Parents always hope for the best when bringing a child into the world. When my son was born and I held him for the first time, I could not stop the tears. I wanted my him to be happy and knew that I would do whatever I could for my child and that I would do anything to help him achieve and reach his lifes goals.
The first step in this quest is teaching our kids about responsibility. This starts the moment the child is able to understand and do simple things to the time they reache the teenage years.
Here are some things that will help teach the teens about responsibility.
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by Stacey Schifferdecker
Should Your Teen Get A Job? I was surprised to recently learn that when my oldest son turns 14 in a few months, he can legally get a job. I always thought you had to be 16 to get a job, but 14- and 15-year-olds can work as long as they work no more than three hours a day and 18 hours a week during the school year. They also can’t work past 7:00 p.m. during the school year.
I don’t think Kegan is going to run out and start looking for a job when he turns 14, but it did start me thinking. In a couple years, he may want to get a job – should I let him? And if he doesn’t want one, should I make him get one anyway (if only to help pay for the increased car insurance costs when he turns 16)?
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Should teenagers have credit cards? This is a question that every parent is facing these days and there is more pressure on this issue than ever.
As in any debate or issue, there are two very relevant sides to the issue and both sides have some exceedingly valid arguments.
On the one hand, kids having credit cards should teach them how to budget money and make sound financial decisions about money. They learn that if they want something and are responsible enough to work to have it, they can get it now and pay for it later. The down side of this is that peer pressure these days is at an all time high for teens and if they are just hanging out at the mall with all their friends and everyone has one thing and he does not, the credit card allows him to bend to that pressure and go pick up that $300 coat or $150 pair of jeans that everyone else is wearing and he has to have to fit in and be cool.
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Your teen does not have to be a teen fashion model to look and feel great. All parents of teenagers know how important fashion is to them. Each teen has his or her own individual style. Some love to follow the latest trends, while others have a fashion sense all their own. Here are a few of the hottest fashion trends for teens this spring:
Floral Prints
The femininity of floral prints is often seen in the spring. Large and mid-sized floral prints are all the rage for both teens and adults this season. Dresses are the most obvious place for them, but they can also be found on shirts, jackets, pants, and handbags.
Floral prints also provide a great way to introduce color without wearing it from head to toe. White or neutral backgrounds are unobtrusive, yet when you add some brightly colored flowers to them, it really makes them pop.
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by Stacey Schifferdecker
I was surprised to recently learn that when my oldest son turns 14 in a few months, he can legally get a job. I always thought you had to be 16 to get a job, but 14- and 15-year-olds can work as long as they work no more than three hours a day and 18 hours a week during the school year. They also can’t work past 7:00 p.m. during the school year.
I don’t think Kegan is going to run out and start looking for a job when he turns 14, but it did start me thinking. In a couple years, he may want to get a job – should I let him? And if he doesn’t want one, should I make him get one anyway (if only to help pay for the increased car insurance costs when he turns 16)?
The Pros and Cons of Teen Jobs
There are arguments both for and against a teenager getting a job, especially during the school year.
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Search Tags: job interviews parenting pros and cons of teen jobs teen jobs teen responsibility teenagers work and school
Solving the Great Teen Mystery
by Stephanie Partridge
To many parents (and people - teachers, doctors, etc) teenagers are creatures to be regarded with some degree of caution. The horror stories of teens who dress all in black, paint their fingernails black and walk around with a sullen look on their faces is enough to send even the toughest parent scrambling for cover. We hear stories of teenagers who come home from school or work, head straight to their room where they turn up some awful racket that they call music and disconnect from the rest of the family. This does not have to happen; you can have a good relationship with your teen, even a fun one. If you have not done things to cultivate that relationship when they were younger, don’t worry. It is never too late to develop a relationship with you child.
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By Julie Baumgardner
A young mom was talking with her 8-year-old daughter about her day at school when the daughter revealed she had a boyfriend. Mom, in her infinite wisdom said, “You are really too young to have a boyfriend. You should have lots of boys as friends at your age.” The little girl sighed and said, “I know, but when I am 14, I will be old enough to date.” Somewhat surprised by the comment, the mother asked her daughter what you do on a date. With no hesitation, the daughter said, “You have sex.” With all kinds of thoughts reeling through her head, the mother asked, “Where did you hear that?” The little girl told her mother she had heard it at school from her friends who heard it from their older siblings.
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You have probably seen teenagers on television or on the street dressed all in black, sporting green hair with perhaps a facial piercing or two and said to yourself, "not MY kid!" only to go home and see that your own teen is sporting a Mohawk. Don’t worry, it happen to the best of us. While not all kids experiment with their appearance to an extreme, some do. It has nothing to do with the way they were raised and is certainly not an indication, in and of itself, of drugs, alcohol or the "wrong crowd." Kids go through stages where they search for their own individuality. They may begin to act differently, dress differently and wear their hair differently.
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How to Talk to your Teenager
Teens are complex creatures with a lot different things going on inside them. While you feel that, as an adult, you carry all of the stress, you can be assured that teens face a good deal of stress as well. Kids aren’t the way that they were when we parents were their age. Times have changed and the kids of today face a lot more pressures and a lot more scary things than their parents did. With that being said, it is easy for a teen to stray from what he or she has been taught and fall in with the wrong crowd or go down the wrong path. However, knowing how to talk to your teen can make all the difference. These five tips will help you open the lines of communication with your teen and keep them on the right path.
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Ah, to be a teen again. I have often thought that myself. We sometimes forgot all the changes we went through and how tough it can be for a teener in todays world. The teenager years are perhaps the most difficult years that a person will go through in life. This is the time when
confusion seems part of life and problems with identity seem never-ending.
Because of the many changes that the average teenagers undergo at this period, adolescence can be pretty overwhelming. Some are able to cope while others flounder with their steps, stumbling over hindrances that in some standards are just small. But for teenagers, these stumbling blocks represent the very core of their beings and identities as persons.
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Creating a meaningful close and relationship with your teenagers begins from the moment they are born. However you can’t turn back the clock and if you are having a difficult time with your teen, it is still possible to build a closer relationship. If you have other younger children, take this time to evaluate how your relationship with them is developing. Is is important to realize that the foundations you lay out now, will carry you into the difficult teen years. Make sure you spend time together, talk and answer all your youngsters’ questions. Kids are so inquisitive and will ask just about anything. Don’t shy away from the tough answers or you will slowly close the door on communication. Of course, you’ll be answering in an age-appropriate manner, but don’t brush off the hard questions. You want your children to come to you when they need answers and support.
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Is Your Daughter a Queen Bee?
By Julie Baumgardner
One day, out of the blue, a teenager decides she no longer wants a particular girl in “her” group of friends. The young lady arrives at school and is informed that she is no longer a part of “the group.” They make fun of her “big butt” telling her, “a small television could sit on top of that thing.” The young lady is hurt, embarrassed and confused. She never tells her parents what happened and makes excuses for why she doesn’t get asked to sleepovers or on outings with these girls anymore. It is a time she will never forget.
So goes the life of an adolescent girl. Few parents escape experiencing the pain and anxiety situations like this one create. Parenting your teenager can definitely keep you on your toes. Many parents testify to the fact that something happens to girls around eleven years of age. Things that neither the parent nor the child fully understand. Some parents believe aliens invade their daughter’s body! When it comes to dealing with the craziness of their relationships, it is hard to know the right thing to do. You want to protect your child from the hurt, yet you know this is a rite of passage as girls move into adolescence on their way to young adulthood.
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Oh, to be a teenager again. I remember my teenage years very fondly compared to the stresses of being a parent and head of the household. As adults and parents many of us are faced with unending bills and various responsibilities that can sometimes get the best of all of us. As adults we have to deal with more complex issues and responsibilities that may have surpassed our wildest dreams and expectations. Clearly, when we were younger, we never fully understood the complexities of being an adult until you became one. Naturally, your teenage child may not be able to fully comprehend this truth. However, that does not mean the situations they have to deal with is any less important to them and understanding this helps us better communicate with our teens.
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Although there are people who seem to be blessed with an abundance of self-esteem, they don’t have that level of self-esteem right from the start. Unlike other human traits that are already there the moment we are born, there are some that one needs to develop over time. Self-esteem is one of those traits.
Self-esteem is that part of oneself that allows people to function with confidence. It refers to a person’s ability to trust in themselves and to accept who they are flaws and all. Self-esteem is actually fostered from childhood. A big role is played by the parents in making sure that their children develop their self-esteem fully. The way they give attention to their kids and the way they praise them (or criticize them!) will factor greatly in the way they develop their children’s self-esteem.
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It can be a bit scary and overwelming when your realize your teen is start to grow up and become independent. While your first urge may be to lock them in the basement until they’re 18, that probably won’t work out well. Since we can’t keep our children by our side all the time, it’s important to take steps to keep them safe when we’re not around. So what should we do?
Communication is key and starting to talk to your teens early can help. Teach them what kind of behavior you expect from them and what you won’t tolerate. Also teach them how to say no when they don’t want to do something, and how to get out of various bad situations. You may even want to go as far as role playing with your child.
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Search Tags: communicating with teenagers keeping teens safe parenting setting boundaries setting limits teenage independence teenagers