This Is So Awkward

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 o...

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/FREEAWKW...

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 Hello...

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 Not...

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 A...

“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...

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...

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 a...

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...

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 For...

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/FR...

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 rese...

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: Joi...

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 t...

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 i...

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 ...

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...

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 t...

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...

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 h...

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...

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 the...

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 Food...

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-F...

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 blo...