“Is there such a thing as being too connected?” A parent recently asked. “What do you mean?” I responded. “Well,” she went on, “Obviously I spent a lot of time with our eighth grader in the past two years. We stayed really close and overall did well managing distance learning and all that. But now… Read More →
Whether it is with our toddlers or teens, we all know what it is like to witness big feelings completely overwhelm our kids. This isn’t just because life can be overwhelming and stressful (though it certainly can be). It is also because the cortex, the part of our kids’ brains that helps them manage big… Read More →
“I can’t ever remember not wearing a mask to school!” my second-grader interjected as we began explaining what to expect in the upcoming school year. It made sense, given that his kindergarten year was interrupted by COVID-19 and he had been online or in a mask ever since. Apparently undisturbed by this persistent reality, he… Read More →
“My middle schooler has a few tiny things on his mind lately… you know, like the Delta variant and the climate crisis,” a parent recently shared. She went on, “Honestly, things are pretty existential in our house right now…and I just feel so powerless to help. How can I even reassure him when his worries… Read More →
“Any gratitude I had for screens is gone,” a friend shared this week, “I was thrilled in March…thank goodness for technology! Take the iPad and go forth! Now online meetings, gaming, and chats feel more and more empty, especially with everything going on the world. I just want my kid to unplug for a while.… Read More →
This week marked the first official week of learning at home in the wake of school closures designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our family started social distancing efforts last week so I had a little time to mentally prepare for the new reality of juggling working, parenting, and teaching. I knew better than… Read More →
When it comes to talking with teens, a participant in our fall Why Do They Act That Way online class shared this with me, “I think the hardest part is just not knowing if the conversations we are having make any difference. My daughter is NOT a talker, and I seem to annoy her a… Read More →
“I just don’t get it!” sighed a parent I spoke to recently. “We’ve talked about this over and over again. She knows better!” He was referring to his daughter getting pulled into online conflict that had quickly escalated to the level of getting the school principal involved. If you are a parent of a teenager,… Read More →
“Just guess!” I would say to the wall, purposely turned away from my mom perched gingerly on the side of my bed. “Honey,” she would respond, “It’s hard to just guess what you want to talk about.” I usually met this gentle resistance with more crying and an insistence that clearly she should just KNOW… Read More →
Does it seem like every conversation with your teenager ends in a power struggle or argument ? There are no guaranteed strategies to eliminate all parent-teen miscommunication but learning some tips for how to talk to teenagers can improve the odds! Be very clear about your emotions instead of leaving it to your teenager to… Read More →
