Here’s a no-brainer: moms wear a lot of hats. There’s one particular mom-hat that is absolutely crushing our skulls in these days of pandemic parenting. I like to call this hat the I validate your pain but also I promise that the world is not conspiring against you so listen to your trustworthy mom as I provide some encouragement…
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Homeschooling is becoming more widespread due to COVID-19. It’s a good alternative for elementary and middle school students if one parent can be home and take control of the homeschool curriculum. But, what if your child is in high school or college, doesn’t want to be doing school from home, and is feeling stressed at the thought of another…
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My dear son, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you are a freshman in high school. How on earth we got here so fast, I’ll never know. You’re still my boy, you’ll always be. But every time I look at you, it seems you’re transforming into this young man. It’s happening right before my eyes….
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Maybe it was when his voice began changing and getting deeper or the summer when he grew taller than me. Or perhaps it was the night when he closed the book and kindly broke the news that he no longer wanted to read The Hobbit with me beside his bed. Or could it have been when he began to…
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I’m so happy you’re here, I just want you to know that this post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click and purchase I will be compensated for being the helpful reason you found these amazing gifts! Going into this semester, things are already completely different. Your kids may be feeling discouraged and unmotivated with everything…
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I was not diagnosed officially with generalized anxiety disorder until my early 30s. Throughout my teens, I now realize how some of my behavior was directly related to feeling anxious, and working with teens has just reinforced what I discovered. Parents, here are 15 things your teen with anxiety wants you to know. Some things teens with anxiety do may…
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I suspect most parents of teens and tweens are contending with the “Zoom Gloom” of quarantine. We’ve developed a love/hate relationship with communicating via screens. Screens sap our energy and yet they allow us and our kids to access worlds beyond the insular place we occupy in the pandemic. My husband and I are parents to a 12-year-old girl and…
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It may seem that having a conversation with your daughter about just about anything these days is difficult! There are the eye rolls, the “yep, I know” comments and the “you just don’t get it” remarks that make it feel impossible to communicate. However, if you have a tween daughter you may have noticed that things are changing for…
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Dear kids, We all hoped things would be better by now. After surviving such a traumatic spring and agonizing summer that changed our lives drastically, we looked forward to the new school year with anxious anticipation. We thought Covid-19 would be under control and by the time school began, you’d be able to enter through the doors of the actual…
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On a balmy summer night recently, I looked over from my beach chair at the exact moment my son happened to look at me. His eyes met mine and he smiled. His reddened nose held the tell-tale signs of a day in the sun and his scruffy facial hair reminded me that he hasn’t shaved (or gone for a…
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The day I told my girls — ages 15 and 12 — that it was unlikely their beloved Bubbie would recover was just a regular school day. They came home, grabbed a snack, and were about to “chill” (a.k.a., watch Netflix or Disney Channel) before starting their homework. I had practiced it in my head a million times. I…
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Seventh Grade, man…*sigh* Where do I begin? I’m not too old to remember that middle school can be a really rough time in a kid’s life. So many things changing all at once: your body, your brain, your global perspective…your mounting stack of homework. Between innocence and maturity, there seems to be a minefield of awkwardness and social angst,…
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