If you’re like most parents, you struggle to get your teenager up in the morning. Bleary-eyed and grumbling, they can’t seem to get out of bed before 10am. Obviously, this creates problems. You become frustrated they’re asleep 10 minutes after the alarm goes off. They’re unwilling to leave the comfort of their bed, so you – because you have to choose your battles – decide to leave them alone. But
Each year on November 21st, adoption awareness advocates recognize and celebrate National Adoption Day. A group of national adoption organizations – including The Dave Thomas Foundation, The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, The Alliance for Children’s Rights, and The Children’s Action Network – held the first National Adoption Day on November 18th, 2000. That day, this group of adoption advocacy organizations lobbied the adoption courts in nine U.S. cities to
If your teenager has a mental health or substance use disorder, you may have considered residential treatment for them at some point in the past. If they have a mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, you understand that if they spend a period of time focusing solely on healing and recovery, they’ll receive more support – and likely make more progress – than they do in
Each November, people across the United States recognize and celebrate National Inspirational Role Models Month. This is a month to appreciate the people in our lives who set positive examples we aspire to emulate. Role models perform a vital function: through their character, accomplishments, and behavior, they show us what’s possible in life. Although we can have role models at any age, role models are particularly important for teenagers. Teenagers
Parenting experts often say it’s important to keep a united front in front of children. That means parents should back each other up, even when they disagree. Let’s look at an example: Your adolescent comes home past curfew, reeking of marijuana. Your teen knows using marijuana is against family rules, yet it’s the second it’s happened in a month. If your spouse is a tough love type parent, they may
In the words of the famous Roman orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the mother of all the others.” The ancients knew about gratitude. We know about gratitude today, too. It’s one of the first big lessons we learn when we’re kids. Our parents tell us to be grateful for what we have. They tell us to be grateful for our
Just when you thought your teen couldn’t spend more time online, COVID-19 struck. Researchers were already documenting unprecedented levels of teen screen time prior to the pandemic. Early data suggests those rates have increased significantly. In a report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, sixty-three percent of parents reported their teens are using social media more often during the pandemic. Eighty percent said they’ve relaxed the
It seems like your teen is always shopping. At the mall or the outlets, alone or with friends, whether there’s a big sale going on or not. They come home with myriad purchases that seem unnecessary and trivial. Worst of all, they never use the things they buy or get any satisfaction out of them, and the shopping never stops. Simply put, you think your teen is addicted to retail
Marijuana is popular among teens. According to the most recent Monitoring the Future Survey, 45 percent of high school seniors said they’d tried marijuana at least once, and around six percent of them use marijuana every day. That’s about one in every 16 students. The advent of new e-cigarettes, such as the Juul, which looks like a flash drive, contributes to the problem. In 2018, 60 percent more teens started
by Toby LaPlant Political engagement isn’t just for people above the voting age. Some of the most vocal and respected leaders of efforts to change public policy on education, climate change, LGBTQ rights, and more are people in their teens. Young people like Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, and Gavin Grimm have addressed governments, organized protests, and founded programs to create the changes their generation want to see in the world.
