How many parents and teens find it easy to communicate with each other? "You never listen to me," or "You just don't understand," are common complaints—heard as much from teens as from their parents. Much of the communication that goes on in a household with teens involves demands and complaints, says Don Dinkmeyer, PhD, author of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting o … [Read more...] about How to Talk to Your Teen
Tweens and Teens
Teen Dating Abuse
It can turn into a parent’s worst nightmare: one day your darling teen daughter stops listening to you. Starts lying to you. Disappears and refuses to say where she has been. She forgets everything you’ve taught her, and worse, she returns your care and concern with a snarl, tells you you’re stupid and warns you to leave her alone. It won’t take you long to figure out that sh … [Read more...] about Teen Dating Abuse
Video Games and Violence
“Active Shooter,” the video game that simulates a school shooting, has been pulled from its June 6, 2018 release date following the outrage of parents, educators and others. The video game allows players to choose between being the school shooter or being a member of the SWAT team disarming the shooter. A video clip of the game shows the shooter firing at civilians—mostly women … [Read more...] about Video Games and Violence
Teens and Technology
On average, how much time do you think our teens are spending on their phones and technology everyday? Many of us might answer with a couple of hours. After all, teens and media seem to go hand-in-hand, like peanut butter and jelly. Unfortunately, even though our guesses are high, the true average is mind-boggling. According to recent statistics, our teens are … [Read more...] about Teens and Technology
Going Screen-Free
“Doctor, my ten-year-old son, Justin, is really struggling. He comes unglued over the littlest thing, and it’s driving his friends away. He used to love school, but now he hates it. Homework time is torture, but even when he gets his work done, he forgets to turn it in. His teacher thinks he has ADHD, but I think he might be depressed—he’s so irritable! His dad and I divorced tw … [Read more...] about Going Screen-Free
Girl Power Friendship
GirlPower is a friendship program that inspires "tween" girls to feel empowered, and develop a strong sense of self, while also learning how to manage the most important thing to them—their friendships. GirlPower is an internationally recognized program with licensed GirlPower Facilitators in the US, Canada, and Australia who teach the GirlPower curriculum in schools and c … [Read more...] about Girl Power Friendship
My Daughter is My Son
Jey had been living as an out gay woman for ten years prior to her second “big announcement.” She came out to me as a lesbian in her sophomore year of high school. It was Mother’s Day and she said, “I want to take you out for breakfast. I thought we could talk.” Ninety-nine percent of me knew what this conversation was going to be about and I was kind of relieved that the issue … [Read more...] about My Daughter is My Son
Embrace the Teen Years
Twenty-five and a half hours of labor notwithstanding… when I gave birth to my first child sixteen years ago, I was in awe. No. Awe is an understatement. I could not stop looking at my son. I believe I kissed his toes, fingers, cheeks, nose, and his hair at least a million times. I was a neurotic mom to be sure. I didn’t allow anyone to kiss him other than his dad and me. I w … [Read more...] about Embrace the Teen Years