This Is So Awkward

It’s more complicated than ever to have conversations with tweens and teens about politics. Cue Beth and Sarah from Pantsuit Politics, who guide us along the bumpy path of raising civic-minded kids, from informing without catastrophizing to instilling values without hitting them over the head. Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkwar...

Why do teenagers faint? Also known as vasovagal syncope, this form of passing out can happen for a bunch of different reasons. We get into all of them.  Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Cleveland Clinic on vasovagal syncope 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 oper...

The concepts related to gender feel confusing to many. Aydin Olson-Kennedy, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than fifteen years of experience providing psychotherapy to transgender and non-binary people, joins us to better understand all of this. He offers advice about how to best support all kids allowing caregivers to be loving and inclusive. Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkw...

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, about 70% of kids drop out of youth sports by 13. Here to discuss the factors that have gone into the “professionalization” of youth sports and how to raise truly empowered athletes on all levels is Kirsten Jones, former D1 athlete, performance coach, and author of “Raising Empowered Athletes." Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out...

A recent uproar blames tween girls for clogging the aisles at big box beauty stores like Sephora, lathering their faces with expensive skincare and makeup products designed for adults. A few of the brands have doubled-down, pitching their lotions and potions to kids living through a deeply vulnerable moment in their development, placing them in the crosshairs of social media influencers and savvy...

Caring for kids is not a straight line (especially during puberty!). Enter developmental psychologist Dr. Aliza Pressman, host of the Raising Good Humans podcast and author of the new book The 5 Principles of Parenting, with research-based advice delivered as only Aliza can – profound and hilarious all at once. Show Notes: The Five Principles of Parenting Raising Good Humans podcast Order our book...

Getting physical and getting hives – two things that aren’t commonly thought about simultaneously. But over the past couple of decades, allergies, especially to food, have become front-and-center. As has hook-up culture. We were reminded by a listener that their intersection deserves attention, too, when we got this question: How do I teach my kid to be safe and respectful when hooking up with som...

Anxiety abounds: it was surging before COVID, but then leapt to new highs (> 20% of all kids!) during and after the pandemic. We’re joined by LCSW Amy Killy to learn about innovative anxiety management strategies like SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), because having tools to manage anxiety makes us all a little less anxious.  Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward...

Happy Holidays! Today we re-run our Season 1 episode with Henry + Zoe Winkler is a father/daughter. This is a master class on how grandparents play loving, supportive and epicenter-of-fun roles in their grandchildren’s lives. If we’re lucky, children have grandparents who can act as an extra set of trusted adults, helping them navigate the twists and turns of childhood. But every parent knows that...

We’ve had countless requests to dive into the topic of neurodiversity, and we’re thrilled to start here with podcaster, author, and founder/CEO of Tilt Parenting Debbie Reber. It’s a conversation about puberty plus ADHD, autism, and so much more. Show Notes: Tilt Parenting  Differently Wired: A Parent’s Guide to Raising an Atypical Child with Confidence and Hope Order our book This Is So Awkward C...

That’s a wrap! It was such an honor to spend the past two months speaking across the country about our new book This Is So Awkward. Even though we did a lot of talking, we also did a lot of listening and learning, too. Passing along the top lessons learned from speaking to thousands of folks through the fall. Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum a...

Middle school is hard enough, and then you add puberty. Here to walk us through the trials, tribulations, and yes JOYS of it all is Phyllis Fagell, school counselor, journalist, and author of two books about surviving and thriving in middle school. Plus, she’s simply delightful! Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our s...

Taking a positive approach to health and sex education works better than fear mongering. Still, though, we need to talk about the scarier consequences of sex, starting with STIs and STDs. In this episode, we cover the most common infections, how they are transmitted, and how they can be prevented or treated. Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at...

Getting a tween or teen to say thank you can sometimes feel like pulling teeth, but it’s not always about saying the exact words. The long game is about cultivating a sense of gratitude in kids and learning to decipher the different ways they might choose to show their appreciation. Spoiler alert: it’s not always in the way we might expect. Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out a...

Some of the best advice we’ve heard for how to talk to boys about everything from health to sex to friendship comes from award-winning educator and writer, Christopher Pepper. He offers invaluable insights into the lives of teen boys. Show Notes: TeenHealthToday.com TalkToYourBoys.com Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super c...

Revealing our newest project: a reliable, relatable and fun health and sex ed curriculum arriving in the next few weeks! We’ve had this in the works for a while, but our book tour audiences across the country have provided new inspiration. Now we’re reaching out to our listeners: What would you want to see included? And if you’re an educator, how can we make the teaching as light a lift as possibl...

There’s no federally mandated standard for sex education – in fact, there aren’t consistently enforced standards across states or even local school districts. Jaclyn Friedman, founder of Educate US, joins us to un-complicate this web of loose and widely-varying recommendations, ultimately explaining where parents and educators alike go from here. Show Notes: Jaclyn Friedman https://educateusaction...

Discipline is about teaching kids, not about punishing them. It can be challenging to take that approach when managing our kids’ behavior, but ultimately the goal is for kids to do better next time. Our consequences need to keep that goal in mind and Tina Payne Bryson joins us to give us a pathway toward that goal. Show Notes: Tina Payne Bryson Order our book This Is So Awkward Check out all our s...

Divorce and changing family structures create complexity for everyone. When kids are going through puberty, this adds a layer on top of already shifting physical, social, and emotional worlds. Family lawyer Sophie Jacobi-Parisi combines professional insights with deep empathy to help families manage this transition within a transition. Show Notes: Order our book This Is So Awkward Connect with Sop...

To celebrate the launch of our new book, THIS IS SO AWKWARD, we are sharing an Ask Us Anything hosted by comedian, co-creator of Big Mouth (and Vanessa’s brother) Nick Kroll. Show Notes: Pre-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@lessa...

Data guru Emily Oster joins us to talk about puberty in a way only an economist can. She’s as warm and funny as she is devoted to good research, which is why she has become a wonderfully loud voice in the world of parenting. Show Notes: Pre-order our book This Is So Awkward Parent Data  Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com...

Here’s a super common question that we get all the time: How do I know if content is appropriate for my kid? The short answer is: It depends. The longer answer in this episode takes into account a variety of factors. The ultimate answer may still be… it depends. Show Notes: Pre-order our book This Is So Awkward Book Preorder Bonus  Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com a...

Caring for tweens and teens is complex at baseline, but add to that navigating moving countries, changing schools and learning whole new cultural systems… it can be a very complicated stew! Dr. Anisha Abraham offers clear guidance – including reminders about the upsides of growing-up cross-culturally – for those walking this winding path. Show Notes: Pre-order our book This Is So Awkward Book Preo...

Adults get a lot wrong when it comes to kids and technology. Here to bridge this divide is expert in media and tech, and the author of Growing Up in Public, Devorah Heitner. She provides insights for balancing kids’ burgeoning independence and guidance for creating constructive approaches to this complex issue. Show Notes: Pre-order our book This Is So Awkward Book Preorder Bonus  Middle School Ba...

One year ago, we finished writing our book, This Is So Awkward. The summer writing frenzy ended with giddy laughter and exhaustion. We pressed record literally five minutes after turning it in to be able to share, one day, what we learned about ourselves, each other and puberty in the process. A year later (and a month before publication) is that day!  Show Notes: Pre-order our book This Is So Awk...