

This Is So Awkward
Peoples Media, This Is So Awkward
This is so awkward…but it doesn’t have to be. These days, puberty starts earlier, lasts longer, and happens with a cellphone in hand. The most trusted voices on puberty, Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, are here to remove cringe from this stage of life – not just for kids going through it but also the adults who care about them. With science, guidance and humor, they cover all the physical, emotional, and social changes that happen between ages 8-18 and beyond.Watch the full episodes on Youtube!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 26, 2025 • 51min
Back to School Battles
Moving from summer mode into school gear is a tricky transition for everyone – kids and adults. Predictable battles arise over tech use, clothing choices, and summer reading (for starters… we could go on and on!). This episode offers some simple strategies to avoid a bumpy start to the academic year. Alleviate the solvable stressors to make BTS a little more fun!
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

Aug 22, 2025 • 50min
Social Media and the Law
Tech, social media, and the law intersect in ever-evolving and highly confusing ways. Rules vary from state-to-state, without any consistent age gate. This leaves minors – and the adults who care about them – unclear about what is and isn’t legal. On topics like child pornography, sexting, sextortion, and revenge porn, Kaitlin Andrews, family lawyer and educator from the Schools Consent Project, offers guidance on where the law is clear, where we’re still looking for clarity, and what to do while the ground shifts under our feet.
Show Notes:
Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS
FBI resources on teen sextortion, Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
Schools Consent Project
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

Aug 19, 2025 • 51min
Normalizing Conversations About Difficult Topics
Jessica Zucker, a psychologist specializing in women's reproductive and maternal mental health, discusses the importance of normalizing difficult conversations with children. She delves into topics such as menstruation stigma, miscarriages, and sexual health, stressing the need for open dialogues to empower kids. Zucker shares her personal journey and practical advice for parents navigating tough subjects like grief and consent, all while encouraging authentic connections to foster self-esteem and resilience in young minds.

Aug 15, 2025 • 57min
Stretch Marks, Keloids, and Ingrown Hairs!
The skin erupts with surprises across the tween and teen years… and it’s not all acne! Stretchmarks happen when bodies grow out or up quickly. Keloids are 3-D scars. Ingrown hairs aren’t permanent like the other two, but they still present their own challenges and stressors. We dig into what causes each of these skin challenges and what (if anything) can be done about them.
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

Aug 12, 2025 • 54min
When Kids Leave the Nest
It’s simultaneously wonderful and worrying to launch a kid. The most common denominator question is a version of this: Are they going to be ok when they leave us? We hope – and wonder – if we’ve taught them enough to be out in the world. Christina Geist spent her oldest child’s senior year of high school compiling those life lessons in Before You Fly Away. Her musings are as heartfelt as they are practical, whether you have a child who is about to fly the nest, one who flew away long ago, or one so young you can hardly imagine that stage of life.
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
Before You Fly Away: Life Lessons From Home
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

Aug 8, 2025 • 1h 4min
Consequences + Discipline with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
Tina Payne Bryson, a renowned psychotherapist and co-author of popular parenting books, sheds light on effective discipline strategies for children. She emphasizes the importance of teaching over punishment, offering a fresh perspective on handling kids' behavior. The discussion includes fostering autonomy while maintaining clear boundaries and the power of empathy in communication. Tina also highlights how repairing relationships after conflicts can boost children's resilience and strengthen family ties, turning discipline into an opportunity for connection.

Aug 5, 2025 • 50min
Our Kids Know More + Less Than We Think
It can be really hard to gauge what tweens + teens actually know about the biggest ticket topics. That’s because, in this age of information, they are pummeled with “facts” about sex, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, wellness, and so much more. It can seem like they have encyclopedic knowledge sometimes… until you get past the confident tone and actually listen to what they are saying. This episode will make you feel less alone (you are not the only one who has been dumbfounded by an adolescent!) and help you help them sort fact from fiction.
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

Aug 1, 2025 • 43min
Leaving Our Baggage at the Door
In this Season 1 re-release: Our own puberty stories are seared into our brains and the temptation is to share those experiences, the good and the bad, with the kids in our lives. Except, kids need to have their own puberty journeys without carrying our puberty baggage on their shoulders. Adults need to find their own trusted adults with whom to share these memories and Cara and Vanessa do just that in this episode.
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

Jul 29, 2025 • 51min
When We Care and They Don't
Parents know better, right? Maybe. While we may have brains mature enough to anticipate what’s coming down the road 5, 10, 20 years from now (and the lived experiences to back it up), we can’t force our kids to care about the things we deem important. This power struggle occurs throughout the tween + teen years, on everything from minor issues like wearing deodorant to major tensions like grades or substance use. How can we adults learn to manage our own feelings while simultaneously finding ways to inspire our kids? This hilarious and personal episode is packed with that advice.
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

Jul 25, 2025 • 42min
Parenting the Emotional Roller Coaster with Dr. Aliza Pressman
We’re rereleasing one of the very first episodes we ever recorded because it’s also one of the best. Developmental psychologist, Dr. Aliza Pressman, joins us to discuss the ways to respond to the emotional ups and downs of parenting adolescents. Aliza’s practical and actionable advice boils down to this: What’s going on for our kids and how can we meet them in a kind and constructive way?
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