Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 334

What’s Even More Painful than Saying Goodbye to My College Daughter

A recent essay on Grown and Flown poignantly described how parenting late teen or early twenty-something children can feel like endless goodbyes – to college, or studies abroad or new jobs in far flung cities.  And while saying goodbye to our children over and over again doesn’t ever become easier, it does become familiar — another ritual to put in our parenting bag of tricks.   But the goodbye cycle isn’t just about us saying goodbye to our kids.  It’s watching them go through a period that...

How Not to Treat Your Oldest Child Now That They are a Teen

The other day I was explaining to my oldest that he needed to watch out for his sister when she joined him in high school. He reminded me he never asked to be the oldest child.

While I know he loves his sister, and would help her out of she was in trouble, the term “looking out for her” translated to him as being responsible for her. And at 15, it feels like too much pressure to him.

There have also been times he observed that his younger brother or sister were able to do, or have, things he...

Grown and Flown Style: Best Advice from Mom, the Original Fashionista

My mother was a “fashionista” before that was even a word. She loved shopping and she loved getting dressed up. My dad was also quite a fashion maverick, he was a very snazzy dresser and always told us that everything needed to have a perfect fit. As you can imagine, with parents like these, we spent a lot of time with Theresa the seamstress.

When I was 13 and having my Bat-Mitzvah, we went to a “special seamstress” to make my outfit. (Really, Mom? Neiman Marcus is across the street). This w...

Four Things Not To Say When You Don’t Like Your Teen’s Friends

During my son’s years as an elementary school student, and for most of middle school, I liked his friends, a lot.

He surrounded himself with sweet, curious, thoughtful kids who made good choices. Of course, they weren’t perfect and would get carried away as kids do when they are together, but there was never anyone who stood out to be as a bad influence, made my son feel poorly about himself, or was hurtful to the other children.

Then, he entered 8th grade and started hanging out with an enti...

Teens Want to Decrease Their Smartphone Use. Six Ways Parents Can Help

Parents of teens don’t need to read the current research findings to know that many adolescents are online constantly – we just need to glance into their messy bedrooms, or see them walking in the door, or ignoring our repeated questions – heads down and engrossed trance-like in their smartphones that seem surgically attached to the palms of their hands.

What is surprising however, is that according to the Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey (based on research conducted from 2016 to 201...

Ten Ways To Get Your Teen Up And Moving (With You) This Summer

When I was a kid, my summers were spent doing retro things like hanging out at the roller-skating rink, producing and starring in elaborate front porch musicals, and solving the world’s problems – or at least the middle school ones – on walks to the corner convenience store with my friends to load up on Laffy Taffy and Mr. Pibb.

Did I also stare at screens for hours on end like I may or may not complain my kids do today? As much as I’d like to think otherwise, yes. Sure, my screens may have b...

You Thought Having Sex With Toddlers Around Was Hard? Try Living With Teens

When you tell people you are about to become a parent for the first time, the jokes about never sleeping again are almost immediate. And, once your friends have sufficiently warned you that you’ll be exhausted for eighteen years, the jokes switch to your sex life.

Or lack thereof, that is.

“Playdates with other people’s kids are the best birth control ever!” one friend chirped at me over coffee. I was warned that leaky mom boobs and toddlers with nightmares for three straight years would put...

Here are 11 Favorite Products for Moms of Teens

Just because your kids are getting older doesn’t mean you aren’t in the thick of parenting. You stress, you worry, you see your grays multiplying and your under-eye area can house more bags than your closet.

We feel ya, and we’ve got you covered. You deserve to feel fresh and rejuvenated and we all know you can’t get there without the help of some fun products. And we aren’t just talking eye brightness and concealers (although let’s talk about those, because, teenagers).

Here are my 11 favori...

Test Prep Expert Offers Help For Teens With Test Anxiety

For many students, the process of completing a standardized test is stressful. Fear of failure and the fear of being left behind can make a student feel test anxiety on exams like the ACT and SAT. Even for students with high GPAs and other successful endeavors inside and outside of the classroom, their scores on standardized tests might not reflect their high level of achievement because of test anxiety.

Jed Applerouth, a nationally certified counselor with a PhD in Educational Psychology and...

Depression in Teens: G&F Writer and Son Featured on CBS This Morning

When he was a junior in high school, Tracy Hargen’s son came to her and told her he’d been suffering with depression since he was about ten years old. Hargen says she had no idea and truly didn’t see it coming. So, when he said, “Mom, can we talk?” she stopped what she was doing and immediately listened to her son. She wrote about her journey in a gut wrenching viral post for Grown and Flown.

Her son, William, is now openly talking about depression and Hargen’s goal is to spark similar conver...