Let The School Year Begin!

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And we’re off to another start of the school year!  Yes, I know for some of you classes have been in session for over a month now, while some of you just started a few weeks ago.  Whatever the day, you all have this in common…school’s in full swing, and the homework and running to every practice and event is already exhausting! I hear ya baby!  Take a deep breathe, drink some water, sit on the couch for 30 seconds and get up and get dinner made!  Gosh darn it!  Goodness sakes, it really feels never ending! That’s why pizza is my best friend! It’s quick, fast, and I can make two at a time in my toaster oven if I must! Or pick it up or have it delivered! It’s a beautiful thing.

Ok, now that my pizza commercial is done, I’d like to give you 3 quick tips to help with parenting those wonderful teens and all the activities they do throughout the school year.

1.  For real you gotta take care of yourself first and foremost. Giving yourself a few moments alone, even if it’s sitting outside for fresh air, that in itself has a lot of refreshing in it. But may I suggest you do this without being on your phone. Oh, I know, that may get some of you right in the heart. But sit and take in the sounds and let the air refresh you. Believe me you need that more than you need your phone.

2.  Now matter how late it is or tired you may be, listen to your teen. Yes, it seems like your teen wants to talk and pour their lil heart out to you when it’s late at night and they should be sleeping!  Remember: they don’t want you to FIX the situation. They want you to LISTEN to what they are saying and feeling about the situation.  They just want to talk sometimes, and you need to let them.  Silence is golden. Don’t confuse this with the silent treatment. Silence is golden because you don’t always have to say something. It’s not about having the last word or any word for that matter.

3.  Stay up and wait for your teen to come home.  Hey be on the couch or the recliner sleeping if you must!  But do it!  It matters!  This does a few things for you: 1. You know when they get home. 2. You know the state they are in when they get home. 3. You can talk with them about how the night went while it’s fresh in their mind. Waiting till the next day seems to cause a lot of memory loss.  And hey, you just may get more of a response then “fine” because you stayed up to find out how the game or whatever they were doing went.

Plug into your teen today.

​Enjoy the time with your teen while you can.