Now that I’m raising teenagers, I frequently looking back at my own years spent rolling my eyes at my mom and compare how much easier it seemed to parent teens in the 1980s. From a simpler and relaxed college application process, to far less academic pressure in high school, I feel like our parents had a much easier and less complicated transition into adulthood with us - particularly as it all happened without social media. If there’s one stick in my craw that’s relentlessly twisted over ... View the Post
The 11 Best Books for College Admissions and How to Pay for College [Updated]
Weighted GPAs. Unweighted GPAs. AP scores. Dual Enrollment grades. Essays. Recommendation letters. More essays. SAT scores. ACT scores. PSAT scores. Composite scores. Writing Scores. Volunteer requirements. FAFSA. And that’s all before your child’s actual senior year of high school! Overwhelmed yet? I bet you are! But don’t fret, because there are numerous resources available to help you navigate the college application process, potentially making it a little less stressful and a lot more ... View the Post
Your Teen Graduated from High School. Feel Free to Exhale and Focus on You
The graduation tassel has been officially been turned! They did it! And now your teen can happily disembark from the four year long rocky cruise affectionally known as high school! And you? Their cruise director? Well, since your time on that job has now abruptly ended, and with relief you’ve finally steered that ship to shore, you’re probably wavering between sadness, despair, joy, sadness, despair, joy, sadness…well, you get the idea. So now what do you do with all that buzzing, ... View the Post
6 Truths a Part-Time Job Will Teach Your Teen
By the time my son hit the spring of his senior year, I was certain that, not only had he learned everything academically he needed to know to graduate, but I also assumed that somewhere along the way he had also learned some real life lessons concerning hard work. He had just completed four years of high school with a pretty difficult schedule, many late nights of studying, plenty of group projects, and a slew of community service hours, so I figured he was pretty much good to go in the ... View the Post
Here’s the One Thing That All “Average” Kids Need to Be Told
Newsfeed and Instagram accounts are overflowing with them. So are smartphone camera rolls. And everywhere we look, we see hearts of moms and dads bursting with pride. BURSTING! The world right now is full of humble, heartfelt, and gracious posts and pics (and thoughts and feelings) about all the very smart children, tweens, or teenagers roaming among us. It must be because it’s May, which means it’s officially “Achievement Olympics” season. End of the School Year Awards ... View the Post
What You Need to Know About “Euphoria,” HBO’s First Teen Drama Series
If you have a teenager at home, there’s no doubt you’re probably all too familiar with the huge variety of teen drama series that are currently offered by streaming TV services. Teens don’t watch TV the way we did, and why should they? They have the luxury of binge watching anything from the teen reality offerings on MTV (think 16 and Pregnant), to dystopian or vampiric laced dramas and high school romcoms on Netflix, to reruns of the ever popular Gossip Girls and the like on Amazon ... View the Post