Once and Future Parent

Halloween as a parent means navigating everything from costume choices to candy negotiations, while also managing your own memories of trick-or-treating past. But when does healthy caution cross into helicopter parenting? And how do modern safety concerns compare to the anxieties our parents faced?

Matthew, Mandy, and Pete explore the evolution of Halloween traditions, from the Wild West days of unsupervised neighborhood roaming to today's trunk-or-treats and group text coordination. The conversation shifts to homecoming culture, examining how high school social events have transformed and what pressure teens face around these milestone moments.

Questions We Explored:
  • How has Halloween changed from our childhoods to parenting in the present day?
  • Are trunk-or-treats replacing traditional trick-or-treating, and what does that shift mean?
  • When does protective parenting become overprotective hovering?
  • How do we balance teaching stranger danger without creating unnecessary fear?
  • What role should parents play in teen social events like homecoming?
  • What happens when kids opt out of traditional milestone events altogether?

What is Once and Future Parent?

Three parents. Three generations. One endlessly humbling journey.

Welcome to Once and Future Parent, where the parenting timeline gets the roundtable it deserves. Join hosts Matthew Fox (brand new parent), Mandy Kaplan (mom to a high-schooler), and Pete Wright (father of mostly-launched grown kids) as they gather to compare notes from three different stages of family life.

From the sleepless nights of preparing for a newborn, through the chaos of early adolescence, to the bittersweet art of letting go, each episode tackles the lessons, laughs, and late-night Googling that come with parenting at any age. Expect a mix of heartfelt honesty, media-fueled nostalgia, and just enough intergenerational snark to keep it relatable.

We’ll talk about everything from screen-time philosophies and failed movie nights, to the last bedtime story and the awkward magic of being parented by your own kid. Whether you’re building a nursery or texting your college student emojis you don’t fully understand, you’ll find real talk, hard-won wisdom, and a reminder that none of us are in this alone.