Teen Talk To err is human Alexander Pope The stress of life has been heavy for me these last couple of weeks. Nothing noteworthy, just a lot of un-noteworthy things. Have you ever noticed bad things come in threes? I have no scientific proof of this, just life experience. Last Tuesday was a perfect example of this; I went to the wrong place for my long-awaited appointment and therefore was just late enough that we had to re-schedule. I found
Newborns aren’t identifying themselves by their political affiliations, gender roles, religion or culture. They are just existing. That changes dramatically during the teenage years. Adolescence usually brings with it the exciting realization that maybe, just maybe…they can be anything they want to be. This curiosity usually promotes a massive craving for autonomy and space to figure it all out. The challenge comes when our teens’ desire for autonomy clashes with our craving for control. You may be saying, “But I
Teenagers, by definition, are not adults. They don’t think things through and they make questionable decisions. Think back to when you were a teen. Did you ever do anything half thought out, plain dangerous, or just wrong? My guess is, you did. When your teen messes up, it’s a possibility that your teen may compound this error with another and lie to you about it. Teens usually lie for two reasons. Self-preservation: teens are motivated by freedom. They may hide
When we have toddlers we usually know why they’re upset. They want something they can’t have, they want to do something they can’t do. Maybe they fell and got an owie. Their reasons for being upset are usually pretty obvious. The reason behind a teen’s sour mood, however, is at times a little more elusive. Maybe they aren’t willing to talk about it yet. Maybe their “owie” is on the inside. When we push them for an explanation by saying
