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I can’t tell you the number of people, who when I tell them that I have teenagers, say things like “Wow that must be tough” or “Good luck you will need it”. I don’t care, I love having teenagers. I really do. I can still remember what my life was like as a teenager. I can remember when I was ... Views: 1506
Adolescent sleep habits are enough to drive any parent insane. As any parent can tell you, as children get older they find it more difficult to pull themselves from bed in the morning. Most young adults need several nudges before they will drag themselves from the covers. Even when they are up, ... Views: 2480
Tweens' bedrooms have a reputation for looking like utter chaos. The mass of clothing and papers littering the floor can cause frustration for any parent. Most tweens are very busy running from one activity to the next and tend to just "drop and go". They have also accumulated an assortment ... Views: 2014
Stress management for teens can be tricky, especially if their stress is displayed by aggressive behavior or through withdrawing from family or friends. So before you approach your teen about their stress, or go overboard in punishing them for the way they display their stress, take a step back ... Views: 2479
All parents want their kids to feel good about themselves and at the same time develop inner resources so that they can make good responsible choices when you are not around to guide them.
The distinction that I would like to draw on in this newsletter is enabling v empowering.
Enabling ... Views: 3335
For many years at SuperCamp, parents would ask us if we could start a program for them, to help them learn what their child is learning at SuperCamp. A few years ago we started Parent Weekend, an intensive three-day parent program that coincides with the final three days of a 10-day Junior Forum ... Views: 1948
If you’re the parent of a young child who acts out at school, you’ve probably asked yourself, “If my child is out of control now, how will I be able to deal with him when he’s ten—or a teenager?” Once a toddler or kindergartner becomes known as a child who “plays too rough” or “always has to ... Views: 3217
Joe’s Top 10 “New” Years Parenting Thoughts
by Joe Gandolfo, M.A., LPC
Another New Year. A time for personal renewal and making a change. Most people make a sincere effort to alter a behavior, which when changed, will improve one’s life. Sadly for many, the behavior change lasts only a ... Views: 1922
Teens by definition are narcissistic.
They are at a time in their life where narcissistic behaviour is both natural and can be healthy. Unless of course you are seeing amoral or criminal behaviour on an ongoing basis. What is being experienced by you, the parent is typical teen self ... Views: 7545
The current financial crisis has sharpened the focus on the need for better financial education across all segments of the population. Just as information and guidance on healthy eating and exercise can prevent a lifetime of obesity, effective financial education, when started at an early age, ... Views: 2299
It has happened to all of us at one time or another: our child does "one of those things" that absolutely drives us crazy, and we wonder why?
Perhaps it was to stand at the head of the class on that first day of school and blatantly challenge the teacher. Perhaps we struggled in the kitchen ... Views: 10250
Teenage Stress Management
Stress can affect anyone from children to adults. In between this age gap are the adolescents who also suffer greatly from stress – but for different reasons to those of adults. The symptoms remain the same but we need a different strategy to tackle teenage ... Views: 1805
“Every baby born into the world is a finer one than the last one”. Charles Dickens
I have had an eye opening experience this holiday season. I’ve been blessed to have my daughter and our first grandchild spend time with us. The other day my wife was quizzing me and she asked me if I ... Views: 1481
Summer can be a source of extreme stress when we as parents have to deal with the absence of an institutional childcare resource and the fear of a considerable amount of time being wasted in non-productive activities. On the other hand, it could be a time for us to bite the bullet and assume the ... Views: 865
How to avoid toxic words and wrong motivations when confronting your teenager’s mistakes.
“The difference between the exact right words and the almost right words is like the difference between lightning bugs and lightning bolts.” – Mark Twain
I haven’t met a teen yet who doesn’t want to ... Views: 2489
Do your teen’s actions cause you more problems than they do your teen? Has your teen figured out that he can say or do whatever he wants, which causes you and others a lot of grief, while you spend all your time trying to figure out how to solve the riddle of why he behaves the way he does, ... Views: 3790
Thinking that anything a parent can say, do, or offer to their children as they grow up a will guarantee a smooth and trouble-free adolescence is just plain wrong. I’ve learned that there are no such guarantees in life.
Stuff happens in the teen years that is out of our control as parents, ... Views: 5459
Well-intentioned parents, doing as they have always done to protect their children when they were young, often circle the wagons and marshal control when their teenager makes a mistake in judgment. Others keep their wagons circled all the time, never giving up any control in the first place. ... Views: 1986
The other night we all went to one of my favorite stomping grounds in the area, Barnacle Bills. With all of us craving the best burger around, my fiance, Steve and I took our girls out for a night on the town. While my son was at football, we decided to take the night off from grilling and have ... Views: 1726
If ever there was a time for better financial education then surely it is now? When you look at the state of many of the economies around the world it’s a mystery why financial education is not compulsory schools. It is easy to blame banks, big business or governments for the current climate but ... Views: 5701
Character is the set of qualities that make somebody distinctive. It is the outward manifestation of what you believe inside your mind and spirit. It is your nature, personality and moral fiber. Your character is the attitude and mindset which indicates to others who you are and what you stand ... Views: 8466
There is a high profile sexual assault case going on in our Province right now. It involves the kidnapping and sexual assault of a teen girl by a man posing as a police officer. The young person was pulled over by an individual who appeared to be wearing an RCMP uniform, with grill lights on his ... Views: 2678
How many of us have not been in a store when our child wants the candy that just happens to be perfectly displayed at their eye level?
We deny their first request as they always seem to be asking for something. Their second appeal gets overturned as it’s too close to dinner. The next demand ... Views: 2054
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." (Gandhi)
I have always loved this quote. I think it resonates deeply with me because I tend to be a "fixer." If I see something not working, I want it to work. If I see someone suffering, I want them to feel better. I tend to develop angst over ... Views: 912
By any traditional nutritionist's account, the weekend I just spent in Denver with my college girlfriends would rate as "bad for my health," with the possible unwanted side effects of weight gain, inflammation, blood sugar instability, and sleep deprivation, to name just a few. But despite not ... Views: 1096
Does your child always insist that they’re right and everyone else is wrong? Some kids have a bad habit of asserting their opinions by drowning out everyone else in the room—regardless of whether or not they know what they’re talking about. Understandably, this overbearing behavior can be very ... Views: 2167
If you’re the parent of a defiant child, you’ve probably wondered what makes him so angry at life—and angry at you. With the school year approaching, are you gearing up for another difficult year with your child, just hoping that he’ll make it through—and that you’ll be able to manage without ... Views: 3212
Statistics regarding sexually behavior among teenagers can be taken with a grain of salt. Because society has a controversial relationship to sex in general, and at best marginalizes teen sexuality, this population has many reasons to hide their sex lives from adults, and little reason to be ... Views: 2720
There are many different levels of connecting. When you call out to your child from another room you are not yet connected, you are just putting out what I will term a location finder signal. By the second and third times when you don't get a response, your frustration is rising. You are in ... Views: 1613
Transition times are often stressful for parents and children. Your child may experience transitions in many different ways. Their response may be of great excitement and anticipation which puts them in an emotionally charged or at the other end of the continuum, they might be so engrossed in ... Views: 1659
Do you feel like someone has abducted your sweet, innocent child and replaced them with a monster? Are you confused that somehow you have gone from knowing everything as a parent, to knowing absolutely nothing? Welcome to being a parent of a preteen/teenager. It is a brave new world. Being a ... Views: 1583
Are you a worrier? I think it comes with the job description of Mom. Seems like there is always something you can worry about. As a child I memorized Philippians 4:6. This is what I memorized, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray.” Recently, I rediscovered this verse and found I had ... Views: 965
Q: Why do kids have behavioral meltdowns and tantrums? What goes on in a child’s mind that makes him come unglued?
James:
Kids have meltdowns and temper tantrums for two reasons. The first reason is that they have never learned how to manage or have run out of the tools it takes to manage ... Views: 2489
Teens and Dating
Attention Adults! If you are feeling that the world is tough and life’s stressful, imagine how it feels to a teenager who is an becoming an adult but no longer a child. The pressure on them to figure out difficult issues is relentless.
... Views: 1371
As they say... Been there, Done that!
I have two wonderful adult kids (in their '20's), and enjoy them immensely. But it wasn't always a smooth road to get through the teen years - we all had our bumpy moments...
Here are some things that helped me:
Always remember that adolescent ... Views: 5967
Reiki (pronounced ray-kee) is an ancient rediscovered natural healing technique involving the placement of hands onto the body in order to channel healing energy. It allows everyone (children too!) to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve health and enhance the quality ... Views: 2708
The recent death of a four-year-old Massachusetts girl from an overdose of medications for ADHD and bipolar disorder has brought the issue of medicating children for behavior problems to the forefront of public consciousness. While this sad case shows the extreme end of the issue, it reminds us ... Views: 1975
We’re introducing a new monthly feature in Empowering Parents called "Gut Check"—articles that take an up close and honest look at the way we parent our children, ask the tough questions about what’s not effective, and provide real solutions you can use today. This month: how we use money in ... Views: 2138
by Susan A. Haid
Contemporary culture, the media, and society-at-large is full of conflicting messages for our teenagers, frequently delivering an exploitative, degrading and superficial model of sex and sexuality. Now, more than at any other time in history, is when we need to support our ... Views: 2659
Real people
Each child is a unique and real person that parents get to meet each day as they grow into themselves. They bring their own sense of self and personality to the world along with their own place on the timeline of history. They also take us into new and strong emotions with fears ... Views: 1562
Some children think they’re the center of the universe, and behave as if everyone should revolve around them like the planets orbit the sun. From the 10-year-old “diva” who demands center stage at all times to the 17-year-old who takes out his frustrations on his family when his girlfriend ... Views: 2395
As a social worker I spent 6 years assessing the mental health treatment needs of adults who get caught in the revolving door to a state criminal justice system in New England. In piecing together the histories of these clients I spoke with their parents when these opportunities arise. What ... Views: 2701
Biological Factors
ADHD – If you have a high-energy problem child, have him/her tested for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). If they have it, learn as much as you can about it and change the child's diet to exclude triggers like foods high in refined sugars (sucrose, dextrose), ... Views: 1727
Discipline
Tough love is the best way to handle disruptive and/or destructive behaviour and following through is the key to instilling the message. Know the difference between natural and logical consequence and teach your child in it.
A natural consequence is when a child is playing with ... Views: 5503
Teaching Skills
No matter the age, consistency is the key to teaching good habits and hygiene with the parent being the most influential example. You will find that children will mimic their parents in practically everything and will reflect a lot more back when they become a young adult. ... Views: 2129
Deadbeat Parents
This is someone who never grew up themselves and usually clings to their own parents too much or disassociates altogether. They are in fact mostly men, but women do it, too. On the other hand you can find a deadbeat parent right in the next room, leaving all of the child ... Views: 1931
Teach your child in the art of life and at the same time learn about who he/she is. Parenting begins the moment a child is born. Whether you are a little or a lot involved in raising the child, the guidelines are the same with consistency being the key to making it a part of the child's ... Views: 1691
This is a particularly difficult time for teens whose families have been hit hard by economic changes. Why especially hard for teens? This is a time when teens want to break away from their families and turn towards their peers. But if the family is in crisis, it becomes very hard to break away ... Views: 1108
Self Improvement Ideas for Parenting
Were you one of those people who had a surefire plan for raising well-mannered, respectful, intelligent, pleasant children? And are you now having the shock of your life as you realize that parenting is indeed the world’s most difficult job and that ... Views: 4021