teenagers Archive

  • To Read or Not to Read (Your Teenager’s Private Business)

    Posted on September 5, 2012 | 15 Comments
    When I was a teenager, I kept a journal.   I wrote in it a lot.   I sometimes worried about my parents reading it, so I hid it-in various places, to throw them off the scent.   And sometimes I would do things like […]

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  • Better Safe than Sorry

    Posted on May 9, 2012 | 8 Comments
    Last week our little town had a kerfuffle (although some would say it was much more than a kerfuffle).   Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together.   (Please recall that I’m not an investigative journalist.) Thursday night, Kennedy (our oldest, who is 15) […]

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  • I Missed the Sweet Spot

    Posted on March 7, 2012 | 13 Comments
    Sigh.   I’ve been so anxious for my kids to get older, I forgot to enjoy what I’m now realizing was the sweet spot.   The sweet spot occurs between the years of 6 and 11, give or take a year or two depending on […]

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  • Dating 101

    Posted on November 9, 2011 | 10 Comments
    My oldest daughter is almost 15. She is not dating yet, but it’s on the not-too-distant horizon. Because Facebook makes teenagers’ lives so visible and public, I feel like I have a window into their world.   And I’m not thrilled by much of what […]

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  • Family Ties

    Posted on October 27, 2011 | 5 Comments
    Where is the line between serving your family and loosing yourself in it?

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  • Saving Her Pennies

    Posted on August 17, 2011 | 10 Comments
    When my kids were younger, I naively fantasized about how great it would be once they got out of daycare and into school. We’d suddenly have so much more disposable income because of reduced child care costs! Well, all three of our kids are well […]

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  • Teens and Social Media

    Posted on June 1, 2011 | 9 Comments
    I have a 14-year-old daughter, so I have many opportunities to think about teens, texting, and Facebook. We got her a cell phone between 6th and 7th grade. She had been claiming throughout 6th grade that she was the “only one” at school without a […]

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  • The Birds and the Bees, Mormon Style

    Posted on February 2, 2011 | 31 Comments
    Did you have a birds-and-the-bees talk when you were a kid? Mine occurred in fourth grade the night before they showed the puberty video at school. My dad came up to my room, pulled out a legal pad, drew a very simple drawing of . […]

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