paul1

Everybody wants to play with and coddle babies. It is even fun to hang out with preschoolers and those very well-mannered early middle school age children. When our children get to be teens, however, the last thing that appears to be on either the parent or the child's mind is "hanging out." Teenagers still need their parents and I believe it is up to us parents to make and take time to find a way to connect with our teenagers and do something together.

Again and again teenagers...

Let us be honest here-we are not going to like all of the friends and peers that our children interact with. That would be a lot to expect from ourselves! There are going to be children whose manners we don't like, who do not have healthy boundaries, who may talk or play rudely, or for whatever other reason, we just do not like them. As the adult, however, we have the challenge and opportunity of choosing how to react.

There always seems to be that one child in the neighborhood who...