Parenting a teen can bring a new set of challenges that you didn’t need to think about during the toddler and elementary school years. It is easy to fall into the trap of criticizing your teen for every decision he makes and action he takes. This is particularly true if his decisions and actions are […]
Why Do Teens Start Using Drugs?
The teen years can be filled with impulsive decisions and irrational choices. It can also be a time of simply living for today, without any thoughts of the consequences that may come from those decisions and choices. This is often one of the factors that can lead many teens to start to experiment with drugs. […]
Teen Out of Control Behavior: Handling Defiance, Anger and Poor Grades
It’s a relatively normal developmental milestone for teens to begin to show signs of rebellious or defiant behavior. In some situations, things can take a turn towards the more challenging. Your teen may display signs of anger towards everyone in the family. His once sweet personality may take a turn for the defiant and dark. […]
How to Help Teens With Suicidal Thoughts
Hearing that someone you care about is having suicidal thoughts can be overwhelming, terrifying, and baffling. You may not know how to respond, what to say, or whether you should intervene and get them help. In some situations, you may feel tempted to disregard the things that they are saying. Perhaps they are prone to […]
The Best Way to Stay Connected With Your Teen in Boarding School
Part of our children growing up into teens is learning to cope with them distancing themselves from us. This is a natural part of growing up, even though it doesn’t always feel like much fun when your once sweet and affectionate little one is now slamming doors and turning up the music to drown your […]
What to do with a teenager that is out of control?
Parenting can feel like the wildest roller coaster, particularly when you enter the teen years. There are so many factors that can contribute to your teen struggling, acting out, and spiraling out of control. As a parent, you may feel overwhelmed, stressed, and highly emotional. You likely also feel helpless as you watch your teen […]
How do you discipline a defiant teenager?
As the parent to teens, you’ve likely experienced backtalk, door slamming, and other actions that could be considered defiant. You and your teen have come a long way from those first sweet words and tender moments when he was a toddler. Now, you’re likely fighting to keep from losing your patience when your questions or […]
Why Yelling At Your Teen Always Backfires
Try as we might, few amongst us haven’t fallen into the trap of raising our voices and yelling at our defiant teens. It can be a challenge to raise a teen at the best of times. Throw in defiance, frustration, and a feeling of never-ending rebellious attitude, and you have the recipe for a parent […]
How to Handle Conflict with Step-Children
The stepparent and stepchild dynamic can be something wonderful in the right circumstances. It can also be filled with a range of emotions that lean toward anger, jealousy, conflict, and even violence. As the parent or stepparent of a teen, how do you handle the rollercoaster of emotions that accompany becoming a blended family? The […]
Setting Consequences for Children with ODD
Has your child been diagnosed with oppositional defiance disorder (ODD)? Getting a diagnosis for your child for any behavioral disorder can be overwhelming and upsetting for a parent to hear. That said, even with those emotions, you may be feeling a sense of relief to finally have that diagnosis. After struggling with your child’s behavior […]
