Parenting Through ADHD and Autism: My Son’s Inspiring Graduation Journey
Last Friday, I thought I’d wake up excited, ready to celebrate. Instead, I found myself sobbing uncontrollably before breakfast. It felt like I was standing at the finish line of an emotional marathon, trying to process everything it took to get there. My son, now 23, was graduating from post-secondary school with a diploma in […]
Transform Teen Outbursts into Calm, Productive Conversations
If you’ve ever tried to reason with your teen during an argument, you’ve probably noticed it doesn’t go as planned. Instead of calming down or listening to your wisdom and logic, they get more frustrated, or shut down. It feels like you’re speaking two different languages—and in a way, you are. Here’s the thing: the […]
Why Your Encouragement Isn’t Motivating Your Teen—and What to Do Instead
If you’ve been sharing “motivational” hints with your teen, only to watch them do less—and pull away more—you’re not alone. You’re trying to help, offering support, yet your teen seems unmotivated. They’re letting important tasks, like school, go unnoticed. Why does your encouragement lead to less effort, more frustration, and a sense of helplessness for […]
End the Morning Battle: Help Your Teen Wake Up On Time
Is every morning a struggle to get your teen out of bed? You’re already tired because your brain decided to rethink your life at 3:30am, again, then you burn through your remaining capacity by 8am because your teen’s a lazy sloth! What if your teen took responsibility for getting up, you saved your mental capacity […]
How Self-Care Strengthens Your Connection With Your Teen
I can hear the collective groan as schools reopen and your emotional load balloons faster than your grocery bill in the last 18 months. UGH! 😩 Summer was NOT enough of a break from: making lunches they hate or don’t eat because ‘there’s nothing good to eat in the house’ waking your teen up from […]
How to motivate Your Teen to pass Summer School
As if this past school year wasn’t challenging enough, now your teen is facing summer school. Ugh! Despite your best efforts to get them to complete and hand in assignments, they failed a course (or two). It might seem like they got lazy, gave up, and stopped trying. But there’s hope! This WILL NOT happen […]
Setting Boundaries with Your Teen While Driving the Family Car
Your teen is learning to drive and wants to enjoy their new freedom but… … you’re not handing over the car keys just yet. Whether your teen is driving the family car, or their own, they need to understand it’s a privilege that comes with big consequences when not done right. You want to talk […]
Keeping your teen busy during summer
Ah, summer break 😎… … a time that should feel like a sunny stretch of leisure and relaxation. ☀️🏖️ Yet for parents of teens, it’s a niggling worry or anxiety. And as they get older the risks feel higher. When the structured days of school take a pause, your teen alternates between acute boredom at […]
How to stop sibling rivalry
You’ve raised your children to be kind and considerate to each other… … and in spite of their differences, they behaved like normal siblings for years. As teens they treat each other like mortal enemies and say really hurtful, mean things. Words that hurt YOUR feelings and break your heart. 💔 “All they do is […]
How to calm your emotional teen
As a parent of tweens or teens, you’ve likely experienced their reactivity, mood swings, and outbursts that seem to come out of nowhere. The increased hormones are new territory, with all day complaining and emotional roller coasters. When your previous soothing approaches aren’t working, it’s normal to feel lost in this journey because patience alone […]