This Is So Awkward

Dr. Hina Talib, adolescent medicine specialist, joins us for a deep dive on periods. We discuss menstruation as a vital sign, what’s considered normal for teen menstruation and what’s not, when to worry and when to seek advice from medical providers. We’ll cover everything from mittelschmerz (WHAT?!!!) to endometriosis, so tune in for accessible expert advice on all things periods! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Human connection is critical to wellbeing for people of all ages. But it's also a skill that can be taught and honed. We’re big believers in not glossing over conversations with kids about how to be a friend. How can you approach this conversation that feels all at once very basic and also can be very charged? Start by appreciating the cultural myths about friendship, then move into some of the more obvious tenets of being a friend (that aren’t always obvious to kids!), and finally, get well-versed in the friendship-challenges kids face. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re rereleasing this episode because a heartfelt listener question offered up a common parenting challenge: My teen daughter treats me so badly that I just want to pull away from her. Our advice starts with the science behind adolescent mood swings and then moves into setting limits in the heat of the moment and beyond. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Successfully imparting information to kids is more art than science. Often it’s as much about tone and approach as it is about the content itself. Plus, there are so many variables that can impact how things go like temperament, personality, mood, stress and so on. We offer some of our favorite tenets that can help steer conversations to a place kids can hear what we’re saying, maybe even engage with us, and leave the door open to further discussions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re rereleasing this episode because it’s gotten even more important since we first recorded it. Move over sex and drugs, there’s a new hot topic to add to the list of the zillion talks you’ll have with the kids in your life: gambling. It’s time to start conversations about everything from online gambling sites to gaming platforms to fantasy sports leagues. Plus add the fact that kid-targeted phone-based apps offer lots of entry points into the world of wagering. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s knowing your body parts and then there’s body literacy. It turns out, both are key to health and safety. If knowing your body parts is like having a map, being body literate is like being able to read a compass. We’re joined by Konika Ray Wong, a health educator and author of body books for kids down to age 4. She covers concepts like interoception and attunement (yes, big words!), central concepts for people who want to understand their body’s cues. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rereleasing this gem as part of our summer series. If you’re sending a kid away for part of the summer – or even if you’re just sending them off for the day – there are certain key conversations to have before getting too far into summer. We cover everything from body changes and clothing choices to tech use and trusted adults. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fine line between informing and oversharing is tricky to navigate, especially when it comes to topics like puberty, sex, and drugs. On the one hand, kids need information; on the other, we must take into account things like personality, communication style, and desire for privacy, not to mention set boundaries according to their developmental stage. So when does sharing information cross over into too much information? This episode has the answer and so much more. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re rereleasing this episode ahead of the summer months when body hair becomes a hairy issue ;) We cover everything you ever wanted to know: when and where hair grows as kids’ bodies change, the social and emotional implications of sprouting on different parts of the body, and how to handle conversations about keeping vs. getting rid of all this new hair. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being a steady, calm parent to tweens and teens seems like an impossibility. But there’s decades of research and data supporting this style – not only is it achievable, it has lifelong positive impacts. Enter “lighthouse parenting” from Ken Ginsburg, a framing based on his deep experience as an adolescent medicine doctor and rooted in his optimism that raising teens is an opportunity not a burden. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order parentandteen.com fosteringresilience.com Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the weather warms up, acne becomes more front and center – literally. This episode covers: what causes acne, how warm weather affects kids’ skin (for better and for worse), and how to approach acne on the body at a time of year that calls for fewer and fewer clothes. A combo of science and guidance for addressing this tricky topic! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Get your Alloy prescription today. Visit https://myalloy.com/SOAWKWARD today for $20 off your first order! Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Psychotherapist Lynn Lyons tells it like it is. She’s treated anxiety in kids and adults for 30 years and counting. This episode is packed with pearls about how to manage kids’ anxiety, what to do with your own, and the 3 biggest mistakes people make: avoidance, accommodation, and lack of autonomy. After listening, you will feel far less anxious – we promise! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The recently published Make America Health Again (MAHA) Report has made a big splash, putting the wellness of American children center stage. The report focuses on four issue areas – ultraprocessed foods, environmental chemicals, physical activity/mental health/tech use, and (over)medicalization of kids. We explain what it says, what’s reliable, and how the positions taken affect tweens and teens. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order The MAHA Report Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many of us are in the sandwich generation, caring for kids while also caring for aging parents. Caregiving is hard work: it’s physically exhausting when kids are little, and increasingly emotionally exhausting as they get older…meanwhile, elder care can be an intense combination of the two. What if we could reframe caring for others from burdensome slog to hero’s journey? In When We Care, Elissa Strauss leans into research to advocate for a new view of care – one defined by the opportunity to gain wisdom, meaning, and connection. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order https://www.elissastrauss.com/ Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a house with kids of different ages, it can be challenging to sort through what’s appropriate to discuss with whom. Keeping information siloed can create a culture of secrecy within the family unit, but introducing topics before a given kid is developmentally ready can cause its own harms. Then there’s the very predictable (and yes, awkward) scenario of younger kids educating their close friends or fellow passengers on the school bus by sharing overly sophisticated content. Gotta love that phone call from another parent! We dive into all the permutations of what information should be discussed with all kids under one roof and what information is best saved for family “breakout rooms.” Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We can always count on science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer to delve into the latest research and distill it down to nuggets of wisdom. Chock full of data and analysis, Melinda’s writing ultimately helps us help our kids. Her newest book, Hello, Cruel World!, chronicles how to build coping skills, find connection with others, and cultivate meaningful lives – all of which allows our kids (and ourselves) to stand strong in a turbulent world. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Hello Cruel World! Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicotine… alcohol… prescription drugs… illicit drugs. All of these fall under the overwhelmingly gigantic umbrella of “substances.” Teen experimentation ranges from none to a little to A LOT. And while some of these substances are similar to what was around when we were growing up, others are radically different or brand new. This episode catches everyone up on the current landscape, covering the different classes of drugs, the science of how each affects the body, and how culture impacts use. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 10% off your purchase. Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com/AWKWARD Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kids between 6-12 are generally called pre-tweens and tweens. But some say they’re living in the “forgotten years,” almost as if there’s a lull in development during this time span. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Especially as we understand more about brain development and as puberty starts earlier and earlier. Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, clinical psychologist and author of The Crucial Years, explains why the school-aged years mark an age of opportunity for the in-betweener kids and their parents. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com slash AWKWARD. New customers can enjoy this special offer of only $1.99 a meal at Everyplate. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If we had a dollar for every time a kid says “but everyone else is…” Whether about a sleepover, screentime, spring break trip, or a newly-hatched plan to try hang gliding, that phrase puts parents and caregivers in a tough spot. We want our kids to feel included, but at the same time there may be concerns about what they’re hoping to do, have, see, or experience. The decision tree becomes further complicated when a kid lacks reliable information about what the heck is actually going on! This episode offers lots of paths through tackling a request that “everyone” else is doing, including how to make decisions and the conversations that go hand-in-hand. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com slash AWKWARD. New customers can enjoy this special offer of only $1.99 a meal at Everyplate. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teaching kids about their changing bodies is as much about the delivery as it is about the content. Kids thrive when information is delivered with joy in authentic and interactive ways, honoring their natural curiosity and quest for knowledge. Enter Melissa Pintor Carnagey founder of Sex Positive Families and author of the new book for kids Growing Into You. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com slash AWKWARD. New customers can enjoy this special offer of only $1.99 a meal at Everyplate. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started. Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk 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 operations@lessawkward.com To submit listener questions email podcast@lessawkward.com Watch the full episode on Youtube! Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices