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 […]
Connecting With Teens Who Are Passive-Aggressive
It’s a relatively normal developmental milestone for teens to start to withdraw from their parents and siblings. While it may be expected, it rarely feels good for anyone in the family. Things in the home can become difficult and tense, particularly if your teen begins to show signs of aggressive or passive aggressive behavior. It […]
How to Handle Teenage Tantrums
Parenting books and other parents seem to go out of their way to let us all know about the terrible twos and threes. Toddler tantrums, screaming, hitting, heavy toys thrown, and miserable parents. You’ve seen it all as your sweet baby turns into a tantruming toddler. As your child grows up, becomes better at communication, […]
Raising Awareness: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Nationally, teen suicide rates have been on the rise for several years. Teens today experience increased stress in school and at home. While many teens learn positive ways to cope with the stresses of everyday life, others succumb to depression and hopelessness. If you are concerned that your troubled teen might be suicidal, take action […]
Parental Coping Tips When Your Teen is a Compulsive Liar
Let’s face it, how many of us can say we’ve never told even a little white lie to spare someone’s feelings? While we may all be guilty of embellishing or telling outright untruths at some point, it can become a serious concern when we’re faced with a teen who is a compulsive liar. Most children […]
Using Technology To Help Your Teen’s Mental Health
Science fiction books and movies have long led us to believe that advancements in technology are the key to improving our lives. In many aspects, we are seeing this today. Technology is a huge part of our lives. While there are many upsides to technology, there is also a fair amount of negativity associated with […]