A Top-Ranked College May Not Be Best for Your Kid. Give Them These Gifts Instead
Pressure from parents over college choices has been on the rise over the last 20 years, and unfortunately perfectionism among kids has been rising with it, according to research published last week by the American Psychological Association.
To help your family get through college decisions in a way that minimizes the stress and maximizes students’ ability to make good decisions for themselves, experts recommended adults give these gifts to their kids. Read more ›
If you have a senior in high school, you probably know that the last of the college-admissions decisions for the class of 2022 will land in the coming days.
This is a really tough time for teens. I know what you’re thinking—the teen years have always been tough. Youth mental health is in crisis. What’s been going on? 
Kids, especially teens and tweens, sometimes need validation that what they are thinking and feeling is normal and okay. In fact, psychologists believe that validation is one of the most powerful parenting tools, and yet it is often left out of traditional behavioral parent training programs. 
We tend to idealize childhood as a carefree time, but youth alone offers no shield against the emotional hurts, challenges, and traumas many children face. Children can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting to a new classroom or online schooling to bullying by peers or even struggles at home. Add to that the uncertainties that are part of growing up in a complex world, and childhood can be anything but carefree. The ability to thrive despite these challenges arises from the skills of resilience. 
Staying connected as kids approach the teen years and become more independent may become a challenge for parents, but it’s as important as ever — if not more so now. 
Our brains develop from the back to the front. The prefrontal cortex — important for impulse control, managing emotions, planning, organization and finishing tasks — is the last to develop, and is not fully mature until our mid-twenties. How does this impact teen behavior and decision making and how can parents make sure we still matter? 
Teenagers often make risky choices that appear absurd in the eyes of their parents. But neuroscientist Adriana Galván says these decisions are critical for adolescent brain development.
Perhaps you’ve heard that adolescent behavior is governed by “raging hormones,” or that adolescents are impulsive because they are “immature.” Neither of those are accurate. What is actually on is the remodeling in the brain. In this engaging 4-minute video, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine Dan Siegel, M.D., dispels myths about the adolescent brain. 
Did you know that big and important changes are happening in the brain during adolescence? Here are 7 things to know about the teen brain. 
