Hey kid, There’s something I need you to know. I’m gonna miss this. As the sun set perfectly over the field last night, and the fans cheered, and I watched you do what you loved; my heart swelled. It didn’t matter who won or if it was your best game. I was just happy to be a small part of it. You may also like to read: It’s Hard to Imagine What Your Life Will Look Like After Youth Sports Ends I loved watching you do what you love. Sometimes, I complained about the early practices and the games I sat out in the smoldering sun and how every Mother’s Day was spent on a field. I don’t know why th ..read more

When I was 24 years old, I was staying at my boyfriend’s (and eventual husband’s) parent’s house. One day, his mom called down, “Kristen? Kristen?” Spoiler alert: my name is not Kristen. My husband, my father-in-law, and I stood paralyzed, staring at each other. Kristen was my husband’s ex-girlfriend’s name, and we were all dying a little from the awkwardness and unsure of what to do. My father-in-law finally lept into action, running up the stairs at breakneck speed to stop her from calling me the wrong name again. Later, my mother-in-law told me it was perimenopause. “There’s just something ..read more

This is a contributed post by Robert Schwartz, Founder/President, yourbestcollegeessay This summer and fall, rising high school seniors will be writing their college admissions essays. As an essay advisor who has worked with 1000+ applicants, I have witnessed a sea change in their approach to the personal statement and the impact it can have on getting accepted into elite schools. Today’s teens are getting vulnerable in college essays in ways that high school students weren’t willing or able to do before, and it’s working for them. In the wake of COVID, a teen mental health crisis, “standardi ..read more

This is a contributed piece by Valli Gideons, author of Through the Fog: Navigating life’s challenges while raising kids with hearing loss Parents of daughters who play basketball, we see the game differently. It is so much more than the L’s & W’s, points, rebounds, or assists. It is often the intangibles that make the game so sweet. My daughter picked up a basketball before she entered Kindergarten. We had a full-size goal in the front yard that her older brother received at Christmas, and she spent countless hours attempting to heave the ball into the net. Even when her tiny arms would ..read more

Unlike young children, teens question and challenge parents a lot. And they should. We want them to be independent decision-makers and learn to think for themselves. But sometimes they resist any restrictions put on them and flat-out ignore rules and boundaries. There are a lot of reasons they may do this, such as: exerting independence trying to find their own sense of self frustration with something else in their life desire for control see how far they can push. When you have a teen who is constantly pushing back, it can make it easy to fall into a pattern of constantly engaging in a bat ..read more

They say the best way to earn respect is to give respect, and that’s the case with teenagers as well. But respect does not mean we let our teens do whatever they want. In fact, it’s the opposite. Rules and boundaries are an essential part of any society, and an important part of any relationship. They provide guidance for acceptable behavior and teach us how to coexist with others. While children, and particularly teens, may fight the idea, they actually thrive in situations where the rules are clear. However, house rules for teens look different from those for young children. As they move cl ..read more

I noticed my daughter was acting odd the other day after school, but I didn’t think much of it as I watched her climb the stairs with her head hanging low. She is a teenager, and while she is typically pleasant, her moods will ebb and flow. At dinner, I noticed she was pushing her food around the plate. Usually a voracious eater, I was shocked when she didn’t ask for another biscuit. When we finally had a moment alone before she went to bed, I asked her what happened that day to make her so glum. She sighed and rolled her eyes upwards, but realized I wasn’t leaving her bed until she fessed up ..read more

My older sister was recently telling me a story about a couple that she has known for years and the events of their first year as grandparents. Their daughter and son-in-law, like so many new parents, had found themselves overwhelmed with the challenges that came with a new baby every single day. They had even temporarily moved in with with the grandparents for a little extra support and assistance. No one can anticipate how hard parenting is going to be. One evening, my sister was having dinner with all of them and the topic of parenting came up. The son in law said in a bit of exasperation ..read more

This is a contributed post by Kian Simpson of Cohort, a college admissions advising program. It’s no surprise that the college admissions process is broken. Every year, millions of high school seniors and their overworked parents pound at the gates of colleges across the nation in hopes of an acceptance letter from their dream school. The college application process has transformed from a tool that enables students to unlock their greatest potential into a barrier that fuels stress and anxiety. Improving the college admissions process is essential for all applicants, and there are three main ..read more

High school graduation is such a special time. It is both the end of an era for you and hopefully, the beginning of something wonderful for your child. There is something beautiful about watching your child fly the nest and create a new life for themselves. That means you want to commemorate this celebration with something special–but without breaking the bank! You want something personal to them. You want to convey your pride and love at their accomplishment. You want them not to roll their eyes… Picking out a high school graduation gift can be hard. It can be tough to get a big reaction fro ..read more