The holidays are approaching quickly and some of my mom friends have started to panic about what are the best gifts for teenage girls this year. “Will she like this or is it totally uncool?” “What do you buy a kid who has everything?” “What are the hot gifts this year?” I consider myself lucky because my teenage daughter always provides me with a loooooonnnnngg list of things she would like. Of course, she doesn’t get everything on her wish list, but it gives me lots of options and makes shopping a breeze. If you are stuck and have no idea what are the best gifts for teenage girls this year, k ..read more

Is there a teenage boy or two on your holiday shopping list this year? If so, you are going to LOVE this list of the top fifteen gifts for teenage boys! I have two teenage sons and I polled them and some of their friends to see what are the coolest, most desirable gifts this year. If they still wrote letters to Santa, these items are what they would be begging the big guy to bring them. I kept the list short on purpose so no one would get overwhelmed with hundreds of choices. I know that when I have a ton of options, I find it hard to pick the right one. So while the list may be shorter than o ..read more

It was only a matter of time before I wrote an article about gifts for teenage gamers. Actually, I’m surprised it took me this long to do it. I’m a mom of three teenagers and both of my boys (and my husband) are hardcore gamers. They love to tell me about the latest game they are playing and give me their stats. I don’t really understand any of it, but I know that my boys are excited and passionate about gaming, so I try my best to follow along. This year, when I asked the kids to come up with holiday wish lists, the boys gave me link after link to games and equipment to support their hobby. I ..read more

The holidays will be here before you know it so it’s time to start thinking about gift shopping (if you aren’t already in the thick of it). I’ve heard people complain about shopping for teenagers, but honestly, they are not nearly as difficult to buy gifts for as you might imagine. My teens always provide me with long wish lists, but they tend to forget about stocking stuffers. And buying stocking stuffers for teens is one of my favorite parts of holiday shopping. Think about it; most stocking stuffers are low cost and you don’t even have to wrap them. You can throw little treats and surprises ..read more

Do you ever feel like there is just not enough time in the day to get everything done? Would 100 time-saving tips for moms change your life and help you be more efficient with your time and better able to enjoy each day? I know this is a bit of a departure from my normal topics (anything and everything about teenagers), but inspiration struck and I had to run with it. Recently, I was asked to be a speaker for The Graduate With Grace online summit. The summit was aimed at moms in college, but honestly, the information was SO GOOD and helpful for ALL moms, not just the ones currently in school ..read more

Thanksgiving is a day for family, food and fun. But Thanksgiving with teenagers has the potential to be absolutely fabulous or a total nightmare, depending on how you handle the holiday. Last Thanksgiving was not the greatest for our family. I had to beg my teens to put down their phones, leave their rooms and interact with the family. It was frustrating and quite frankly, embarrassing, for me. My kids were bored and unhappy. I was angry because I felt like I had to do all the work myself. To sum it up, our last Thanksgiving with teenagers was a mess. So this year, I decided to plan better and ..read more

Teaching teens to be thankful in today’s world is one of the most difficult jobs parents face. Our teenagers are living in a different society than the one we experienced during our teen years. The world today promotes instant gratification and vanity metrics. Plus, social media makes it seem like everyone is skinny, beautiful and rich. Our teens are bombarded with images and messages every day that make them feel like they can never have enough to measure up. And it’s difficult to be grateful for what you have when you feel like it is not enough or other people have so much more. One thing th ..read more

Talking to teens can be tough, especially about sensitive subjects. However, there are five conversations you absolutely need to have with your teen right now. Yes, it can be a little awkward or embarrassing to bring up these topics, but your teenager needs to hear the facts from an informed source (that would be you!). Plus, this is your chance to guide their decisions and remind your teen about your family’s morals and values. So while it might not be easy, make a plan to have these conversations with your teen as soon as you can. And if you need tips on getting them to open up to you, check ..read more

It’s that time of year again! The leaves are changing colors, there is a crispness in the air and parents everywhere are looking for fun, fall activities for teens. Teenagers can be notoriously difficult to entertain. Most of the ideas I suggest to my own teens are labeled as “too boring” or “for little kids.” I know I can’t be the only parent who struggles with coming up with things for their teens to do! So I enlisted my own kids and together we came up with 13, (mostly) teenager approved, Instagram picture-worthy, fall activities for teens. Pin this now! 4 Instagram worthy, fall activites f ..read more

When your kids are little, Halloween is simple. But when your kids get older, it can become a little more difficult to find fun Halloween activities for your teens to do. They are too cool to go trick or treating, but they still want to celebrate the holiday. And as a parent, you want to keep them safe and out of trouble. Believe me, I understand the struggle, so I decided to brainstorm 17 fun things for teens to do on Halloween. My own kids are looking forward to trying a couple of them this year and I’m relieved that they will have a fun and safe Halloween. Things to do on Halloween night on ..read more