Raising Your Teen to Embrace Vulnerability

When parents are asked what qualities we hope for in our teens, we use words like kindness, courage, resilience, and purpose. Vulnerability probably doesn’t make it onto many lists, but maybe it should. According to clinical social worker and researcher Dr. Brené Brown, embracing vulnerability – including our imperfections, mistakes, and difficult emotions – is […]
Supporting Your Teen\’s Hero Journey

What’s your favorite movie? No matter the genre, it’s almost certain that the main character starts off with an ordinary life, goes on an adventure or faces a crisis, and by the end is totally transformed. That storyline, which Joseph Campbell called The Hero’s Journey, can be traced back to myths that are thousands of […]
Cultivating Teen Resilience

The teen years are a time of nonstop changes and challenges for both teens and their parents. Resilience helps teens navigate the ups and downs of adolescence and bounce back from adversity. Lucky for parents, it’s a skill that can be learned, and researchers have identified the seven strengths that lead to teen resilience. Here, […]
Raising A Confident Teen

As parents, we all want to raise confident kids. We want them to bravely speak their minds, stand up for what they believe in, go for their goals, and embrace whatever makes them special and unique. But the teen years bring changes that can challenge kids’ confidence and even lead to setbacks in their self-esteem. […]
4 Ways to Help Your Teen Discover Their Superpowers

If you’re the parent of a teenager, chances are that just a few years ago, they were running around in a Spider Man suit or Wonder Woman bracelets, saving the world while you cheered them on. Whatever their age, we want our kids to recognize and embrace the unique superhero qualities we see in them. […]
Famously Failing: Help Your Teen Find Success in Setbacks

Oprah was fired from one of her first television anchor jobs. Albert Einstein was labeled “mentally slow” in school. Lady Gaga was fired from her record label after three months, and Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Stories of famous failures can be a source of inspiration for teens as they […]
Raising Your Teen to Have a Growth Mindset

After decades of groundbreaking research Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck discovered the simple but groundbreaking concept of mindset. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe that abilities can be developed. Information about what a growth mindset looks like […]