Suicide is a difficult topic. It’s hard to know what to say to reduce risk. And when we consider teens especially, it gets a little terrifying. None of us ants to mourn a young person. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce suicide risk in teens and peers. Let’s take a look at this serious topic. Suicide Rates are Rising in Young People - Every year, people between the ages of 10 and 14 take their own...
There’s an intense debate swirling around us as to the state of teenage-dom in today’s world. Is bullying an old thing that’s getting new attention? Or is it quantitatively or qualitatively worse? Are kids less resilient than ever before, or are the pressures just that much greater? Are they meaner to one another? Or is cruelty just more visible than it was before? - There could be some truth to all...
We have all seen teens who are so disrespectful to their parents it makes our jaws drop. Maybe you’ve been one of those parents. Maybe your teenager has learned that he can verbally harass or physically intimidate you into relinquishing the car keys, abandoning his curfew, or looking the other way when his friends sneak alcohol into the house. Or maybe he has simply worn you out, so that when he says...
We use “typical teen behavior” to refer to a broad range of things our teens do, much of it unbecoming. Whenever they appear - moody - , or - stop talking to us - , or resist our reminders about everything from deadlines to hygiene, our go-to explanation is that "they’re just being typical teens." - But are they? Or have we just become so accustomed to thinking about adolescents as defiant and non-communicative...
Olivia calls her dad a s**t-head every chance she gets, but what she really wants to say to him is this: “Every time you talk to me you’re trying to make some point and it gets old. Plus, you think you’re being funny but it hurts my feelings and that’s why I don’t talk to you, not because I’m a “mopey teenager.” - Let’s unpack this conflict, and see how a father and daughter who are genuinely trying...