Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 288

How to Help Your Teen Pick Classes for Next Year: Challenge, Don’t Overwhelm

When teens ask their parents to help them select classes, here’s how they can help.

“I’m so stressed out about what classes to take next year!” moaned my youngest daughter when she was a sophomore in high school.

“What do you mean? I thought we figured out your classes already.” I replied.

“Yeah, but I have to take at least 12 AP or Honors classes in high school and I don’t know which ones to take.”

“What do you mean? Why do you have to take 12?”

“Because that’s what Rebecca took.”

Rebecca i...

Moving Back in With Mom And Dad, The Transition of the Century

Living with your adult son-the transition

Five days after graduation, my oldest son pulled into our driveway. “Robbie’s home,” my youngest reported from the bottom of the stairwell. “Could you sound any less enthusiastic?” I shouted. But he’d vanished, most likely claiming his space on the couch before his brother reclaimed it. Kicking aside the shoes that were blocking the entrance to the front door, I walked tentatively to the window and opened the curtain.

Normally I’d have run out to gre...

How to Help Your Teen Get College Ready When Their Health is a Serious Concern

Here is what parents can do to help a teen who has a serious health condition (Shutterstock/ Andrei_R)

By the time my son Robby was accepted at Temple University, I’d already been through the college transition with his older sister three years earlier.  I knew how to fill out the forms and what dorm room supplies to buy, but this time was much different. During the previous two years Robby had begun living with an auto-immune blood disorder. 

His condition required medication, regular lab w...

The Importance Of Teaching Our Teens How to Give Constructive (and Private) Criticism

We need to teach our teens how to give constructive criticism.

I was enjoying some greasy fast food with my kids one Saturday afternoon after running errands. As we walked into the golden arches, I noticed a woman outside enjoying a cigarette. While we were waiting in line, with about 10 other people, we saw the woman rush back into the store to help the overworked staff.

A customer standing next to us started yelling at the employee who had begun filling brown paper bags with fries, burgers...

How (the Art of) Negotiation Saved My Daughter’s College Graduation

Here’s what to do when your grad does not want to attend their college graduation ceremony. (Shutterstock/legenda)

“Smile!” my wife said, snapping a photo of my daughter and me. Squinting in the afternoon sun, my daughter was dressed in her mortarboard and navy blue gown, long dirty blond hair gently blowing across her face. The click of the shutter marked the finale of a deep and lingering conversation.

Months earlier, my daughter announced she wasn’t attending her college graduation cerem...

The 11 Words That Changed My World and Made Me a Better Mom

These were the words I have looked at every day for the past 15 years.

Fifteen years ago, I cut out a quote from a parenting magazine. It’s purposely taped to the inside of my kitchen cabinet, so I see it every morning when I reach for the cereal. It reads, “Accept a child for who he is and watch him blossom.” I found it 15 years ago in a Christian parenting magazine and on the morning I found it, it was like receiving manna from heaven.

I had a 24/7 wild ride of a 3-year-old little boy at t...

If You’re Waiting On College Admission Decisions, Here’s What To Do In March

There’s an old saying that the month of March “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” We take this to mean that March generally starts out as a wintery month but that it ends with spring-like weather. At least that’s what you’re hoping for if you are gazing out your window at snow falling in mid-March.

And if your high school senior is still waiting to hear about college admissions, the saying should be amended to something like this: “March comes in like a lion and that lion lives...

Luke Perry, A Bad Boy For The Ages Gone Too Soon

Luke Perry at the Emmy Awards 1991 (photo by Alan Light)

He was James Dean incarnate trapped in a world of bad dialogue and thin plot lines. But who was listening anyway? When Dylan McKay cocked an imperfect eyebrow and tilted his head as he slyly smiled, words were superfluous. 

He was just hot. Period, the end.

Every Wednesday night for nearly a decade, my friends and I tuned into Beverly Hills 90210 to follow the ups and downs of fake high school students at fake West Beverly High. And dur...

We Sometimes Held Our Breath in Thinking About Our Son’s Future

Even during difficult times, I could see glimpses of my son’s future. (oatawa/Shutterstock)

My son turns 21 today. Twenty-one! Do you mind if I just take a second to process that? Now, I’ve been through the whole “my-child-is-turning-21” thing when my lovely daughter did so four years ago. But there is something about Eli turning 21 that hits me in my core so deeply that when I truly think about it I can’t breathe.

Since Eli is my youngest, I know his birthdays mark me in time. But that isn’t...

Public State Universities Are Also “DREAM SCHOOLS,” Here’s Why

Large public universities are dream schools for many. (Michael Gordon/Shutterstock)

It’s college acceptance season!

Right now congratulatory emails are flooding inboxes across the country and relieved high school seniors and proud, yet nervous parents are now facing the reality of a dream they’ve been working towards for years. But for thousands of seniors with hopes of gaining acceptance into their “dream” school, this time of year can also be a brutally cruel one, because among the acceptan...