Teen energy, angst, and anger manifest itself in so many ways. Every day it seems that we read about some teen that has done something unusually self-destructive, and occasionally destructive to others. Columbine was an extreme example of this.  Many so-called “normal” teens tend to use or abuse the ol’ standbys of drinking, drugs, and [...]

My wife dragged me to her church for an all-day seminar called “Turbulence Ahead–Parenting Teens Through the Bumpy Years.”  I went along, in support of her and in support of her recent “turbulence” with our oldest son, who is 16½ and a handful.  But, my initial reaction was that this was a long time to [...]

There’s nothing new dealing with teens that think they know it all, but recently I’ve found that my 13-year-old is making me crazy with his attitude. I’ve got another teen at home – his 16-year-old brother, so I do have some experience living with a teen, but it doesn’t get any easier! David and I [...]

My son has his first girlfriend and I am pleased that he is now old and mature enough to enter the dating stage. I’m excited for him.  In a funny way, I’m re-living vicariously my long-forgotten feelings of first love and all the nervousness, anxiety, and “What am I going to do?” anxieties I felt [...]

I just returned from one of the best three-day trip of my parenting life. My son, Will, not yet 16, and two of his female friends and I drove to San Francisco to attend the Outside Lands Music Festival.  It’s an all-day late-into-the-night, music festival on the Polo Fields at Golden Gate Park.  There are [...]

When our kids are young they think we dads are gods (well, for the most part anyway). We’re smart, strong, handsome… it’s really nice, isn’t it? But, come the teen years, things can get complicated despite the best of intentions. The “because I’m your father, that’s why” argument no longer holds much water, and we [...]

We’re all familiar with that phase in many toddlers’ lives called the “Terrible Twos.” It’s when their lifelong struggle for independence begins. The word “No” becomes their personal creed and the most frequent word used by parent and child alike! var linkwithin_site_id = 39140; (function () { var elem = document.createElement(‘script’); elem.type = ‘text/javascript’; elem.src [...]