The Puberty Podcast

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

Educating kids about healthy relationships is a modern phenomenon we can get behind. It makes us cringe to look back on the harmful relationship, sex, and gender tropes we were taught back in the day. This episode takes that hindsight and flips it, offering tools to help kids build their own healthy relationships. 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

There is no secret sauce to raising successful children, but it sure is fascinating to understand some of the elements that result in a family filled with high-achieving siblings. And it raises lots of important questions, too, like: What even is success? When are the sacrifices to reach goals too great? And what do parents ultimately want for their children? New York Times writer and author of The Family Dynamic, Susan Dominus, helps us dive into all these complicated questions. 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

We've lost track of how many times we get asked when to move on from pediatric care. Some people ask because of personality – usually a clash between parents and doctors – but mostly they ask because they know there's a time for kids to move on to adult practitioners, they just don't understand when. In this episode we share details around how pediatric care is different from adult care, why people might stay with their pediatrician a little longer than anticipated, the list of clear reasons why you really should move on, and much more. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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

Fentanyl is a truly terrifying drug because even a tiny amount can be deadly. When fentanyl is added to illicit drugs (like cocaine) and counterfeit prescription “medications” (xanax purchased online, for instance), unknowing users can ingest tiny – but fatal – doses. Listen to the expert advice of Marcia Lee Taylor, strategy advisor to Song for Charlie and the former President and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. She explains not just how fentanyl gets into the drug supply and how it affects the body, but also how to talk about it in ways your kids can hear. 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 Song for Charlie  Signs of an Overdose 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

April, May, and June are packed with big (and small) celebratory events. While these rites of passage often build wonderful memories, they're not without complications. This episode offers lots of ways to get ahead of any worries about safety, how to navigate complex family dynamics, and ways to manage our own big emotions. All of this helps us have the important conversations our kids need.  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 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

Thanks to hormones and rapid brain development, tweens and teens can be explosive, make impulsive decisions, or struggle to get organized. Layer on top of that a brain with ADHD and the picture looks even more complex. To illuminate the interplay of the neurobiological factors of ADHD and puberty is clinical neuropsychologist Karen Wilson, PhD. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Understood.org 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

A set of challenges called ACEs – short for Adverse Childhood Experiences – tether directly to all sorts of physical and emotional consequences. These stressors range from violence to food insecurity to natural disasters, outcomes backed by 30 years of research. We'll explain how, even though the ACEs create their own downstream issues, these aren't inevitable. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip CDC on ACES Cleveland Clinic on ACES 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

At long last! An episode dedicated to how ADHD can impact tweens + teens relationships, romantic lives, and sexual behaviors. Dr. Ari Tuckman 25 years' working with kids and adults who have ADHD provides a deep understanding of the ways their social interactions can be affected by their differently wired brains. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip understood.org 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

When it comes to educating kids about sex, reproduction, and all the rest, there's lots of information out there. What there doesn't seem to be is a wealth of information about – at least for younger kids on the front end of this learning curve – is a ton of accessible information about the different ways babies can be made. A mom reached out after we spoke at her school, explaining that she used an egg donor and hasn't talked to her kid about it yet. She's searched for resources, but can't find any age-appropriate ones. So, voila! We did a podcast about it. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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

Answers to so many questions about fertility incoming! How do female and male fertility cycles work? What's the long-term impact of contraception on fertility? How about STIs? Or autoimmune disease? And what are the arguments for and against freezing eggs at increasingly young ages? We cover it all (and so much more) with reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Jaime Knopman. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Jaime Knopman on Instagram Chick mission 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 is so much buzz (and fear) springing from Netflix's Adolescence. Many are trying to make sense of the heady topics it covers… others have opted to avoid watching altogether. Our advice: It's must see TV. While its premise is extreme, its themes – social media + tech use, toxic masculinity, bullying, loneliness and more – are universal to today's youth. There's no turning a blind eye. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk Order our book This Is So Awkward Understanding Boys with Ruth Whippman Raising a Healthy Gamer with Alok Kanojia 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

Resilience is a buzzy word in the world of “good parenting,” but what does resilience even mean and how do adults help kids get there? Psychologist, researcher, and professor Tovah Klein unpacks what resilience truly is and the critical role parents and trusted adults play in building this skill. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Raising Resilience 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 list of things we want or need or hope our kids will do is long and ever-growing. It might start with brushing their teeth twice a day and making their beds, but it inevitably expands to include things like getting themselves out of toxic friendships and calling us when they're in trouble. Much to our frustration (and even though we know better), we cannot force them to do any of these things. We can nudge, bribe, ask, beg, even yell… this episode covers these and other ways we try to point them in the right direction and eventually empower them to make good choices on their own. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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

Nutrition is the first line of disease prevention. And yet, words like “diet” and even “nutrition” itself are laden, suggesting concerns about body image or eating issues. How to thread the needle? We can teach kids – and re-teach ourselves – the short and long term impacts of what we eat and drink. Maya Feller, registered dietician and nutritionist, shares her strategies, including why teaching this to kids matters for longevity… theirs and ours! 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Maya Feller Nutrition  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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are 3 main reasons why someone might travel to get healthcare: (1) there's no one local who can help, (2) after some sleuthing and you think you've found the very best person but they're located somewhere else, or (3) you're not even home when you get sick or injured. Whatever the reason, navigating long distance healthcare comes with very predictable pros and cons that most people haven't thought through.  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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Mama Bear Legal Forms 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

The list of things adults are *supposed* to do in order to support kids can feel overwhelmingly massive. It turns out, a small handful of them help address kids' worries while quieting our own. And because these steps turn out to be fairly simple, they feel achievable. Ashley Graber and Maria Evans, psychotherapists and authors of Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry, share this actionable, science-based guidance.  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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry: Tools to Ease Anxiety and Overwhelm 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Getting a driver's license was a rite of passage for generations. Now, though, fewer kids are opting in. This episode looks at the reasons why so many teens are skipping over this life skill. And for the ones who do still get behind the wheel, we get into all of the hilarious missteps and critical learnings for their parents.There's beauty in all the unvarnished failures, useful guidance, and heartfelt realizations we experience during this symbolic – and very real – step towards adulthood. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Choices about sex education, information, and communication can be deeply affected by trauma, especially sexual trauma. And vice versa. This episode explores why the two are connected, and how to break the cycle. We're in conversation with Melissa Kilbride, an LCSW and certified sex therapist who works with adults and couples to address their own trauma and advocates for sexual health education for kids. 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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Melissa L. Kilbride & Associates @askable_mama on Instagram 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything you ever needed to know about testicular emergencies in one episode! Beyond the basics about how they grow and change, it's important to know when a lump, bump, or complaint warrants a visit to the doctor. We cover it all, from the benign to the worrisome, like cancer. Learn about scrotal rashes, hernias, epididymitis, torsion, and more.  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 Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's easy to connect a headache with a hard day or stomach pain after a fight with a friend. But it is more complicated to grasp the relationship between chronic pain and our reservoir of repressed emotions and traumas. Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author of Mind the Body, Nicole Sachs, joins us to make sense of the connections between physical and emotional pain.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Judging ourselves, judging other parents, judging our partners and judging our kids… none of these feels good, and all clog lines of communication. But this is a really tough habit to kick. The first step is owning our judgment, so in this episode we share a bunch of our own parenting fails and then (try to) forgive ourselves. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Middle school and middle schoolers get a really bad rap and their educators are looked upon with sympathy. But what if we flip that narrative on its head and view this stage with excitement? Here to shift the perspective on this transformational age into one of opportunity and wonder is school founder, middle school principal, and author Chris Balme. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

The study of microplastics is a rapidly expanding field because they are literally ubiquitous – in our bodies, our oceans, our food. Found everywhere from brains to testicles, from tap water to sea salt, this episode unpacks what we know and what we don't yet know about the impact of microplastics on the human body.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Your Brain is Full of Microplastics: Are They Harming You? 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

When kids misbehave or act out, it's natural for adults to react with anger, disappointment, punishment, or even disconnection. But struggling kids actually need the opposite – their behavior improves when they feel connection and belonging. Psychologist and lifelong educator Doug Bolton translates decades of experience into actionable, empathic ways forward. His book, Untethered, offers a beautiful path to change the way we all think about dysregulation, community, and raising kids. Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip Untethered by Doug Bolton 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adults are baffled, bemused, and slightly horrified by what they hear about teen dating. Our 16-year-old guest, Elle Kristine, helps set the record straight on today's teen relationships. She uses decidedly modern methods to offer teens relationship advice, like her @AskElle account on TikTok and her AI-based teen dating app. Ultimately, Elle believes that today's teens are looking for the same things they have always sought in relationships: connection and love.  Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

The language of teen relationships is literally foreign: the glossary-requiring terms they use to describe their romantic lives vary from kid to kid, with little agreement. What do words like “situationship,” “talking” (which isn't actually talking), and “hook-up” mean? Now layer on the virtual world in general – and social media in particular – and you can feel like you need to get a PhD in the language of young love. Journalist Lisa Phillips, author of First Love, defines it all, ultimately creating a playbook of the realities of youth romance.   Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip First Love by Lisa Phillips  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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can be increasingly hard to find valid, science-based health guidance in this age of rampant misinformation and now missing information. This episode zooms in on the prevention of pregnancy and STI/STD transmission, one corner of health and sex education that is in the midst of erasure from many government websites. We cover everything from abstinence to barrier methods, hormonal contraception, and IUDs. And if for some reason the content of this podcast gets censored, it's all in our book: This Is So Awkward! Show Notes: Join our LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP  Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns Head to http://lumen.me/AWKWARD for 20% off your purchase Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use promo code AWKWARD Visit equip.health/AWKWARD to get a free consultation from Equip 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teens can be so brutally honest at some moments and utterly clueless at others. Chip Leighton, the self-described middle aged dad influencer Leighton Show and author of What Time Is Noon, memorializes it all with a hefty dose of barb-filled humor. Chip lays bare a hilarious, unvarnished view into the experience of parenting teenagers. 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. TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@the_leighton_show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_leighton_show/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parenthood is complicated by a million complex issues, only ramping up in the tween + teen years. Then layer on the common truth that any two people can disagree. Adults bring their own knowledge and history to parenting – their upbringing, temperament, and even values can differ radically, often landing them on different sides of the same question. So what are co-parents to do when they don't see eye-to-eye on issues like substance use, screen time, clothing choices, or just general independence-seeking? 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. Managing Divorce with Adolescents 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices