Prom season is a very high anxiety time for many teens. In Florida, proms are already in full swing. In New York, where I grew up, they were in June, right at the end of the school year. Prom season for me was mixed. When I was in 10th grade, a senior from the “other” high school in my town asked me to prom. I thought he was the greatest and was thrilled to be his date. However, when he saw my dress, he clearly indicated that it was not what he had in mind – and the evening followed...

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Consider the following story as it relates to this topic. At around age 8, I noticed my son Dylan keeping to himself and interacting less with school peers (according to his teacher) than what was normal. My husband and I figured it was just a phase he was going through, but it lasted for almost two years. For his 10th birthday, we decided to adopt a German Shepard puppy. In the weeks following, Dylan had a complete transformation. He’s now much more open about his feelings and opinions, is more sociable and much more affectionate with us and his younger brother....

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Last week was the first time in months that my friend Kate and I went out for dinner. In between laughs, we began discussing my son Steven and his friends, who are almost always at our house. I mentioned that, over the last few weeks, I’d heard them talking about “victories”, laughing about “Tomato Town” and constantly saying, “Where are we dropping, boys?” around the house. Kate’s son is also making these funny references and told me that it’s from a new video game called Fortnite. Kate says it looks innocent enough, but I still think I should get a...

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My husband and I had to drive out to Chris’ school last week because, according to his teachers, he’d gotten himself into a bit of trouble. When we arrived, his teacher and principal were explaining to us that he was initially being written up for speaking out of turn, leaving his desk without permission and talking during quiz time. Honestly, these seemed like things that kids just do. Then, according to the teachers, they began handing Chris detention after detention as he got increasingly frustrated. I have a feeling his “acting out”, as they called it, has less to do...

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Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic.  Last week, I found out that my best friend is expecting a baby, so a bunch of us went out to celebrate during the weekend. While chatting, I was asked how I plan to raise my own baby daughter. I kind of brushed off the question at first, but truth be told, I hope I’m able to raise her the way I was raised. I mean, you rarely see kids outside playing anymore. They spend their days at school, doing homework and in front of a screen, and they rarely...

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Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. My oldest son Benjamin is a very smart kid, but I’ve noticed for a while now that he’s been all over the place with his school grades. During one marking period, he’ll bring in mostly A’s, and in the next it’ll have some C’s and even a D. I know that he’s a teen and that life is starting to change for him. My husband and I don’t want to be too hard on him when he brings home a bad grade, but quite frankly, I’m freaking out! If anything,...

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