In the evolving narrative around motherhood and work, our guest, Neha Ruch, founder of Mother Untitled and author of The Power Pause, is on the frontlines. She emphasizes the diverse choices women make regarding career pauses for family life, highlighting the tradeoff of foregoing one?s professional identity for a period with more time spent with our children. We cover everything from the primacy of adult friendships to ?teen-ternity? (pausing when our kids are older), and the significance of planning for career transitions.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Mother Untitled The Power Pause Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kids have different learning styles, sometimes to the pride (or frustration) of their parents. They also have different learning modes, that can shift and change even throughout the day. Journalist Jenny Anderson and education researcher Rebecca Winthrop have created a framework to understand why kids become disengaged learners or unhappy achievers, and how the adults in their lives can help to re-engage, support, and encourage them. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Handling complicated sibling dynamics while managing the adolescent years can be a heavy lift. Having kids at different stages of puberty, not to mention the impact of mood swings on the family, can require very careful navigating. Luckily Dr. Corinna Tucker who specializes in the science of sibling relationships, guests on the podcast to help with all these tricky questions. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Psychology Today blog: the Science of Siblings. Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are a million things we tell kids to keep them safe and as they grow up, the conversations evolve. But there are 5 specific topics ? narrower conversations, if you will ? that adults need to cover with teens before they head out the door for the night. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Kroll ? the comedian, actor and Big Mouth creator ? sits down for an honest, authentic conversation about what life was like as someone late to the puberty party. Nick offers a window into how developing and growing later than his peers affected him in both good and hard ways throughout his life. This is a great episode to listen to with a late bloomer in your life! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Order our book This Is So Awkward Nick Kroll Bio Uncertain Parenting interview with Dr. Molly Colvin Big Mouth on Netflix More information on late bloomers: Decoding Boys by Cara Natterson, Chapter 4 Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parents juggle so many decisions about their kids? health ? from preventive ones (Should they get that vaccine?) to urgent ones (Do we need to go to the Emergency Room?!) There?s not a singular approach, but pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman has a lot to say about how to make the best decisions for your family. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Ask Dr Jessica  The Meg Foundation for Pain Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Telling kids to ?suck it up? doesn?t translate into resilient, emotionally healthy kids. But in one of our recent viral videos on our @less.awkward Instagram account, many commenters still espouse that very approach ? kids are soft these days; they have toughen up; you?re raising snowflakes; you?re kid isn?t going to be able to cope in the real world? This episode explores the research showing why suck it up parenting doesn?t work nearly as well as empathic parenting.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. IG Reel referenced in episode  Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There?s a tremendous list of stressors bearing down on teen girls ? body image struggles, mental health issues, and academic pressures just to name a few. The key to supporting them is finding ways into connection and conversation. Licensed Clinical Social Worker Cathy Cassani Adams leverages decades of clinical, academic, and personal experience to advise adults on how to reach teen girls. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Restoring Our Girls Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask a bunch of 6th graders to define ?popularity,? and you?ll get as many answers as kids. It?s hard to define ? for tweens, teens, and even adults ? but popularity can have powerful impacts on friendships and well-being. This episode explores the types of popularity: being well-liked vs powerful. We cover the connection between popularity and social control, intimidation, even bullying. While the topic might transport us back to our middle school days, popularity in both its good and bad forms persists well into adulthood. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She grew up in the rural south, not knowing that her period pain ? so intense it sidelined her each month ? wasn?t typical. It was only when Dr. Loretta Duggan was in her training in Family and Adolescent Medicine that she put a name on it and got treatment. Now she runs a practice in her home state of Georgia, providing care to adolescents and young adults with joyful delivery of health information and open lines of communication. Our wide ranging conversation covers everything from menstrual health as a vital sign to hormonal therapy to STI prevention, it all boils down to this: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD HER Health Dr. Loretta Duggan Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia has just banned social media for kids under the age of 16. This prompts so MANY many questions including: What counts as social media? How will the ban work? Who?s responsible for implementation? Should we have a similar ban in the US? And perhaps most importantly, we explore what is the data (if any) sitting at the root of the ban, including what would be the ideal basis on which to write and enact laws.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA") | Federal Trade Commission US state age assurance laws for social media ? AVPA What Jonathan Haidt Gets Right? and Wrong Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last few decades, cultural conversations around sexism have gotten more ? not less ? complicated. From social media and pervasive beauty culture to slut shaming and toxic masculinity, there?s a lot to manage for kids and adults supporting them. Jo-Ann Finkelstein, clinical psychologist and author of Sex & Sensibility, offers framework and guidance for all of these complex topics. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns To celebrate Phyla?s exciting new launch, we?re offering 25% off your first order. Go to phyla.com and enter the code "puberty" at checkout. Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Consent conversations can ? and should ? start early. So early that they begin around topics that have absolutely nothing to do with sex. We offer ways to apply the lessons of consent to a bunch of different topics in kids? lives and start a conversation that will happen many different times in many different ways throughout a kid?s life. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: visit PhylaBiotics.com and get 60% off their serum, and the entire 3-step system for only $48. Use the code PUBERTY60. Tea and Consent Video Cycling Through Consent Video Teens and the Law with Jonathan Cristall, Esq. Advice from Famous Sex Educator Shafia Zaloom Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our two mothers have, between them, more than 100 years of parenting experience. They share it all ? including lots of lessons learned while raising the two of us and what they love most about being grandparents. And if you?re wondering, the answer is yes, we absolutely ask them about how they talked to us about puberty, sex, teenagers, and all the rest of it. Enjoy this love-filled episode!  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: visit PhylaBiotics.com and get 60% off their serum, and the entire 3-step system for only $48. Use the code PUBERTY60. Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kid?s organizational skills (or lack thereof) can be a huge source of tension and frustration for adults. But executive functioning are skills that can be learned over time ? we just have to be patient with brains in progress and dominant limbic systems. And certain challenges, like procrastination, are actually much more complex than they initially seem. Psychologist and executive functioning expert, Dr. Tori Cordiano, joins us back on the podcast. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: visit PhylaBiotics.com and get 60% off their serum, and the entire 3-step system for only $48. Use the code PUBERTY60. Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Dr. Tori Cordiano  Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to college, getting in is only the beginning. The much longer journey includes twists and turns about handling independence, making new friends, managing academic rigor, experiencing loneliness, facing rejection, and finding community. We?re joined by college-life guru and social media megastar Harlan Cohen, who shares his heartfelt guidance for supporting kids through these bumpy times. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Year 13 For Parents on Facebook Best First Year Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fearmongering works for clickbait, but don?t rely on it to pave the way to a great relationship with your kids. There are so many reasons to choose joy over fear, starting with the impacts of non-stop stress causing the body to release cortisol round the clock. This is especially true when toeing into tricky topics. This episode starts with a rant ? because any more negativity coming from the world of news will undo us! ? and then moves to why + how we opt to make these conversations fun.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD What Teens Need to Know About Sex  Talking to Tweens About Sex What School Aged Kids Need to Know About Sex Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boys need ? and deserve ? all of the same conversations that girls get (and deserve!): they want to learn about their changing bodies, express their ideas, and make sense of their realities. Clinical psychologist Dr. Chris Miller offers a path forward based on 25 years of working with boys and their families. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code AWKWARD to receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Boys Institute for Growth (BIG) Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should I let my kid play tackle football? That listener question raises a tangle of others, so we set out to address the big ones including: what is a concussion? How they should be treated? When do the prevention strategies or treatments cause their own issues? And why has concussion advice changed so much over time? Getting into conversation with kids about concussions does not have a one-size fits all answer, but this episode offers all the tools you need to help. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There?s so much research swirling around! From substance use to gaming to porn, the overwhelming number of studies can make raising kids feel overwhelming. Dr. Yalda Uhls founded The Center for Scholars and Storytellers to help make sense of all of this data by bridging the gap between families and tech companies, content creators, and studios. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD ? Center for Scholars and Storytellers Media Moms and Digital Dads: A Fact Not Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age ? Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lying is normal ? literally everyone does it ? but it peaks during adolescence. Sometimes they?re little white lies, sometimes they?re big, scary lies. To help us understand how to handle all of them ? and the difference between consequences, discipline, and punishment ? child development specialist and parenting guru Betsy Brown Braun guides us through. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD ? Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our favorite otolaryngologist, Dr. Nina Shapiro, dropped in to cover all that can go wrong with tween + teen ears, noses, and throats. We talk about everything from piercings to pimples, bloody noses to snoring, and HPV to Herpes. Fun times! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! HYPE: A Doctor?s Guide To Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims and Bad Advice: How to Tell What?s Real and What?s Not The Ultimate Kids? Guide To Being Super Healthy Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we speak to kids in schools, we practice what we preach: we are in conversation with them. We learn from them as much as they learn from us. This episode is packed their advice for the adults in their lives. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For anyone who has ever wondered if that much blood is too much blood, this is the episode for you. Pediatric Hematologist, Dr. Kristina Haley, covers a range of bleeding issues from heavy periods and endless nose bloods to clotting disorders and anemia. She explains when it?s time to call in reinforcements. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evolving relationships ? and budding romantic ones ? are a big part of puberty and adolescence. This incredible conversation with Ebele Onyema from the OneLove Foundation, dives deep into how to identify unhealthy versus healthy ones, and steps to take when there?s reason for concern. We encourage adults and teens to listen.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Click bait headlines change the health decisions we make on a daily basis. This started 20 years ago with press coverage demonizing hormone replacement therapy for women in menopause. Today there?s tons of buzz about the importance of HRT ? much of this is thanks to the indefatigable work of Dr. Avrum Bluming. You don?t want to miss this episode! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can feel like touching the third-rail to even consider talking about masturbation. We get it. Truly. But it?s a healthy ? and very important! ? part of development for kids to learn what feels good, the autonomy they have over these feelings, and the value of privacy. So take a deep breath. We?re here to help you figure out when and how to begin these conversations.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

?Healthy Gamer? sounds like an oxymoron. But not necessarily according to our guest, psychiatrist Dr. Alok Kanojia, who untangles the upsides from the downsides of video games. Why are kids drawn to gaming? Why is gaming more addictive today than ever before? How does it build community and shape identity? Does it feed into toxic masculinity? And how in the world can parents be in partnership with their kids to develop healthy gaming habits?! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! How to Raise a Healthy Gamer Healthy Gamer Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parents and other trusted adults screw up. We?re human. Not to mention, tween and teen?s time of incredible transformation is a breeding ground for errors ? ours and theirs. But it?s also a perfect time to take do-overs, a form of repair that creates connection, builds empathy, and offers grace. Cara and Vanessa share their own shame-inducing mess-ups, including the beautiful positives that emerge out the other side. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can we foster kids' independence while setting limits? This sits at the heart of helping develop their autonomy as they move from childhood to adulthood. We?re joined by an incredible guide for this journey: Dr. Emily Edlynn, licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric health psychology. We promise she makes it fun! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Get 10 FREE meals at HelloFresh.com/FREEAWKWARD Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tween and teen brains are like bumpy dirt roads under construction and will be for quite some time! Neuropsychologist Dr. Molly Colvin helps us understand the upsides and downsides of the adolescent brain and offers practical pathways to communicate with and support the kids in our lives. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  For FREE breakfast for life, go to HelloFresh.com/FREETISA. That?s one free breakfast item per box while subscription is active! Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Substance use and abuse is a massive, ongoing conversation with tweens and teens. These layered conversations happen over years. But here?s what they all share in common: at some point ? often at many points ? most kids find themselves faced with a choice to use or not. So how do we inform and empower them? And when should we be concerned? Dr. Joseph Lee, psychiatrist and CEO of Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, shares all. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  For FREE breakfast for life, go to HelloFresh.com/FREETISA. That?s one free breakfast item per box while subscription is active! Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Monitoring the Future Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spoiler alert: the only life hack for sleep deprivation is? more sleep! Lisa Lewis is the journalist who helped pass California?s new later school-start time law, all in an effort to prioritize teen sleep. This episode makes you look at sleep needs ? for our kids and us, too ? in a whole new light.   Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  For FREE breakfast for life, go to HelloFresh.com/FREETISA. That?s one free breakfast item per box while subscription is active! Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adults often bring their own baggage into conversations with tweens + teens. Nowhere is this more evident than with body image. It?s a fraught and complex issue to begin with ? helping kids achieve positive (or at least neutral) body image becomes nearly impossible when we entangle their feelings about their bodies with our feelings about our own. Psychologist and leading expert in body image research, Dr. Charlotte Markey, offers invaluable advice.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Adultish Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen more and lecture less. It?s the golden nugget piece of advice about being in conversation with tweens and teens. But zipping your mouth can be tough ? because you know the right answer or because your worry overruns your self control or because constructive conversation gets hijacked by your frustration. This episode is all about how, why and when we need to shut our mouths. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People often ask for advice about talking about tricky topics when there are big age gaps between kids in the home. The short answer is that there are some conversations everyone can be a part of, and others need to be handled individually. The longer answer, which we get into with journalist Ericka Sóuter, speaks to which conversations might be age-segmented and how to help kids understand what they should ? and shouldn?t ? share with their siblings. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! How to have a Kid and a Life Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As technology has evolved, family communication has changed right along with it. Enter the family chat ? which can take place on messaging apps or social media platforms. This space might be a forum for political arguments, meme sharing, telling kids it?s time for dinner, or all of the above. It?s fun! It can be LOL funny! But how can we use text ?conversations? to stay connected without further increasing our tech dependence? Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Changing bodies and fluctuating hormones require kids to develop a new awareness of their own bodies and new skills to care for them. Occupational therapist Dr. Allie Ticktin joins us to explore sensory integration, the importance of the 3 ?hidden senses? (vestibular, interoception, proprioception), and what dysregulation looks like in kids this age.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Play 2 Progress Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For today?s tweens and teens, youth sports specialization reigns supreme, a new ?normal? that presents enormous physical, emotional and financial challenges for kids and their families. We get into all the pros and cons, from helping kids fulfill their potential and achieve their goals to keeping them safe and healthy.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people feel pressure to look a certain way regardless of gender or age. And at least as long as we can remember, fad diets and supplements have been marketed as shortcuts to achieve these goals. Things have only amplified over the past decade thanks to social media. So what diets are effective? And safe?? If any! And how should tweens and teens make sense of all of the information streaming their way at the very same time their bodies are transforming? We try to make sense of it all.   Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tina Bryson provides a masterclass in the science of why it?s so important to show up for kids and how we can do it, even imperfectly. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! The Power of Showing Up The Center for Connection Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Days before they leave for college, Cara and Vanessa?s 2nd-born sons made their debut appearance on the podcast. Listeners will have to make their way through even more laughter than usual as we ask them hard hitting questions like: What?s it like being the second kid? What do they wish they could change about their mothers? And why are their rooms such a mess? Unvarnished, hilarious, and deeply honest, this episode is one for the ages. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Homework can be a massive source of conflict throughout the school years. Brian Platzer is an expert on how to minimize this: he?s a teacher, tutor and writer. His advice isn?t just realistic and actionable, it changes the dynamic for good!   Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Taking the Stress Out of Homework Teachers Who Tutor Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boys face strong cultural messaging about how they should look, act, and express themselves. Social media only amplifies the narrative, delivering it to tweens and teens in every imaginable way. Which is why our conversation with journalist and author Ruth Whippman was so valuable: starting from a place of deep understanding of science and data, she interviewed boys and young men and then wove their stories with her own parenthood in the new book BoyMom. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! BoyMom by Ruth Whippman  Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dealing with executive functioning in tweens and teens can be a perfect storm of frustration, anger, and low self-esteem. Clinical psychologist, Tori Cordiano, shares insight into what?s happening in the brain and trade secrets about how kids and adults alike can maximize executive function skills at different ages. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teaching our kids to take charge of their personal health means covering everything from knowing their SSN to understanding their family?s health history. It?s an important part of the journey toward independence. So how can we educate our kids about all of these details and empower them to take charge of their personal health? Listen in! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Three Sixty-Five brand by Whole Foods Market Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Get $25 off any Gabb smartphone GABB.com/AWKWARD Go to K12.com/AWKWARD today to learn more and find a tuition-free K12-powered school near you. Get 25% off your first order of Phyla, when you visit PhylaBiotics.com and use the code PUBERTY at checkout! Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There?s a timeline for puberty - when it starts and how fast it proceeds - which means that there?s also ?early? and ?late.? Layered on top is the relativity of puberty: when everyone else is going through it (or not), the person who?s not (or is!) feels out of sync. This episode explores the science behind the timing of puberty and how adults - both parents and doctors - might approach a late bloomer. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Nick Kroll on Being Late to the Puberty Party Roger Bennett on his English Adolescence  Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boys continue to be socialized to cover their true emotions, despite moves to shift away from this status quo. One of the strongest forces working to make change is Ashanti Branch, a pioneer in education reform and founder of the Ever Forward Club. Ashanti shares the necessary tools and support necessary to further rewrite this narrative. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Ashanti?s Instagram/Twitter: @branchspeaks Ever Forward Club Instagram/Twitter: @everforwardclub Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There isn?t ONE time to start puberty or end puberty and someone has to go first. In this episode, Cara explains the science behind early puberty and we explore the social and emotional impact of being an early bloomer. Plus you get to learn what an orchidometer is! This is a great episode to listen to with your kids. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Andrew Goldberg on Being a World Famous Early Bloomer Dr. Louise Greenspan?s on Puberty?s Dramatic Shift Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How tall will your kid be? Almost every parent asks their pediatrician? and given our height obsessed culture, kids begin to do the same from surprisingly young ages. This episode covers the science behind when and how kids grow, decoding all the different growth charts and, as always, offering the language to discuss these tricky topics. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Order our book This Is So Awkward Late Bloomer episodes: Nick Kroll On Being Late To The Puberty Party Roger Bennett on his English Adolescence Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com To bring us to your school or community email [email protected] To submit listener questions email [email protected] Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices