Vanessa Van Petten is a wonderful bridge between teens and their parents. The 20-something author of You’re Grounded!: How to Stop Fighting and Make the Teenage Years Easier (which is on my nightstand at the moment) has a terrific blog, Teens Today With Vanessa Van Petten, where she talks about parent-teen communication, drug use, sex,…
10 Ways to Prevent Summer Brain Drain
Kids vegging out in front of the tube too much this summer? Head on over to Montana Parent’s terrific website and check out my new article, “10 Ways to Prevent Brain Drain,” for expert tips on keeping your kids’ brains engaged during these lazy days. (They’ll have so much fun, they won’t even realize their…
Mommy, Where Did I Come From?
Thirteen years ago, when I found out I was pregnant with my first child, my thoughts hopscotched from thankfulness to relief to my friends’ less-than-comforting episiotomy tales — finally resting, one night at 2 a.m., on the prospect of a little boy coming home from school with a superhero lunch box and a question: “Where…
Innocence Lost
“Don’t say anything.” My husband placed his hand on my arm as the trio sat down right in front of us in the movie theater at our local mall: a couple and a little girl, about 6, who seemed focused on her popcorn. But the R-rated movie we were watching soon grabbed her full attention….
Are You Taking The Bait?
Today we’re featuring a terrific guest post from family therapist Corey Allan, Ph.D. who blogs over at The Simple Marriage Project. Corey and his wife, who celebrated their 15th anniversary this month, have a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son. (And a cool dog named Otis — see below.) Thanks for sharing this with us,…