parenting teens
The oncologist looked at Hal skeptically. “Well,” he conceded, “if you feel up to it, you can travel. And you can speak from the platform. But you can’t stand around shaking hands afterward – your immune system is going to be completely shot.” The results had come back from the biopsy – he had advanced…
Several years ago one of our boys suggested that we take a few minutes at our family birthday celebrations and each of us share something we love or respect about the birthday person. We've done that ever since and wow. Just wow. It has been incredible to hear every member of the family express out…
Years ago when Bill Clinton's scandals were news, I hated to listen to the radio in the car because I constantly had to be ready to turn it off or explain awkward things on the way to homeschool P.E. If you have teens, though, there's just no way to turn off the constant stream of…
People often ask if we'd describe what we do for a coming-of-age ceremony with our boys. Surely with six boys we've done something of the sort … and the answer would be, “Yes, indeed!” You've probably heard of the Jewish “Bar Mitzvah” tradition – where a Jewish boy is officially welcomed to adult status in…
It came up on Facebook again today. What do you do when you find your child has been sexting? It's nauseating to even think about it, isn't it? Awhile back, I was shocked when one of my friends told me she'd found a series of explicit texts on her son's phone, but now we're hearing…
The first night of Boot Camp 9-12 is always so entertaining. We start off by describing the early signs that your child is entering puberty (and no, peach fuzz and a cracking voice are actually late signs). We talk about how kids in that stage start having huge emotional swings, from rage to tears, get…