This Is So Awkward

The drinks have changed, yet the alcohol education of young people has remained relatively simplistic. This podcast offers listeners the class that we think should be taught in every high school—the information kids need in order to make informed choices. We start with the science of alcohol, and how it impacts bodies and brains differently. Then we get into consent, drink spiking, mixing alcohol and caffeine, blood alcohol concentration, blacking out, and more! And as always, we suggest different ways into the hundreds of conversations you’ll want to have on the topic. Show Notes: Join the LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP HUB Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns.  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 endocrine system – in charge of making and sending all the hormones throughout the body – is basically the musical conductor for puberty. During puberty, a network of specific glands and hormones work together like an orchestra, eventually leading to a sexually mature reproductive system along with certain smelly and awkward side effects. Listen to how endocrinologist Dr. Gillian Goddard tells the fascinating story of how hormones work throughout puberty, making a complex system so much more understandable. Show Notes: Join the LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP HUB Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -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

Caffeine might be the most socially acceptable addictive substance on earth. For starters, it’s sold in coffee shops on nearly every city corner. It’s also available in gummies and sprays. Kids have become a huge target market for highly caffeinated products. What are the repercussions? How does caffeine work in the body and brain? Does it impact growing bodies? Is it safe for your kid? We cover it all. Show Notes: Join the LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP HUB Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -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

Parenting gets easier right? HA. As our kids get older our expectations grow right along with them, sometimes outpacing their abilities. We need reminding that they are works in progress, with developing brains and burgeoning emotional intelligence. This combination makes for exciting – albeit sometimes challenging – moments when, despite wanting to do our best, we can’t necessarily get there. Enter Alyssa Campbell, MS Ed and her new book Big Kids, Bigger Feelings. Alyssa swoops in with thoughtful, evidence-based guidance for managing these bigger feelings found in bigger kids. Oh, and she tackles our enormous emotional reservoirs, too! Show Notes: Big Kids, Bigger Feelings Seed & Sew Join the LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP HUB Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -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

The world (wrongly) assumes that teenage boys want to be left behind their closed bedroom doors until emerging years later. In fact, tween and teen boys want connection, meaning, and care; they might just show it in different ways. We welcome the authors of Talk to Your Boys, Christopher Pepper and Joanna Schroeder onto the podcast to share research and strategies for connecting to boys during these formative years. Show Notes: Join the LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP HUB Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -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

Individuation is an important theme threaded through the tween and teen years: the formation of independent identity ultimately allows a kid to stand on their own in adulthood. But getting there can sometimes look – and feel – pretty disrespectful. How can we make sense of the challenges, confusion, and sometimes painful moments? (or months?!). Child development specialist and bestselling author Betsy Brown Braun explains this developmental stage and teaches us how to draw lines, set expectations, and not personalize what’s happening! 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

The benefits to kids of playing sports are super clear. But the picture has gotten more complicated with the pay-to-play takeover of youth sports and the increasingly intense pressure on kids (and their families) to perform at higher and higher levels. Amanda Stanec, youth sports expert and author of Protecting the Joy, is here to make sense of the research and offer balanced guidance for families navigating the youth sports industrial complex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

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.