Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 315

The 7 Ride Share Safety Tips Every Teen Needs to Know

Ride sharing can be an amazing tool for kids and their parents. It is a great way for teens to get from point A to point B when public transportation options are unavailable. For college students, it can remove any temptation to drive after drinking and it can allow them to have a good time with their friends without having to worry about designating a driver. The evening ends, the ride share service is called and everyone gets home safely.

And yet we worry: for good reason. We’ve just spent...

What Our Teenage Daughters Really Want To Say When We Ask Them How They Are

I ask my daughter how she’s doing every single morning when she wakes up. She always replies with “fine” or “good.”

I ask her how her day was when I pick her up from school. She gives me the same “fine” or “good” regardless of the kind of day she’s had– there’s no way anyone has a good day every day for years in a row, especially during the teen years.

I smile and try not to press her for more until she had a chance to wake up or has been home from school for a bit and is able to decompress w...

To The Woman Who Will Keep My Son’s Heart Someday

I may have met you already, perhaps not.

You are the one who will whisk him away, create a life with him, a family a home. You are the one that will find his lost wallet, hear his frustrations at the end of the day and his excitement in the morning. You will be the keeper of his heart and the love that he builds his life around. You are what I want for him … a partner, a best friend, a love, a co-parent.

Since the day I found out my son would come to be I have cringed–both inwardly and outwar...

Should Our Teens Be Allowed to Have Open Campus Lunch?

Recently, I was in a fast food restaurant near my son’s high school during the busy lunch hour rush. As I waited to place my order, I realized that the restaurant was crowded with high school students. For a brief moment, I wondered if school had been dismissed early and then I remembered: our high school gives eligible Juniors and Seniors off campus lunch privileges.

Students, through maintaining their GPAs, attendance and good standing are allowed to leave campus for one block during the da...

How to Be a Good Houseguest: 8 Rules for College Kids

The college years are often the first time a student travels alone and spends time at another family’s home. Fall break and Thanksgiving are frequently opportunities when college friends offer up their home for a visit by a fellow student who lives a far distance from their own family. This is the perfect opening for parents to help nurture their child to become a good houseguest, one who will leave their hosts smiling with affection upon departure and not sighing with relief that they have e...

Yes, I Am An Overprotective Mom And I Always Will Be

My daughter changed the password on her phone, again, which left me with no choice but to take it from her until she could let me in on the new code. My son tries to sneak his laptop in his room all the damn time. I poke around in their social media and have to make contact with a parent before I allow them to go over to a friend’s house.

This drives my kids crazy. At 13 and 15 it is very clear they think they are invincible, I know nothing, and they think my diligence about checking up on th...

Here Are The Reasons Why You Should Give Your Teen A Curfew

My son and his friends looked ridiculous as they posed for Homecoming pictures. Though they were all freshly shaven and wearing ties, they were also donning silly white “clout goggles.” Because my son isn’t old enough to drive yet, the boys had gathered at our home so that I could drive them to the dance.

As we were preparing to leave, some of the boys asked if they could all head to a local diner after the dance. My son looked at me and said, “Can I go?” and I said yes. And then I wondered i...

You’re No Better than Anyone Else and 17 Other Things to Know

Dear Daughter,

Tomorrow is your 18thbirthday and I’ve spent months fretting over the perfect gift for this occasion, something that would symbolize how much you mean to me and how proud I am of the woman you’ve become. It would need to be a gift that would adequately thank you for all you’ve given me (what a privilege it’s been to be your mom!) and also send you into the next phase of your life properly. But somehow, despite exhaustive searches, I have come up short.

So I have decided instead...

This Is How It Feels When Your First Kid Goes To College

It’s been a couple of weeks since my older son Jack headed off to school a plane ride away. And it’s been a couple of weeks of lovely, concerned people asking about how he likes it so far, and then leaning in and asking, “And how are you doing?”

I don’t quite know how to answer this. I usually say something about being just so busy with work and other things, and make a joke about being a master at denial, and that visiting weekend is mere weeks away. I certainly know that after flying home I...

Avoid These 12 Mistakes When Your Teen Is Home For Thanksgiving

It’s finally here. The long weekend you’ve had circled on your calendar and in your mind since summer. The three or four full days when your mama molecules will be at full charge once again from being in close proximity to their counterparts, which are contained in the body of your college student who has (selfishly) kept them from their natural bond for months.

The pantry is stocked with enough of their favorite foods to last for weeks; their bed is made with clean — possibly even new — shee...