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Parenting Articles and Episodes

Parenting teenagers can be tough, but you are not alone! Connection is key to creating an atmosphere of trust and belonging in your home. We’ll help you keep a pulse on the latest tips and trends in teen culture to help you understand and connect with the teens in your house.

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“Making Room” for Teenagers

“Making Room” for Teenagers

I want to show you a picture of my kayak. I’m gonna warn you, it’s pretty sad. This is where my kayak has resided for the last four years since we moved. To my memory, it hasn’t come down since I put it up there.It is very, very sad. In some ways, this kayak serves as a relic of my life before children. In short, I had time to kayak. I would have full days with nothing to do but kayak. And fish. And camp. It was a symbol of a loose schedule where anything could happen and on many days I would wind up on top of this vessel going to parts unknown. But now it sits idle in my garage, casting disapproving looks down at me as I load our kids into the minivan.

The Power of “Me Too”

The Power of “Me Too”

Earlier this week, we held our 2nd annual Teen Lifeline Fundraising Dinner & Auction, and I am still blown away by the generosity and support that come from this night. One of my favorite parts of the night came when Beverly Ross spoke truth over the audience. If you haven’t heard of Beverly Ross or Wise County Christian Counseling, I would encourage you to go check them out! At this dinner, Beverly Ross challenged us by saying, “We need to teach that it’s not going to be okay. It’s going to be hard, but you’re never going to do it alone.”

Ryan Young Talks Student Athletes

Ryan Young Talks Student Athletes

Chris and Karlie are joined by former NFL player, Ryan Young, to talk about how to raise, coach and develop successful student athletes.

Carrie Gurley Talks Dating Violence

Carrie Gurley Talks Dating Violence

Carrie Gurley defines dating violence and gives tips for how we can become more educated and better prepared to walk teenagers through difficult relationships.

It’s Not the Teacher’s Fault

It’s Not the Teacher’s Fault

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this. Mainly from students but also from parents who see the teacher as the problem in a particular class. I have to admit, I have even said the same thing when I was in school. Even though this is an easy thing to fall back on, I have never felt comfortable (and the more I work with teachers and schools, I feel less and less comfortable) with this mentality. The problem has been that I didn’t know how to process this mentality in order to make it better, much less how to communicate to people how they too could shift their perspective, stop blaming and start making positive progress. That is until recently. I just finished a book called Extreme Leadership. It is a business book, but the last principle they talk about in the book helped me begin to clarify why the idea that the teacher is the problem doesn’t compute for me, and I hope it won’t for you either.

5 Ways to Keep Teens Safe This Summer

5 Ways to Keep Teens Safe This Summer

As a teenager, there are few things greater than Summer Break – no school, getting to sleep in, more time with friends, days by the pool or at the lake, family vacations, snow cones, and fewer rules. Wait, fewer rules? How does that make sense? Unfortunately, as teenagers gain more free time in the summer, many are also held to lower standards, fewer boundaries and later curfews. As someone who works with students in the school year, who hears about their wild weekends, and crazy summer stories, please don’t make it easier for your child to get into trouble. Summer is fun (and it should stay that way), but fun doesn’t mean that you stop parenting. Summer is the time when you need to be even more on guard! As the parent (or friend, coach, youth minister, mentor) of a teenager, it is your job to help them set their boundaries, manage freedom and make good decisions.