How can you help your child deal with the physical and emotional changes that puberty brings?
Standing Up to Bullies
How can you respond to bullying or protect your teen from becoming a target?
For Adoptive Parents: Helping Adopted Teenagers Stand on Their Own
In the middle-school years, parents must step back and help their child learn to stand up for herself, in school and in the larger world.
Myths About Teens
In a quandary over what’s normal — and what’s not — about your teen? Here’s what you should know.
If Your Teen Is Gay
Bruce had been a cheerful, outgoing child who had many friends. But when he turned 15, his parents noticed a change in him. He seemed more withdrawn and less gregarious. One day, when Bruce and his mother, Karen, were driving home from school, he seemed particularly down. When Karen asked him what was wrong, he said, “I’m not who you think I am.”
Adoptees and the Seven Core Issues of Adoption
Adopted persons tend to experience seven core issues related to their adoption. Discussions of adoption over the years have often overlooked the pain and struggles of adoptees, but identifying these core issues and helping children integrate them as they grow validates their experiences, decreasing feelings of being different and isolated.
Birth Parents on Their Minds
Your teen probably spends a lot of time thinking (or fantasizing) about her birth mother. Here’s how to get some of those thoughts out in the open.
“Who am I?” The Complex Quest of Adolescent Adoptees
Every teen is involved in the complicated process of forming an identity. For adoptees, the process has a few extra layers.
Talking with Teens About Sex and Dating
Having “the talk” with your teen is necessary — and it can turn into an emotional conversation about birth parents.
Teens in Blended Families
When their family also includes biological children, adoptees can have complex feelings about siblings and their own sense of belonging.
All Grown Up
A parent’s role changes when a teen leaves the nest. Here’s how to start relating to your child as a young adult, and reinforce your bond.
Is College Possible?
It’s not uncommon for a child to have different interests — and academic skills — than his achieving parents.
The Many Benefits of Mentoring for Adopted Teens
An adopted teenager may find it easier to open up to an adoptee mentor than to a parent, and mentoring a younger adopted child can bring joy and confidence.
Staying Close While Giving Your Teen Space
Adolescence only lasts a short time — help your child through the rough patches and enjoy watching her grow into an individual.
Forging an Identity
Don’t despair; these struggles can actually deepen your bond.
Encouraging Your Child to Find a Passion
When kids find something they love and stick with it, they find their place in the world.
When a Teen Needs Help
Be open to the idea that your moody teenager may benefit from counseling.
Teens, Drinking, and Drugs
It’s a national issue. Is your child at risk?
When Your Teen Uses Adoption As a Weapon
Try to resist joining in your teen’s power struggles.
Whose Dream Is It, Anyway?
Adoptive parents sometimes push their own wishes on their children. But during the teen years, an adolescent may rebel.