Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 303

It’s Time To Nix This Hurtful Phrase When We Refer To Our Teens

According to practically everyone, vaping/e-smoking/Juuling is the newest teen fad, the latest college craze, the thing unsuspecting parents need to be watching out for. The FDA has called teen vaping an “epidemic.” Reading people’s comments about the topic, I’ve been thrown by how truly ubiquitous this habit appears to be.

“My teen says everyone at school Juuls,” writes one parent.

“They’re all doing it,” says another. “They’re even doing it in class when the teacher turns around. It’s every...

“Sleep Texting” Among College Students Is Negatively Impacting Sleep

As a person whose teenage years spanned the mid-‘90s, I can remember occasionally nodding off with my coiled-cord phone cradled between my ear and shoulder after hours of conversation with a friend or crush. I’d wake up horrified, the dial tone screaming in my ear. What happened? What did I say? The next day, my friend would regale me with a hilarious story about how I’d trailed off mid-sentence with some nonsensical garble and began snoring into the phone. We had a good laugh, but no harm no...

College Kids Come Home But It’s Never Quite The Same

Not long after moving my daughter into her dorm, I began closing the door to her bedroom. It seemed practical, a smarter way to manage the summer heat and our dogs who would linger and explore unsupervised. Soon I accepted it was just easier this way. Easier to move down the hallway without seeing the bare room she left behind and feeling that slight pain in my chest. That feeling mothers feel, when someone is not where they are supposed to be, where they have always been.

My daughter had pac...

My Husband and I Disagree About Our Teens And Underage Drinking

When I was fourteen, I attended a cast party after a high school theater production. When I walked into the house in my white Keds (with friendship pins) and my jeans rolled just so, the parents of the hostess directed me to the back patio where the party was being held under the starry spring sky. I was excited to hang with the theater cast and, as I scanned the crowd for my friends, I realized something was very wrong.

Several of the older kids were blowing clouds of smoke into the warm air...

My Son Belongs To The Army Now

I became newly independent this past Independence Day, but I didn’t celebrate. On July 1st, my husband Bob and I joined the ranks of empty-nesters when we dropped our son Luke off at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His departure was early (6:00 a.m.) and abrupt (60 seconds to say ‘goodbye’), and the separation feels permanent. Luke is no longer ours, I’ve been told by those in the know. “He belongs to the army.” Ouch.

We are not a military family. Luke’s decision to pursue this path...

5 Tips For When Your College Freshman Gets Bad Grades

Today I received the email confirming the final grades for the three classes I instructed this semester were posted for students to view.

And now I wait. I wait for the emails asking (or begging) if there is anything I can do to help them get to a better grade:  a C to a B, a B+ to an A-, or sometimes even an A to an A+ (it takes all of my willpower to not hit reply to tell that student to please go have some fun).

For every request, I review the student’s grades to ensure I did not miss anyt...

Instead of Asking About Grades, Ask Your Kid if They Did More of This…

Today in a “college freshman parents” Facebook group, a little discontent broke out. It occurred after a very proud parent posted a picture of her son’s fall grades. She was beaming through the keyboard I am sure, sharing the good news of a 4.0 during “his first time away from home!”

I think it’s great that her son kicked academic butt this fall. And if you’re the type to share those kinds of personal achievements in a social media parent’s group, hey, that is great!

We should ask our kids if...

“Adulting Classes” Are A Thing And Parents Need To Be On Board

Recently, I read an article about a high school in Kentucky that hosted an “Adulting Day.” According to TV station Wave 3 News, the students of Bullitt High School in Shepherdsville, KY had the opportunity to skip their core classes in favor of learning basic life skills in preparation for independent living in college and beyond.

As one would expect, the word “adulting” in the title of the article set naysayers off immediately.

In one Facebook post, commenters mused why parents weren’t teach...

You Thought The Transition Would Be Smooth, But There Are Wrinkles

I thought it would be smooth, but there are wrinkles. And if I don’t tell you about them, then you will be alone somewhere wondering if you are the only one. You aren’t. This middle period is new. You’ve been part of a tribe for so many years. And now, as they move on to college, it feels like the sweetest bit of life passed by in the blink of an eye. But it didn’t. These were real years. Real memories. You just never had time to stop and think about it all.

Now, when you sit down with a glas...

How I’m Learning To Slowly Let Go Of My College Senior

Dropping my son off at college sucked, despite my preparation for this moment since he was 2 years old and starting preschool. My son refused to enter the classroom and was physically removed from me as we both cried. He encored this performance every year through kindergarten, when he refused to get on the school bus and I chased him up and down the muddy front yard in my heels and suit, as an entire busload of kids pressed their noses against the windows, staring in disbelief. Smaller and f...