Tweeners Trust Peers More Than Adults When Judging Risks

If you are the parent of a preteen, you are all too aware that they suddenly seem to value the opinions of their peers far more than yours. The good news, if there is any, is that you’re not alone. Young teenagers ages 12 to 14 are more influenced by their peers’ opinions than they are by adults’, a study finds. That’s true only for…

Why Your Teen Doesn’t Talk to You

So that title might sound harsh.  You’re thinking, “Oh, so now it’s MY fault that my teenager doesn’t talk to me?  When I try so hard?” If you can realize some of the things you’re doing that are accidentally off-putting to your child, you’ll be better able to connect with him or her. 1)  I’m not doing anything other than talking to them.   Meaning:…

Why Self-Consciouness Peaks in Teenage Years

A new study suggests certain developmental changes might make teens ultra-sensitive to the gaze of other people. Teens are famous for their self-consciousness and suspicion that everyone is watching them. In the new study, compared with children and adults, teens who thought one of their peers was looking at them experienced much stronger emotional, physiological and neural reactions, the researchers found. Leah Somerville, a psychological…

My Teen Says All the Other Parents Are Allowing This

My daughter is 14 years old. She was recently invited to a party at a friend’s house. The problem is that I don’t really know the parents or the other kids very well. I am also worried about the level of supervision. The girl throwing the party has older siblings who will probably be there so there will be teens of all ages there which increases the chance…

Tips For Improving Your Teen’s Sleep Schedule

Many parents wrestle with helping their teenagers get enough sleep, especially when high school classes start before dawn. Battling early school start times and teens’ changing body clocks, which pressure them to fall asleep later, can be overwhelming for parents. Few teens want parents setting their bedtimes. Most of the adolescents resisted their parent’s requests to stop texting or Web-surfing late at night. And don’t fall for the…

Adolescence and the Teenage Crush

Teenage crushes have a significant role to play in the journey of adolescence. Consider crushes of two kinds – identity crushes and romantic crushes. In both cases, the teenager feels smitten by a compelling person who captivates their attention for good and ill. Identity crushes are formed by finding someone they much admire, want to become like, and treat as a leader or model they are eager to…

Listening: A Key to Successfully Guiding Adolescents

You know who knows more about your teen’s inner life and environment than you do? HE DOES. In their struggle for independence, kids sometimes reject parental advice precisely when it may make the most sense to them. They are so uncomfortable with how much they rely on us, that circumstances that remind them of how much they need us may stir rebellion. Parents are most effective when…