Party Pooper and Sleepovers for 12/30/2017

Dear Family Coach: My family has been invited to a New Year's Eve party. There will be lots of food, kids and karaoke. My 14-year-old daughter doesn't want to go. She wants to stay home by herself. She often tries to opt out of family plans she isn't particularly jazzed about. I think she should be forced to join the family sometimes. Is this right? — Mad Mom

Dear Mom: Teenagers routinely want to do nothing with their families. They want to sleep in and be left alone in their rooms right after a brief moment of socialization while foraging for food. Now, with teens being connected with all of their friends through tiny handheld devices, it makes it ever more difficult to motivate them to get out of the house. Teens start to act as if family time were passe and everything were boring.

Updated: Sat Dec 30, 2017