This Is So Awkward

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 airdoct...

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...

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 exp...

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 ti...

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 worl...

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 A...

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 f...

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...

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 MEMBERSHI...

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 G...

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...