teensavvy

Surviving the Summer Tech Vortex Ah, summer! The season of sun, fun, and… a seemingly endless screen time battle with your adolescent–particularly younger adolescents. They’re too old for summer camp and too young for a summer job, so how do you keep them from transforming into screen zombies while you’re at work? Here’s your sanity-saving …

When our kids were younger, we often found ourselves in the role of conductor, orchestrating the rhythms and melodies of our children’s lives. But adolescent development often has teens seeking greater independence, taking new risks, and, eager to find their own baton to lead,  The Conductor and the Orchestra  I often say that one of the …

My late mother was a sentimental soul…and a perfectionist. This combination made holidays like Thanksgiving particularly fraught in my household. In theory, my mom loved all the little traditions like place settings “just so” at the dinner table, turkey-shaped salt and pepper shakers, and pulling out the “good china” that required hand washing. I now …

Halloween with teens is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the holiday gives adolescents a chance to revel in the traditions of childhood. On the other, it can be a reminder of the middle ground that teens occupy between childhood and adulthood. And that middle ground can feel awkward. Why I …

It’s been a rough few weeks in the Straub family. And I’m parenting in crisis mode. If you follow me on social media, you may have already heard about the humongous tree that fell through the roof of our home two weeks ago, leaving my family temporarily homeless.   And if you don’t follow me on social …

Supporting your child as they transition to college brings up parental emotions from elation to grief and everything in between. The resources below are ones I’ve collected over the years that address this exciting, nostalgic…and sometimes chaotic time in a family. Websites about the college transition Grown and Flown is an excellent resource for parents …

I’m in the middle of a big professional change that can be summarized in a one word: Transition. Transitions, while potentially exciting, are also a time of unsteadiness, uncertainty, and unfinished business. Big changes on the professional horizon Last week, I let the school where I have been employed as a high school counselor for …

I tend not to make a New Year’s resolution, in part because, as an educator, my “year” has started in August and ended in June for the past four decades. Thus, January is often more of a midpoint for me than it is a beginning.  That said, over the past couple weeks, I have had …

WHY TO AVOID “WHY” QUESTIONS WITH YOUR TEEN When it comes to making requests and inquiries of their teens, parent language matters–a lot.  With my parent coaching clients, we do a lot of examining of the language, tone, and timing around parent-child interactions.  We seek to discover points of intervention where the parent’s behavior–including word …

If you are raising an anxious teen, first, my heart goes out to you.  Parenting anxious kids requires one of the finest balancing acts in that parents must constantly ask themselves “Does my child need comfort or pushing in this moment?”  “Should I accommodate the anxiety or make her face the music?”  What is the …