This Is So Awkward

Latest Episodes:

Lighthouse Parenting with Dr. Ken Ginsburg Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Being a steady, calm parent to tweens and teens seems like an impossibility. But there’s decades of research and data supporting this style – not only is it achievable, it has lifelong positive impacts. Enter “lighthouse parenting” from Ken Ginsburg, a framing based on his deep experience as an adolescent medicine doctor and rooted in his optimism that raising teens is an opportunity not a burden.

Show Notes:

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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

parentandteen.com

fosteringresilience.com

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

Summer Acne Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

As the weather warms up, acne becomes more front and center – literally. This episode covers: what causes acne, how warm weather affects kids’ skin (for better and for worse), and how to approach acne on the body at a time of year that calls for fewer and fewer clothes. A combo of science and guidance for addressing this tricky topic!

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

Parenting Anxiety Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

Psychotherapist Lynn Lyons tells it like it is. She’s treated anxiety in kids and adults for 30 years and counting. This episode is packed with pearls about how to manage kids’ anxiety, what to do with your own, and the 3 biggest mistakes people make: avoidance, accommodation, and lack of autonomy. After listening, you will feel far less anxious – we promise!

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

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

Making Sense of the MAHA Report Jun 06, 2025

Show notes

The recently published Make America Health Again (MAHA) Report has made a big splash, putting the wellness of American children center stage. The report focuses on four issue areas – ultraprocessed foods, environmental chemicals, physical activity/mental health/tech use, and (over)medicalization of kids. We explain what it says, what’s reliable, and how the positions taken affect tweens and teens.

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

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

The MAHA Report

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

Elissa Strauss - When We Care Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

Many of us are in the sandwich generation, caring for kids while also caring for aging parents. Caregiving is hard work: it’s physically exhausting when kids are little, and increasingly emotionally exhausting as they get older…meanwhile, elder care can be an intense combination of the two. What if we could reframe caring for others from burdensome slog to hero’s journey? In When We Care, Elissa Strauss leans into research to advocate for a new view of care – one defined by the opportunity to gain wisdom, meaning, and connection.

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

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

https://www.elissastrauss.com/

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

Younger Kids with Older Siblings May 30, 2025

Show notes

In a house with kids of different ages, it can be challenging to sort through what’s appropriate to discuss with whom. Keeping information siloed can create a culture of secrecy within the family unit, but introducing topics before a given kid is developmentally ready can cause its own harms. Then there’s the very predictable (and yes, awkward) scenario of younger kids educating their close friends or fellow passengers on the school bus by sharing overly sophisticated content. Gotta love that phone call from another parent! We dive into all the permutations of what information should be discussed with all kids under one roof and what information is best saved for family “breakout rooms.”

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

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

Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times May 27, 2025

Show notes

We can always count on science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer to delve into the latest research and distill it down to nuggets of wisdom. Chock full of data and analysis, Melinda’s writing ultimately helps us help our kids. Her newest book, Hello, Cruel World!, chronicles how to build coping skills, find connection with others, and cultivate meaningful lives – all of which allows our kids (and ourselves) to stand strong in a turbulent world.

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

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

Hello Cruel World! Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times

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

Substance Use in Teens May 23, 2025

Show notes

Nicotine… alcohol… prescription drugs… illicit drugs. All of these fall under the overwhelmingly gigantic umbrella of “substances.” Teen experimentation ranges from none to a little to A LOT. And while some of these substances are similar to what was around when we were growing up, others are radically different or brand new. This episode catches everyone up on the current landscape, covering the different classes of drugs, the science of how each affects the body, and how culture impacts use.

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

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 Crucial Years of Middle Childhood May 20, 2025

Show notes

Kids between 6-12 are generally called pre-tweens and tweens. But some say they’re living in the “forgotten years,” almost as if there’s a lull in development during this time span. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Especially as we understand more about brain development and as puberty starts earlier and earlier. Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, clinical psychologist and author of The Crucial Years, explains why the school-aged years mark an age of opportunity for the in-betweener kids and their parents.

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns

Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order

Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com slash AWKWARD.

New customers can enjoy this special offer of only $1.99 a meal at Everyplate. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started.

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

When Kids Say Everyone Else Is… May 16, 2025

Show notes

If we had a dollar for every time a kid says “but everyone else is…” Whether about a sleepover, screentime, spring break trip, or a newly-hatched plan to try hang gliding, that phrase puts parents and caregivers in a tough spot. We want our kids to feel included, but at the same time there may be concerns about what they’re hoping to do, have, see, or experience. The decision tree becomes further complicated when a kid lacks reliable information about what the heck is actually going on! This episode offers lots of paths through tackling a request that “everyone” else is doing, including how to make decisions and the conversations that go hand-in-hand.

Show Notes:

Join our LESS AWKWARD ESSENTIALS

Go to Quince.com/awkward for free shipping and 365-day returns

Head to phyla.com and use code PUBERTY for 25% off your first order

Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets, at BollAndBranch.com slash AWKWARD.

New customers can enjoy this special offer of only $1.99 a meal at Everyplate. Go to everyplate.com/podcast and use code AWKWARD199 to get started.

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