I don’t like my daughter’s friend. Should I tell her or forbid her from spending time with this friend?
What most parents do not realize is that their intelligent teens know when mom or dad disapproves of a friend. And while your daughter does care what you think, she will often ignore your feelings in pursuit of her independence. This leaves you wondering why your previously intelligent child would spend time with “that kid.”
My daughter does not know if she should take the ACT, SAT or both. How does she decided?
You finally learned what LOL, OMG and BTW means. Now, your daughter is in high school, and there is another set of acronyms to learn—PSAT, PLAN, ACT, and SAT. Most parents are familiar with these letters and don’t need Google to determine their initial meaning. However, further examination is required if you are going to truly understand how these tests will impact your child.
Many believe that bully behaviors are confined to school yard taunts and teases. This is not always the case. Many children return home to face further humiliation especially if they happen to be overweight. Parents often have difficulty approaching their teenagers about any difficult subject, but weight issues appear to be particularly misunderstood.
When our children were younger, my husband and I would never argue in front of them. Now that they are in high school, is it still important to hide our disagreements?
Wow! I am impressed that you and your husband have had that much self-control. While I don’t actively advocate that parents argue in front of their adolescents, dismissing or delaying disagreements can also be potentially detrimental to emotional development. In fact, it may actually be healthy for teens to see their mom and dad engage in the occasional dispute.
My daughter is overweight and she is very sensitive and gets upset with me when I offer advice. What should I do?
Many believe that bully behaviors are confined to school yard taunts and teases. Unfortunately, some teens return home to face further humiliation especially if they happen to be overweight. Parents often have difficulty approaching their adolescent about any sensitive subject, but weight issues appear to be particularly misunderstood.
My teenager constantly asks us to buy expensive things for him and says he will pay us back. The problem is he rarely does. How should we react to his requests?
Does your son understand interest rates, know that ATMs charge fees, or have the skill to balance a check book? Did you know that almost 1/3 of all teens have some form of debt (Schwab, 2007 Survey)? Teens are intelligent, but they still need mom and dad to help guide them toward fiscal responsibility.
I was recently asked by a high school baseball coach to reduce the anxiety of his players, particularly as they step into the batter box. As I reviewed my strategies with the team, it became apparent these ideas were much bigger than the game itself and could be applied metaphorically to everyday life. Check it out and feel free to respond with some anxiety reducing strategies of your own.
I am not the parent of a bullied student, but I worry about my ninth grader. What can I do to make sure his school days are safe or to make sure that he does not make life difficult for others?
Lately, it feels like bully behaviors are being regularly reported in the news. Most recently, in two unrelated incidents, a 15 year old Massachusetts girl and a 13 year old Texas teen hung themselves due to the daily tortures and taunts inflicted by their peers. Earlier this school year, the St. Louis area received its own turn in the national spotlight for the bully bus incident that occurred in Belleville.
How will including Asperger’s students under the Autism label impact the educational system.
First let’s take a look at the definitions of these terms. Individuals with Asperger’s meet the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria if they display impairments in social interaction and demonstrate restricted repetitive patterns of behavior (obsessive interests) without having any clinically significant delays in language acquisition skills and cognitive development.
Watching TV with your teen is a great way to promote family bonding. Typically this consists of watching an adolescent drama and then attempting to engage in a relevant growth promoting conversation. I support and encourage all parents that do this.
