Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 380

Freshman Year Nightmare: I Got So Drunk I Ended Up In the ER

It would be safe to say, after a fall freshman semester full of freedom and fun, I was bored out of my mind at home over Christmas break. My high school group of friends all felt the same pain, so we decided we should do something fun together.

We planned a day of hanging out, which would be capped off by a concert that night. The days leading up to it, I became increasingly excited as we talked about logistics and timing. Of course, a lot of the conversation revolved around alcohol. Pregami...

To My Daughter: Don’t Apologize For Being Who You Are

On September 22, Toni Hammer’s daughter Lily got off the school bus and burst into tears. She told her mom that when she went to sit with her friends on the bus, “they said they didn’t want her to sit with them.” Lily quickly recovered, but the incident left her mom thinking and the next morning Toni penned a letter to her daughter which she posted on Facebook. She wrote:

To my daughter, Don’t apologize when someone else bumps into you.

Don’t say “sorry to be such a pain.” You’re not a pain....

My Teen Has a Learning Disability, Should He Go to College?

As the parent of a child with a learning disability (LD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you may have had sleepless nights worrying about his or her difficulties and you’ve probably spent a lot of time getting him or her evaluated and seeking the proper instruction and supports. Once your child is in high school, the next concern may be college. Can he even go to college? What supports are there? How does she get in?

It’s hard to know where to get reliable advice and, unf...

17-Year-Old Body Shamed In Front Of Her Classmates

What kids put on their body seems to be getting a lot of attention lately. My father always told me we “go to school to learn, it’s not a fashion show” but it kind of is when you are a teenager trying to fit in with your peers. As parents we can probably all agree how teens dress shouldn’t be everything, but it does matter. After all, we were all there and can remember the feelings we had around our self-esteem and what we put on our bodies.

Teenagers are just like everyone else – they want...

Here are the Top 14 Board Games That are Super Popular on Campus

If you’re putting a care package together for your college kids, or already thinking about gifts for the holidays, you’ll definitely want to take a look at card, dice or board games. They have become surprisingly trendy with our screen-obsessed college kids and young adults.

Grown and Flown receives a small amount from clicks through these Amazon links which allows us to pay our writers. 

14 Top Card, Dice and Board Games

Cards Against Humanity [image error]

(Card Game for 18+, 3 to 20+ Players)

The Settle...

My Kid’s Graduating from College and I’m Supposed to be Happy?

You survived the college move-in, the tearful parting, the long September until Parent’s Visiting Day. After the grief and shock to your system, you learned to adjust to the empty nest, and may have even discovered some positives you had never imagined: not having to stock the fridge to capacity, no more enormous laundry piles, a hallway devoid of random shoes and socks.

But the twinge of loss and longing was always there. You missed her terribly, wondered what she was really doing late at n...

How to Survive Your Kid’s First Month at College

I’ve often thought that those first few months of college can be like the first few months after a new baby is born.  The time spent equally as enchanted by this new life as it is tormented by doubts and insecurities and the nagging fear that “this was a terrible mistake.”

I moved to college in 1984.   Two cars loaded with a footlocker of completely inadequate clothes, a cardboard box of towels and sheets, my electric typewriter, my collection of Broadway cast recordings, a turntable, a Shak...

College Essay: 4 Ideas That Will Help Your Kid Nail It

Writing application essays is one of the most stressful parts of the college application process. Students are tasked with the job of writing a compelling essay that is authentic and unique while trying to convince a stranger they are worthy of an admit. I have read my share of essays, both good and bad, over the years.

We are now in prime college essay writing time, so I asked some of our former admissions officers (from Williams, Georgetown, Princeton, Bowdoin, Tufts, Columbia, and many mo...

Why You Need to Get To Know Your Kid’s High School Teachers, Today

After sending my first-born to school it became very apparent he was better behaved during those six hours under his teacher’s care if he knew that she and I were on the same page and that I touched base to see how he was doing. Regular communication was key for him to make the adjustment from being with me all day to being in school all day.

He was a little withdrawn at first, but once he made friends and got comfortable, he turned into the class clown. I would see her every morning at drop...

When Your Teen Doesn’t Talk Here’s What You Need to Do

One of the most difficult parts of being a mother for me has been the change I see in my kids as they get older. I’m not the center of their life anymore, and with that comes less talking and spending time together.

I had no idea it would leave such a void in my life. I used to look forward to their teenage years thinking we would still be very close and they would want to spend a lot of time with me, but my life would be easier since I wasn’t trying so hard to keep them out of danger on only...