For some parents the teen years loom as uncharted and scary territory. Clinical psychologist John Duffy, author of “The Available Parent: Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens,” thinks teenagers are funny, smart and thoughtful. “You should enjoy this time,” he says. “There’s something remarkable in every kid.” But he fears too many parents are […]
You just caught your teen drinking, smoking pot, having sex—you get the idea—you’re beyond upset and close to imploding. We’ve got some advice on what to do instead of just rant. Here are the 5 things to focus on. 1. Take a deep breath, counsels Suzanne Gazzolo, Ph.D., a psychologist with offices in Wilmette. […]
Every night my family goes through the same ritual: food is prepared, the table is set and we all sit down to dinner together. I look forward to this time each day when we are able to share the day’s events and to enjoy each other’s company. Family meals are about more than nutrition. […]
When kids reach their teens, making and enforcing rules becomes more difficult for parents. Techniques that worked for years—like timeouts, banning video games, or yelling “because I said so!” —are as irrelevant as training wheels and Teletubbies. Teens have complicated issues. They’re trying to figure out who they are while preparing for life on […]
