If you have a senior in high school, you probably know that the last of the college-admissions decisions for the class of 2022 will land in the coming days.
Maybe your teen got into their dream school. If that’s the case, congratulations! But there’s a good chance that your child will face, or already is grappling with, one of the biggest disappointments of their life. Read more »
This is a really tough time for teens. I know what you’re thinking—the teen years have always been tough. Youth mental health is in crisis. What’s been going on? Read more »
Children will avoid expending energy on tasks for all sorts of reasons, whether they think they’re boring, irrelevant or frustrating, or they want to protect their ego or feel pressure to perform. Although it can be easy to engage in a battle of wills, here are seven more productive ways that caregivers can help children overcome their own resistance and accomplish hard things. Read more »
Kids, especially teens and tweens, sometimes need validation that what they are thinking and feeling is normal and okay. In fact, psychologists believe that validation is one of the most powerful parenting tools, and yet it is often left out of traditional behavioral parent training programs. Read more »
More than a decade of my life, from my early teens to early 20s, was largely defined by my obsessive food and body rituals. I counted calories so closely that I eventually stopped needing to track them, running a list in my mind as I measured out tiny portions. I refused to visit friends in other cities, worried about when and how I would exercise. I starved myself most of the day and ate mindlessly at night, beat myself up for it, then started the cycle all over again the next day. Read more »
Parenting is really an art — of balancing being there with letting go. Can your children navigate the world on their own? Will they ever stop needing you and will you ever stop worrying about them? Read more »
High school junior Nick Belsaguy pulled a lot of all-nighters in December. He was in his backyard woodshop, crafting laser-engraved cutting boards until 4 a.m.
“(Woodworking) lets me go from the start of ideas in my mind then to a complete finished product,” the 16-year-old entrepreneur said. “I just love seeing that.”
That passion and focus rarely gets tapped at school, though. Nick said he sometimes rushes through classwork so he can use class time to respond to client inquiries or create laser designs on school software. Read more »
Some parents express worry that masks might interfere with children’s ability to learn or to socialize. Other parents fear that unmasking will lead to more COVID-19 cases.
Amid the debate, a small but growing body of research is offering hints that masks do not have a significant impact on speech or social skills. Read more »
We tend to idealize childhood as a carefree time, but youth alone offers no shield against the emotional hurts, challenges, and traumas many children face. Children can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting to a new classroom or online schooling to bullying by peers or even struggles at home. Add to that the uncertainties that are part of growing up in a complex world, and childhood can be anything but carefree. The ability to thrive despite these challenges arises from the skills of resilience. Read more »
Staying connected as kids approach the teen years and become more independent may become a challenge for parents, but it’s as important as ever — if not more so now. Read more »
