Six Conversations to Have with Your Teen about Sexuality

What is your teen daughter’s view of romance?

Last week my friend’s daughter said, “When I get married, if my fiancé doesn’t cry when I start walking down the aisle, I’m going to turn around and…


Four ways to care for your teens’ mental health during the holidays

Four ways to care for your teens’ mental health during the holidays

Christmastime. It’s the most wonderful time of the year—unless it’s not. Then the holidays can be really hard. Whether it’s missing a loved one, the…


Creating a haven at home for teens in a noisy world

Creating a haven at home for teens in a noisy world

I set down four alarm clocks next to the cash register. The young cashier squinted at my purchases, as if to say, “You know nobody uses these…


Responding to teen parenting challenges with courage and grace

Responding to teen parenting challenges with courage and grace

As a pediatric nurse practitioner, I often meet families behind closed doors at a point of crisis they never saw coming. No parent walks into my…


Helping your teen identify their feelings

Helping your teen identify their feelings

Cotton Candy is what I call her. She is full of sweetness, marvel, and loves big crowds. Her role, she feels, is to bring joy to all who are in her…


Six things not to say to someone struggling with suicidal thoughts

Six things not to say to someone struggling with suicidal thoughts

I was flying home on a small commuter jet with two seats on either side of the aisle. I was by the window. A mother sat next to me and her two sons…


What parents should know about senior year

What parents should know about senior year

“This is the beginning of the end.”  I remember thinking this thought the entire summer before my senior year. I was terrified and did not feel ready…


5 things to tell your kids going back to school

5 things to tell your kids going back to school

As adults, we largely get to choose our environments. We can spend our time with people we like, people who help us thrive. Our children, on the…


3 promises for your college bound child

3 promises for your college bound child

It’s that time of the year when parents whose kids are college bound are busy preparing them for dorm or apartment life.  It’s a never ending list of…