Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 356

How To Tell If Your Teen Is Under Too Much Pressure And What You Can Do

It’s no mystery today that our teens are under a different kind of pressure than we were ever exposed to.

Just take a look around during prom. Our kids aren’t just making a simple phone call like we did. Now when you ask someone to prom there is food and lots of money involved. You go over the top in ways we never dreamed of in the ’80s and ’90s.

Kids aren’t just expected to get a 4.0 grade point average because there is such thing as a 7.0 GPA now.

Throw in the smart phones where their soc...

The Best Parenting Decision I Ever Made Was During My Son’s Junior Year

The horror stories about junior year are urban lore. Cautionary tales spread far and wide about overburdened students pressured by parents to score high on college entrance exams and AP tests, while simultaneously compiling a long list of noteworthy extracurricular achievements.

I’m not objecting to parents pushing for excellence. I’ve seen it lead to success when it suited the child. But I’ve also seen it level kids and wreak havoc on their families. Excellence by definition is to be outstan...

This is What Happens When You Stop Fixing Things for Your Kids

“I’ve got this!” – how many times in our lives have we thought or said this out loud?

As moms, we’ve said and thought this countless times – we do what needs to be done. When we’re juggling 25 things at once we go into autopilot – You need 40 cupcakes made for school tomorrow? I’ve got this. You need a ride to practice, help with homework, and a costume for your presentation? I’ve got this.

Yes, we delegate and plan ahead but when push comes to shove…I’ve got this because most of us are “Fixe...

Mom, Can We Talk?

Every mom who has heard these four words knows what follows may be a serious and possibly difficult message from your child.

These words are meant to be a warning, a chance for you to brace yourself because something big is about to be said. So when my son walked into my bedroom, on a break from studying for finals his junior year, I knew he needed my full attention.

“Mom, there’s something I need to tell you. For the past year or so I’ve been depressed, seriously depressed. Recently, I’ve b...

Does it Matter to Your Teen How Kids Dress on Campus?

It seems silly, but you can probably tell a lot about the campus culture by what the students are wearing. I found myself noticing how students were dressed when my own daughters went on campus tours. Though they never mentioned making these types of observations, I wondered if, on some level, it influenced their decision as it had my own back in my day. Even though I am a college admissions consultant now, my alter-ego was Joan Rivers on Fashion Police.

When I applied to college I have a viv...

If We Don’t Say No To Screen Time For Ourselves, Our Teens Won’t Either

It starts before the sun has even broken on the horizon.

The sleep barely gone from my eyes, I reach for my phone to see what time it is, I tell myself,
even though I have a clock on my nightstand.

Emails. Texts. Facebook. Instagram.

It’s been a mere 8 hours since I last visited my inbox but it feels like a lifetime.

My coffee is barely poured and I’ve responded to six emails and liked several posts on
Facebook.

It’s only 5:30 am.

As parents, we need to limit our screen time, too.

I check th...

This is the Package I’ve Been Waiting to Open for 13 Years

Next to bittersweet in the dictionary – it should just say this: “Your child is moving on.”

When your child leaves home, the flood of emotions is overwhelming and complex. The intense mix of joy and grief is confusing and you have to feel your way through it. Let whatever you’re feeling be there. It’s laughing and crying, sorrow and celebration and the fact that it comes at the end of the whole application process (college or job) which in itself is a roller coaster ride means emotions are al...

One Dad Shares How To Visit Six California Colleges In A Week

Our girls had President’s Week off, so what better way to spend it than a relaxing visit to six California colleges? We were a bit skeptical to spend the time and money to visit multiple campuses; Ashley (a Junior) had already visited a few schools and knew which ones would be best for her planned major – Biology.

Why not wait to see where she is accepted and then check out options?

At a minimum, we would enjoy a nice week of quality family time in beautiful Southern California, including one...

This is What it’s Like to Be a Mom of a Teen When You Struggle With Anxiety

I have this thing I do which drives my teenagers crazy: I repeat myself, sometimes up to two or three times before they walk out the door in the morning. I am constantly double-checking things like dates and times trying to keep everything straight in my mind. I tell them the same thing over and over, I check to make sure they have everything before smothering them as they are trying to leave.

I know if something falls through the cracks or we forget something, it is not the end of the world....

Moms of Teenagers, Here is the Open Letter You’ve Been Starving For

Scroll through Facebook and you probably can’t go five minutes without reading a heartfelt shout out to tired and overwhelmed mothers of babies and toddlers.

They’re letters written by moms for moms, and typically start out with lines like, “I see you tired mama, as you sit exhausted in your rocker soothing your baby for the 100th time today. I see you tired mama, as you wrangle a cranky toddler to change their diaper, then wipe down another sticky counter, another sticky face,  and a sticky...