Being a parent is the toughest job in the world. We all know it. However, it’s the most rewarding. So it’s essential that you are able to do your job, enjoy it, and raise happy, healthy children. But it can often seem quite hard. Because, just as you think that you’ve got the hang of it, and you’re nailing parenthood, things change. Your children change and they grow up. And when they hit their teens, you’re dealing with mini adults. So you often need to approach things differently. Because now there are a new set of struggles that your children have to deal with. And not everyone tells you that about raising teens. They can get stressed at school for a number of reasons, and you might want to work on it with them.

think it is important that parents understand exactly what teens are going through.  It makes it a little easier to swallow. When children are young, they tend to get a free pass.  When the two year old colors on a wall, we get upset. However, we know they are growing and learning.  We do not seem as bothered by youngsters misbehaving.

Did you know teens are still growing and learning?

Matter of fact, this is their natural way of preparing for adulthood. Not only are they developing, they are dealing with raging hormones.  These changes are just as hard on them as it is you.

Hormonal changes can begin as early as 10 and go on until around 16 years of age.  Boys tend to start a little later than the girls. They are becoming sexually mature.  A teen’s body is preparing him/her for family life. They have no control over this change.  Not only does it change them physically, but it can interfere with emotions as well. They feel awkward and their peers are a huge influence on them. When they are uncomfortable in their own skin, they assume their friends see this too.  

Not only is this going on, but the brain is still in development.  This is something that we seem to understand better when they are toddlers. This “reworking” of the brain gets extremely intense during the teenage years and will last through the mid twenties.  

Summer is sadly over now that many students are going back to school soon. I have been waiting all summer for the Back to School season, and that day is finally here!

Introducing the 2018 Back to School Summit!

For 4 WHOLE days, I'm bringing you lesson videos with over a dozen expert educators who have tons of valuable advice to share with you all about getting your child or teen to start the school year off on the right foot.

We're going to be talking all about how parents can help their child or teen improve academics and learning right from the start. Some topics include Supporting your child’s inner genius, the importance of study skills, tips to foster the love of reading, from overwhelmed to excelled, and much, MUCH more!

All high school students must have an organization system in place for all their school related documents. But many students that are struggling in school, do not have any type of organization system set in place.

Their view of “organized” is shoving every school assignment or school notes into their backpack, never to be seen again. These students earn more bad grades due to lost homework than due to lack of effort.

Sound familiar?

Growing up, my summer memories are filled with lazy summer days, playing in the woods near the creek, mowing lawns, drinking grandma's sweet tea, family road trips, camping and bonfires.

Summer time is still my favorite time of the year!

But for many students, summer is filled with hours in front of the tv, with no real productivity. This lack of a mental challenge creates what educators call the "summer brain drain" or the "summer slide". 

The summer slide is the nickname for when students go through summer vacation without any academic or mental challenge the way they were challenged throughout the school year. This lack of mental challenge actually harms your child's educational skill set to where they will start the next school year further behind in their knowledge and writing abilities.

That is why I highly encourage students to stay mentally challenged every day throughout the summer!

Congratulations class of 2018! Graduation is finally here! After years of hard work, your child's achievements are finally celebrated! 

So Congratulations to you, mom and dad, for your love, help, and support that got your child to this great milestone in their lives. 

If you are struggling with what to get your new graduate, here is a list of unique graduation gifts that I personally love!

When I was in high school, I seriously struggled writing essays.

My strength was in math class. Numbers just made sense to me. There is only one right answer in a math equation, but there could be many different right answers in essay writing based on what you feel. Which was part of the reason why I struggled in English class.

My struggles started in 9th grade. The school I attended was not able to find an English 9 teacher, so I had different substitute teachers while they tried to find a good English teacher. They never found a teacher, and I went an ENTIRE YEAR without an English teacher. 

Needless to say, by the time I entered 10th grade, my writing skills were almost non existent. I seriously struggled with every English  class and every writing assignment in other classes. 

That is, until I entered my senior year of high school. 

For many teens, summer time means relaxing, traveling, and fun in the sun with friends. For others, summer means sitting around for 3 months with nothing but watching tv, playing video games, and staring at their phones all day.

If that sounds like your teen, then it is not too late to change that habit! 

It's important to have some summer activities for your teen so that they do not have any "summer brain drain". This just means that if your child does nothing academically or mentally challenging for the months out of school for summer break, then it is likely that they will begin to slowly lose the academic information they learned this past year. 

I think it is vital for teens to have 3 important activities this summer!