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Adolescents live with an exuberant false sense of immortality that leads them to throw caution to the wind. It’s hard for them to see the point of wearing masks or distancing from their friends when they’re young and healthy. Here are some ideas to help you encourage them to follow CDC guidelines.

If you’re a parent and you’ve survived this far along in the pandemic, please give yourself a giant congratulations. It hasn’t been easy. You’ve managed to help your children with remote learning for at least part of the school year, if not all of it.

You’ve probably been working remotely from home at the same time. Or you may have still been leaving the house to go to work but struggled to find care for your children who were learning from home.

All of this is a lot for anyone to handle. If you’re feeling stressed out and worn thinner than you can imagine, you’re not alone. It’s essential to remember to address your own self-care needs and to reach out for help if you need it. Here are a handful of self-care ideas for stressed parents.

If you’re like many parents, you may be struggling to figure out how to make the holidays special this year. You’re looking for parental support when it comes to navigating changing holidays. After all, the chances are good that they won’t be exactly as usual.

The pandemic has disrupted many traditional holiday activities. Concerts and performances are canceled or virtual. Big family gatherings likely won’t happen. Instead of enjoying a huge turkey dinner with your grandparents, you may be having a smaller meal at home. You get the picture.

But you still want to ensure that the holidays are special for your children. You want them to create good memories that will last for decades. Despite the pandemic, you can still make this happen. Creating new holiday traditions is an excellent way to start.

Most people have heard of postpartum depression or even the “baby blues” that can occur after giving birth. But prenatal anxiety is sometimes often overlooked.

No question, finding out you’re having a baby is one of the most exciting news someone can receive. It’s also natural to experience worry, stress, and even fear as you go through your pregnancy. That is especially true when your pregnancy is not what you expected.

Feeling guilty about those fears or worries will only lead to more worrying. As a result, it’s crucial to recognize that prenatal anxiety is an actual condition.

Take heart in knowing that you can learn to manage your anxious feelings and cope with the thoughts throughout your pregnancy.

Let’s face it: parenting during the current COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges with it.

Parents have needed to educate their children from home. Activities, celebrations, and outings have been canceled. One or both parents may be working from home, or childcare might be an issue if remote work is not an option.

These struggles are even harder if you’re a single parent. Life has changed for everyone; adults and kids alike are experiencing stress as a result. Unfortunately, increased stress levels bring tension and irritability to the home.

If you’re overwhelmed by these changes, consider some of the following ideas.

If you’re like most parents, your child started high school this year with all the thrill and excitement that many students have when beginning a new chapter in their academic careers.

However, you’ve noticed that lately, their enthusiasm has waned.

Your child appears to have less confidence with school than they did at the start of the year.

Even though they’ve been successful in the past in school, this particular level is asking more of them. Rather than a curriculum issue or problem with a specific subject, this struggle often stems from a lack of confidence.

If your child is struggling to develop the skills to be confident in school, here’s how you can help.

Eating disorders are nothing to take lightly, especially when it comes to teenagers.

Teens typically develop eating disorders for a variety of reasons, including societal pressure or their desire to be “perfect.” 

The early signs of an eating disorder include skipping meals, exercising excessively, an unhealthy obsession/focus on food, or going to the bathroom immediately after meals. 

An eating disorder can lead to many different health problems, including heart or kidney failure. 

It’s crucial to protect your teen from an eating disorder, whether you’ve started to notice signs or not. Use the following three tips to work with your teen and make sure they understand the risks involved with this unhealthy condition. 

There are times and places for aggressive behavior.

Aggression in the abstract is neither good nor bad.

But when it’s deliberate, planned out, and ongoing, aggression is known by another label: bullying.

“I just can’t take it anymore. My teen is driving me nuts!”

Have you ever caught yourself either thinking or saying something like this?

Give yourself a break. After all, it’s not always easy communicating with your teen. A lot of obstacles can get in the way.

However, there are things that you can do to remove those obstacles so that you can both have calm communication.

Consider these ideas for how to better have these conversations with your teen.

There are so many articles written about what sports can teach kids.

Of course, they generally talk about the typical catchalls, such as teamwork and cooperation. While those go hand-in-hand with children and sports, they have almost become tired and worn.

In fact, they are probably the first things that you think of when considering enrolling your child in a sports program at school or in your community.

Yet, are those benefits the only real takeaways from athletic participation? Or are there any other lessons that your child can take away from participating in sports?

Consider three other valuable life lessons.

From the outside, it may seem like a bonus for children of divorced parents to have two of every holiday.

Yet, it can be a stressful time for each parent. Naturally, children sense this type of stress and tension, creating a less-than-ideal holiday for them as well.

Let’s face it, both divorce and co-parenting are hard. Furthermore, sharing children can get complicated whether you’re on good terms with your ex-partner or not. Especially around the holidays!

And it doesn’t matter if this is your first co-parenting holiday or your 15th, the holidays can still be difficult to navigate.

Here are a few tips to make the holidays a bit smoother for your children. Oh, and you as well!

If you’re like most parents, you’ve learned in real time that this parenting gig is no easy job.

Basically, it’s tough. And that’s putting it gently.

On top of raising one or a brood of positive contributors to society, there’s the matter of maintaining your own dreams and goals. Then, of course, you also have to comply with many unspoken societal standards and sort through the mounds of so-called parenting instructional manuals.

Oh… and have I mentioned that it’s a tough job?

So, how do you manage it?

Is effective parenting even doable? Or is it an impossible feat where survival is the only option?

Take heart in knowing that effective parenting is possible. You can raise a great kid or an entire brood of them.

But for your parenting endeavor to be ultra successful, you’ll need a hefty mixture of respectful communication and clear boundaries.

Here’s why.

 you’re like most people, then you’ve probably never planned on becoming a stepparent.

But, life happens.

And when life happens, sometimes becoming a stepparent happens, too.

The thing about parenting someone else’s kids is that no one can tell you exactly what to expect. The range of experiences run the gamut when it comes to caring for stepchildren.

It could be the greatest experience of your life or it could completely crush your self-worth. And further still, it could do both—all in about two hours worth of time.

To help you wrap your mind around the endeavor of becoming a stepparent, here are 10 things some may neglect to tell you, but that you must absolutely know.