When I was growing up it was common for boys like myself to seek out and share sexually-themed pictures. It usually took some effort to find them. The easiest sources were National Geographic and the …
Teens
Saving for College: It’s Never too Soon to Start
Most teens are as stressed about going to college as you are about the cost. Developing a strategy about how to pay for college will do wonders to reduce their anxiety about life after high …
Becoming Rich: What Teens Get from Giving
Prof. Michael Collins once wrote a post for Parenthetical on how to promote financial responsibility among teens. As Collins mentioned in the post, one aspect of learning how to manage money actually involves giving it …
9 Tips to Keep the Conversation Flowing with your Teen
For many parents, just getting their teen talking can be a challenge, let alone engaged in an entire conversation. Although this experience may be frustrating, it is important to remember that teens may be shifting …
Talking about terrorism and mass violence with teens: What can parents do?
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”― Fred Rogers I …
Setting the stage for teens’ healthy media use
TV, computer games, music, blogs, radio, smart phones . . . to say the average American adult consumes a lot of media is an understatement. America’s youth are no different. With so many media sources …
The Diverging Paths of Parents and Teens
We usually think of the teen years as a period of major changes in our children. Often overlooked is the fact that parents are also experiencing significant changes of their own. One of the things …
Fighting the fair fight: How to constructively disagree with your teen
Occasional fights and disagreements with your teen are pretty much the norm for most families. While such conflicts can be annoying and emotionally draining they can also be beneficial, especially if you understand the reasons …
Parenting from the Sidelines
Have you ever been to a sporting event or performance where the parent behind you is shouting out instructions to his teen or berating the other youngsters participating? As the competition increases in middle school …
Be the Positive Voice for your Teen
A parenting and human development buzz word for the last 30 years, self-esteem is a person’s evaluation of his or her own worth. A person with positive self-esteem has a positive attitude about his or her self. Do …