How to Survive Your Daughter's Teen Years

The surging hormones and emotional changes that frame our daughters' adolescence can feel like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes the "terrible teens" can dim the glow of the most confident moms. Dr. Roni Cohen-Sandler, co-author of I'm Not Mad, I Just Hate You!: A New Understanding of Mother-Daughter Conflict, offers her advice for bridging the mother-daughter divide during your daughter's teen years.

Boys and Online Porn: What's A Mom To Do?

If talking to your child about the "birds and the bees" seems hard, try bringing up the subject of online pornography with your adolescent son. Chances are good that you'll find yourself conducting an embarrassing, one-way conversation, but it's one that could save your family both frustration and money.

One of the biggest challenges busy families face is finding quality time to connect with one another. With work, school, extracurriculars, screen time, friends, and more all competing for time, parents can be left feeling unconnected as their kids quickly grow into themselves. Many parents worry their kids are growing too quickly and that they're not creating lifelong memories.

Getting Teenagers to Eat Right

They Are What They Eat...

The talk of the town...well, of parents of high schoolers...is the recent college admissions scandal that actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were involved in; in which a slew of parents secretly bribed competitive schools—like the University of Southern California—to accept their children. Sure, you can argue bribery has been going on for decades, and is nothing new in the world of higher education. However, bribing college coaches and administrators to accept your child to a certain school is (very) illegal.

There is one struggle that seems to cross the boundaries of all forms of motherhood. Whether mothering a baby or a teen, and whether staying at home or working outside the home full time, the consistent challenge for all moms is time. There never seems to be enough of it. 

Mental health has come to the forefront of our culture, and that’s a good thing. More and more people, celebrities, athletes, and politicians are speaking out about their personal struggles with mental health, thus shining a light on anxiety disorders and depression.

More: Talking to Children about Their School Anxiety

Our world changed drastically, seemingly overnight. As the coronavirus emptied our streets, closed our businesses, threatened our lives, and isolated us in our homes, we have experienced profound losses. In response, our grief is deep, complicated and many layered—it is normal, natural and necessary to grieve.

More: 5 Tips for Parenting Anxious Kids During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The time is approaching to send your teen off to her first year of college. How did this time possibly arrive so fast? Don’t you remember getting dropped off at college yourself like it was yesterday? Though your head and heart may be spinning with questions and emotions, this summer is essentially a milestone moment for your family. Thinking through how you would like to ensure that you get in some bonding time with your teen in advance is important so you can both make the most of this special summer.

Teens can at times be just as difficult to parent as toddlers. These hilarious GIFs perfectly sum up what it’s like to be a parent to a teen on a daily basis.

More: A Parent's Guide To VSCO

When they ask for money to go to the mall

You never think it can happen to your child. You hear the horror stories, see the Law & Order episodes about it, and simply shudder at the thought...your child, your baby, sexting someone—be it another teenager, an adult ‘mentor’...or a total stranger.

More: Strength-Based Parenting: Is It The Right Approach For Your Family?

Applying to College

Help your teen whip those college applications into shape. Get tips on writing a great essay, interviewing at colleges, asking for recommendations, and much more.

1. Find out how to avoid seven deadly application mistakes.

2. These tips will help your kids write a winning college essay.

Sadie was tormented on Facebook and Instagram. Classmates would tell the 15-year-old to kill herself. Eventually, she did. 

Preparing to Visit Colleges

1. Visiting colleges soon? Take these questions with you.

2. Get a jump start on the best ways to test-drive a college.

Applying to college is stressful enough—all those essays, SAT and ACT scores, and non-stop chatter in school about who’s going where...it can be overwhelming for teens and parents alike. Thankfully, (and take it from my parents who put four kids through four different colleges and tackled various loans and grant paperwork en route!) you can safely make it through the daunting application and decision process. It just takes organization, patience, and logic.