Esther are figuring out both on opposite sides of the world, as friends and founders of award-winning kids’ media brand Pok Pok. Since 2021, running Pok Pok has been a front-row seat to the inner world of parents: the real wins that don’t make it to Instagram, as well as the unspoken fears and questions that everyone is waiting for someone else to say first. Parenting, apparently, is a space to come together and take the pressure off parenthood by celebrating the fact that there is no “right” way of doing it. Each episode is a reminder that you’re not supposed to have all the answers, but that the way to get closer to them is by getting curious. Whether Melissa and Esther are sharing their own “WTF” moments, reflecting in real time, or passing the mic to guests from the community, you’re invited to come get curious about your own parenting journey. We may not have a manual for this thing, but we do have the creative freedom to make our own along the way. Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok/)! Watch us on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently)! And check out Pok Pok (https://playpokpok.com/)! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Pok Pok

Category

education · kids & family · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Nov 2025

Latest episode

22 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

44 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Best Of: Letting Kids Lead with Elan Lee & Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

   What happens when you stop just playing with your kids and start letting them lead? This best-of brings back two Season 2 conversations. Game designer Elan Lee, co-creator of Exploding Kittens, tells Melissa and Esther how a stack of boring preschool board games ended with his four-year-old daughter saying "let's fix them," and how the games they built together at his crafting table, Hurry Up Chicken Butt among them, ended up on store shelves. He shares the rules they designed by: the parent has to have fun too, kids have to be able to win without being let win, and there can be a winner but no losers. Then developmental psychologist Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek shares the small tricks that turned the hardest parts of the day into play. She also talks about her work on playful learning landscapes: hopscotch at bus stops, I-spy murals in hospital waiting rooms, and why a bench doesn't have to just be a bench. From the full episodes How Boredom Led to a Global Line of Family Games with Elan Lee and Why Play Is Key for Child Development with Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. Learn more about Dr. Kathy's work: https://kathyhirshpasek.com/ (https://kathyhirshpasek.com/) Learn more about Elan Lee: https://www.elanlee.com/ (https://www.elanlee.com/) Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently) Pok Pok YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok) Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   15 Oct 2026

   The Art of Motherhood: Creativity, Ambition and Identity with Madeline Donahue

   What if motherhood doesn’t diminish creativity, but gives it new urgency, meaning and material? Brooklyn painter Madeline Donahue joins Melissa and Esther to explore how becoming a mother helped her find her artistic voice in her mid-30s, and why the everyday realities of caregiving deserve to be treated as seriously as any other subject in art. Through Madeline’s vivid, playful paintings, they explore the contradictions of motherhood and creative work: missing your children while you work and missing your work when you’re with them; finding joy inside exhaustion; and trying to remain an artist, a parent and a whole person at the same time. They also discuss the invisible labor of family life, the pressure to entertain children constantly, and the difference between portraying motherhood from the outside and expressing what it actually feels like to live it. The conversation moves from art and ambition to parenting, screen time and family connection: when screens support family life, when they interrupt it, and how parents can make room for creativity and what matters without chasing impossible standards. Find Madeline's work at https://www.madelinedonahue.com/ And follow her https://www.instagram.com/madelinedonahue/ Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently) Pok Pok YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok) Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Why Adults Need Play, Daydreaming & Wonder — Creative Health with Katina Bajaj

   What happens when adults stop playing, and what does that mean for parents? In this episode of Parenting, Apparently, Melissa chats with Katina Bajaj, a creative health scientist and co-founder of Daydreamers, a company helping adults bring creativity, play, and wonder back into their lives. They explore why so many grown-ups—especially parents—feel creatively unfulfilled, and how the pressure to be productive can crowd out play, curiosity, and imagination. Katina explains the difference between creativity and play, why adults may lose the fearlessness of childhood but not creativity, and research-backed nuggets like how the presence of flowers can reduce pain. Melissa and Katina also explore creativity in everyday life: seeing a chaotic morning through a more playful lens, taking an “awe walk,” doodling when you're overwhelmed, and letting yourself daydream instead of reaching for your phone. They discuss why frustration and experimentation are essential to creative growth, how parents can model creativity and joy for their kids, and why we need to resist optimizing every part of our lives—including with AI. If you've been feeling burned out, disconnected from your creativity, or like parenting has left little room for your own identity, this episode is a reminder that play, imagination, and wonder aren't things you outgrow—they’re actually essential to our wellbeing. Follow Katina @katina.bajaj and https://www.katinabajaj.com/ Learn more about Daydreamers at https://daydreamers.co/ Write in to us at hello@parentingapparently.com Subscribe and follow Parenting, Apparently, a podcast by Melissa Cash, Esther Huybreghts, and the Pok Pok team: YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@ParentingApparently) Pok Pok YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@studiopokpok?sub_confirmation=1) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/playpokpok) Pok Pok helps raise the next generation of creative thinkers through non-addictive digital tools that encourage kids to think outside the box and learn through play. Learn more: https://playpokpok.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.8 / 5

17 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

15 ratings

Contact We’re Doing Great | A Podcast for Imperfect Parents by Pok Pok

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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