Teenagers

Every year my twins, now 14, and I set out on a summer pilgrimage to visit my mother at our extended family home on northern Lake Michigan. It can be a remarkably boring 25-hour road excursion unless my husband...

Mama’s (and dads, too) of the bubbly faced tweens and teens, this post is for you.  It is also for all of you out there that suffer with wrinkles and adult acne. How is that even fair? It is simple....

No one says parenting is easy, but we make it harder on ourselves when we choose discipline that brings the whole family down. So… Next time you’re fuming, stop and think, “Will this punishment be a bigger headache for me than for my child?”

Work to remember what they’ve told you about certain school friends, certain likes and dislikes and their ideas for the future. These important things will come up again. When we recall previous conversations, our kids know we are listening and care about them.

If I am driving them somewhere in the car, having a friend along deems me completely invisible! Suddenly, I am privy to all the dirt on the latest music, fashion, boy/girl crushes and other very fascinating information. This can help me understand my kid in ways that my direct questioning never does.

My husband recently mused that simply being a teenager is a form of mental illness. Normally, I may have laughed, but since he’s a psychologist, I had to think: “What if that’s true and what are the symptoms?” I could...

My sister called me first, choking up as she relayed the details and raced back to her job at the high school from an off-site meeting. The words she uttered stopped me cold: there was a school shooting in...

For years, I felt like a mom who never wanted to play. I didn't love board games. I hated playing pretend. Even though I knew my kids needed individual time with me, especially as our family grew, I wasn't sure...

If someone has told a child that they cannot “be” something, guess what? They believe it. Those negative seeds are implanted in their heart and mind. When adversity rears its ugly head, they will recall those words and convince themselves that they cannot do or be something.

Initially, her response infuriated me inside. Relax? You’ve been handed an opportunity many children could only dream of, and you want to relax? Don’t you owe it to your teacher and school to represent them? Not to mention you’ve been given a gift, and we should share our gifts with the world. When I was growing up and an opportunity like this arose, saying no was not an option.