How to Have a Kid and a Life: A Survival Guide with Ericka Sóuter

March 10, 2022 / Mom &… Podcast Episode 61 / Guest: Ericka Sóuter

Listen & Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsStitcherSpotifyPocketCastsYouTubeOvercastAmazon MusiciHeartRadioPandora

Show Summary

Ericka Sóuter started out writing celebrity news, but becoming a mother changed her, and ultimately, changed her career.

She wrote How to Have a Kid and a Life: A Survival Guide, a book that came out of her work around the idea of redefining motherhood. Our conversation included discussion of the “mom gene,” and whether there are some universal truths for all mothers.

Anyone who has parented will relate to our conversations about being touched out, and wishing we’d been able to be honest with ourselves – and others – about what we were going through. We talk about friendships, relationships with our partners, expectations, and more. One of our favorite Ericka gems is: You deserve to be at the top of your to-do list. 

Ericka’s work is all about helping us achieve that honesty, and she has developed six questions that we should all be asking to help ourselves have children and have lives. What? You thought we were putting those in the show notes? You have to listen for the details.

More About Ericka Sóuter

Ericka Sóuter is a nationally recognized voice in the realm of parenting news and parenting advice, regularly featured on Good Morning America. She is author of How to Have a Kid and a Life: A Survival Guide, which explores the 21st Century parenting dilemma: when did being a good mom become synonymous with giving up everything that makes you, you? Her work also appears on Parents.com, Mom.com, CafeMom, The Bump and What To Expect, all high traffic parenting sites that reach millions of moms each month. It’s her job to speak to parents across the country to stay on top of the issues, controversies and trends most affecting families today. 

A journalist with over 20 years of experience, she has been on staff at both People Magazine and Us Weekly where she has written cover stories on everything from the Sexiest Man Alive to the untimely death of Michael Jackson. Before becoming a magazine writer, Ms. Sóuter took a short detour into the world of advertising, accepting a post at the Chicago based agency Leo Burnett as an account executive on the Kellogg’s account. Her ad world claim to fame: she was on the team that created the talking Frosted Mini-Wheat.

Ericka received a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University and a Master of Science from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She has also written for WebMD, Self, Cosmopolitan, Cosmo for Latinas, Essence and Huffington Post. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, she currently lives in Manhattan with her college sweetheart husband, Caleb, and sons Lex and Aidan.

Topics From This Episode

  • The Mom gene
  • How Moms can remain individuals
  • Celebrity journalism
  • Honesty in parenting
  • Mom friendships
  • Shasta Nelson, friendship expert
  • Values

Connect with Ericka

Look, Listen, Learn

Susanne

Ericka

Missy

Connect With the Mom &… Podcast

  • Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts! If you’re so inclined to give us a 5-star rating, we’ll love you forever. Who couldn’t use a little extra love?
  • Leave us a message – via voicemail or use our form – with your questions for experts, or suggestions for future episodes.
  • Check out our website, where you can find links to all the things!
  • Follow our Facebook Page
  • Join our private Facebook Group (All you have to do is ask to join, and then be nice once you’re in. So easy!)
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Become a patron – check us out on Patreon!

Watch this Episode On Our YouTube Channel

Musical Notes

Our delightfully happy intro and outro theme music, “We Will Get Through This” is performed by Young Presidents, and used under license from Shutterstock.

Transcript available upon request.