This Is So Awkward

Questions swirl around bras: Does a kid need to wear one? When should they start? What type should they wear? The list goes on and on, and we cover all of it. Spoiler alert: the answer often boils down to it all depends…Show Notes:Order our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listener questions can open up profoundly important conversations. Like this one, that asks whether their menstruating 10-year old daughter should start taking a birth control pill because the family lives in a state where abortion is illegal even in the case of rape. We answer from every angle, wading into medical, parental, social, and emotional considerations.Show Notes:Order our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The author of our own puberty narratives — literally — is coming to theaters everywhere this weekend. Judy Blume’s stigma-shattering story “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” has been adapted into film more than 50 years after its initial publication. There’s so much to say about the impact of this story, then and now.Show Notes:Order our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been gobsmacked by Peggy Orenstein’s chronicles of adolescence, laid out in her books Girls & Sex and Boys & Sex. During peak COVID, Peggy wrote on a new and wildly unrelated topic: Unraveling dives into the hilarious and harsh realities of raising teens while anticipating an empty nest. We talk to her about all of it!Show Notes:Unraveling by Peggy OrensteinOrder our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caregivers of tweens and teens sit in the middle of the family sandwich, looking out for kids and aging parents, but often stretched so thin we can’t even identify — let alone meet — our own needs. This episode is all about how to ask for the help we need, finding balance so that we can look after ourselves as well as everyone else.Show Notes:Order our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s lots to say on a controversial subject that ranges from hair removal to nose jobs. We explore it all with one reigning principle: leave your judgment at the door.Show Notes:Order our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When 19-year-old Henry was in the 4th grade, he received a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. His tween and teen years were intertwined with chronic illness, but he made the conscious choice not to be defined by it — instead, becoming a multi-sport athlete and fiercely independent adolescent. Then, sophomore year of high school, a second, separate medical challenge came his way. Adults and kids will all be inspired by Henry as he shares his personal journey on this special episode.Show Notes:Order our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We welcome Dr. Kelly Fradin back to the podcast to discuss a highly complex aspect of parenting: managing kids’ medical diagnoses and subsequent challenges. Her new book, Advanced Parenting, is an empathetic guide designed to help adults understand and manage all kinds of health challenges — both physical and mental.Show Notes:Advanced ParentingFollow Dr. Kelly Fradin on Social MediaInstagram Facebook TwitterWebsite Substack Newsletter TranscriptOrder our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The stressful – not to mention (sometimes prohibitively) expensive – college process lands some kids where they want to be. But others are left disappointed. And many describe being somewhat traumatized by the whole experience, regardless of outcome. How can we be supportive to the kids in the midst of a process that itself has gone haywire? Show Notes:www.grownandflown.comOrder our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The microbiome is an important component of health throughout the body: in the gut, on the skin, and yes, even in the genital tract. During puberty, as bodies change these ecosystems shift, particularly in the moister, oilier, and hairier parts. We get into why the situation turns itchy, focusing on one major category: yeast infections.Show Notes:The Vajenda by Jen GunterOrder our book This Is So AwkwardCheck out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.comTo bring us to your school or community email operations@lessawkward.comTo submit listener questions email thepubertypodcast@gmail.comWatch the full episode on Youtube!Produced by Peoples MediaTranscript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices