Google Parenting
In a phone call with a parent this week, she relayed the story of her teenage daughter running away (briefly) and how, even with 25 years of parenting experience (and numerous parenting books, classes, and conversations) behind her, she found herself Googling what to do. Being able to share these challenging parenting experiences (and laughing about them…
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Helping Kids through their “Low Point”
During one of our final training sessions with counselors, we ask them to think back to their “low point” as a child or adolescent and remember what, if anything, caring adults did to help them through. It’s a great reminder to counselors to think about the developmental stage of the campers they’ll be working with…
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The Uncool Mom
One of the numerous times I’ve made my son mad this year was the day I told him he had to go to school when a bunch of other parents were not making their kids go. Here’s the story: My son’s soccer team had a tournament on the last Friday of school before a break.…
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Be a Better Parent by Doing Less
If you’ve read my posts the past few weeks, you know that I’ve been on a roll with thoughts about letting our kids fail more and preparing them to be competent adults. Reading Jessica Lahey’s The Gift of Failure and hearing Julie Lythcott-Haims speak on her book How to Raise an Adult spurred me to…
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Get Savvy: Letters to a Teenage Girl About Sex and Love
“As a girl, I was really trained and enjoyed playing a certain range of ‘keys’ – that was being nice, being successful, being a good student. And I think the same is true of how we use our voice in the world – we train girls to use the ‘acceptable’ range of keys. What I…
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Five Reasons Every Teen Should go to Summer Camp
Being at camp gives me this sense of belonging that I’ve never felt anywhere else. I know that I can be myself and that my cabin mates will love me for who I am, and I’ve brought that to my life outside of camp. -Hannah #1 Improve Interpersonal Skills & Form Close Friendships “In a…
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Book Review: Age of Opportunity
“…nothing will ever feel as good as it did when you were a teenager.” -Laurence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence What are your most vivid memories? When you hear a song from your high school years, do you still know every word? Did you do something dangerous as a…
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Hug Your Teen Today
“The most important assignment a mom has is to nurture her children.” Tim Sanford, M.A. (Losing Control & Liking It) Significant research has shown that babies need a lot of nurturing in order to thrive. But I think that nurturing is just as vital for our older kids and teenagers as it is was when…
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Let the Kids Cook Dinner
One of my parenting role models is a fictional animal. She’s the lead character in the children’s book The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, which was written by Du Bose Heyward in 1939. I can see why the book was written in 1939. No one today would write a book like this…
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