By Sandra My daughter started her first year in secondary school with joy and excitement. At age 13, she was proud to be seen as more an adult than a child. Her happiness, however, was short lived. By mid January, she shared that her classmates were rude, used profanity and disturbed the class regularly. She asked me if she could be home-schooled. I told her to view the situation in a positive light, that she was placed in that class to help and guide others. Did I do right? I don’t have the answer but this is what I came up with to deal with the situation. My girl did her best to encourage others to stop smoking and to refrain … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2013
Back To School -Tips For School and Life Success
August 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
We're nearing the end of another summer and it's back to school time again--at least in the United States! My younger daughter in fact has begun her first day of sophomore year in High School today; she's glad to be back home in the Bay Area of Northern California after spending two months in a town outside of Munich, Germany, and she's revved up to get back into the school and sports routine. She's excited to see her friends again and is looking forward to what the new school year will bring. (Isn't it wonderful how we have these annual cycles and traditions on this planet?) Thus for today's article I'm sharing a few tips that are helpful … [Read more...]
Teenage Girls + Media = Low Self-Esteem
August 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Is it really true that teenage girls + media = low self-esteem? The issue of media's impact on teenagers has generated a lot of interest in the last decade. Despite contradictory findings, all researchers agree that teenage girls as a group are focused on their looks—especially on what they don't like about themselves! Marketing departments and ad agencies spend millions each year targeting teenage girls who spend much of their hard-earned dollars (and their parents' hard-earned dollars) on looking good. Although the message of "girl power" is prevalent in today's marketing messages, so is the irrefutable idea that "sexy" and "thin" are … [Read more...]
A Friend Follows His Intuition And Fulfills His Dream
August 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
As you may have noticed in this magazine, we place a lot of importance on following one's intuition. I believe it's a very important thing to do, particularly right now, for your family's benefit, for your own benefit, as well as for the greater good. Everyone's uplifted in some way. (An aside: I have discovered that when you follow your intuition not only do you benefit, but also everyone and everything else around you. But that's a subject that I will say more on in a future article...) For example, by following her intuition, "Silicon Valley Mom" was able to turn around the situation of her 16-year old daughter's eating disorder rather … [Read more...]
Friend or Parent?
August 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By Expert Contributor Desiree Phillips. As I write this first article for Parenting Teenage Girls magazine, I can’t help but think of the person who influenced me the most as a teenager, above all others. It was my Mom. She was the best parent and what every daughter hopes for when she reflects on her childhood and teen years. I’m proud of the life choices and lessons I’ve learned thanks to her invaluable guidance. She instinctively knew how to love deeply, be vulnerable with me while teaching and to hold the line on tough issues. She had an unwavering sense of knowing what was needed, when. And when sometimes we learned things … [Read more...]
The Importance Of Telling Your Teen You Love Her Every Single Day
August 5, 2013 by 2 Comments
Not long ago I learned of the importance of telling your teenage daughter that you love her, every single day. (I wish I had known this sooner.) Telling your child you love her daily and demonstrating that affection with a hug, a kiss or a pat on the back is something that might have come easy when she was smaller, but now that she's a teenager with a bad temper or a streak of rebellion and some distance has grown between you it might be harder for you to do. Or, you might have grown up in a family where saying "I love you," was not something that was done very often. Growing up in my family, for example, it seemed those words were … [Read more...]
How My Daughter Beat an Eating Disorder and Learned About Love…Fast
August 1, 2013 by 4 Comments
It was Spring 2012, the citrus trees hung heavy with fruit and one of my 16-year old twin daughters was falling for a 19-year old boy. She was a good student who loved to play soccer and hang out with her friends and family. She "met" the boy online and after a few weeks he asked to meet her at a local park. She rode her bike to the park without me knowing that she, her sister and a friend were meeting the young man. Shortly thereafter she asked if it would bother me if she dated a 19-year old. I told her that it depended on his character. I knew exactly where this was heading and sure enough, a week later “G.” came over to our house to … [Read more...]