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
December 9, 2025 • 61 mins
Secure attachment is a term that gets thrown around, but it’s often not clear what it means or why it matters! In fact, it’s a decades old psychological concept that points to the protective impact on a child’s lifelong wellbeing of having just one caring adult. Therapist and author of Raising Securely Attached Kids, Eli Harwood AKA the Attachment Nerd, joins the podcast to dissect the critical role of secure attachment on people’s...
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December 2, 2025 • 46 mins
A life with more independence, generally has more risk. As kids get older, they might start walking to school alone, playing on travel sports teams, sleeping at friends’ houses, driving on their own, or exploring outdoors… all increasingly without adult supervision. Expanding autonomy demands new tools for safety, including the rationale behind the rules. This episode is chock full of common scenarios––from sleepovers to seatbelts,...
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November 25, 2025 • 61 mins
Longevity isn’t just about living longer, but living well. Yes getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and regular exercise are important for longevity, but so is recognizing and releasing feelings. Dr. Elisha Goldstein joins us to explore overwhelm, and then helps outline small, actionable steps we can take to improve our well-being to model emotional longevity for our kids.
Show Notes:
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November 18, 2025 • 47 mins
Show Notes:
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November 11, 2025 • 53 mins
The world often pits tweens + teens against their trusted adults. But research shows that young people actually thrive when they feel a connection with those very adults. So how can everyone get on the same side? What’s the path to stop fighting unimportant battles, and instead work together to manage fears and worries? Here to make sense of these complex topics is Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, pediatric psychologist and author of Love...
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November 4, 2025 • 48 mins
Many of today’s adolescent relationships look radically different than they used to: from the labels used to describe them to the order of flirting, fooling around, and going on an actual date. We hear that teens are having less sex… but are they? And then there’s the role of AI chatbot companions, nudes, sexting and more. Join us in the muddy waters dating today––we promise to clear things up.
Show Notes:
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October 28, 2025 • 57 mins
Higher education is changing at a wildly dramatic pace. Shifting politics, rising tuition costs, and draws like sports and weather all contribute to changes in the application landscape. In this episode, higher ed journalist and author of Dream School, Jeff Selingo, answers some of today’s biggest questions including: Does attending a top-tier school matter? What’s the value of community college or technical school? How do people r...
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October 21, 2025 • 57 mins
Gambling, nicotine and e-bikes… Some degree of increased risk taking during the tween + teen years is completely expected, even among the non-risk takers. This is thanks to where they are in their brain development, a physiological fact that doesn’t make life particularly easy for them or their adults! Cara + Vanessa cover the topic in a LIVE recording, exploring kids’ penchant for risk taking through 3 very timely topics and how t...
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October 14, 2025 • 54 mins
Being a girl in today’s world can be highly empowering, but at the same time it often means walking through a cultural minefield of social media messaging, toxic perfectionism, and unachievable bodily ideals, all before you turn 13. Journalist Kate Rope‘s new book, Strong As A Girl, looks at the factors that can offset these forces, starting with self-compassion. Our discussion covers the emotional challenges faced by both parents ...
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October 7, 2025 • 62 mins
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 concent...
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September 30, 2025 • 55 mins
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 hormo...
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September 23, 2025 • 48 mins
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.
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September 16, 2025 • 62 mins
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 n...
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September 9, 2025 • 52 mins
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...
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September 2, 2025 • 59 mins
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 deve...
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August 29, 2025 • 64 mins
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 indust...
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August 26, 2025 • 51 mins
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!
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August 22, 2025 • 49 mins
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 ...
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August 19, 2025 • 51 mins
Most of us would prefer to avoid conversations about big, hard topics with the kids in our lives. But we also know how critical it is for us to talk to them about uncomfortable things like sexual assault, miscarriage, and mental health struggles. Which is why we’re so happy to know Jessica Zucker, author of Normalize It, a psychologist, and a parent. She gracefully navigates the tricky balance of educating kids about the difficult ...
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August 15, 2025 • 56 mins
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.
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