Teens

Snapchat Guide For Parents

Snapchat Guide For Parents

NOTE: This post referred to previous versions of Snapchat. Is your teen on Snapchat? Are you on Snapchat to keep up with your kids? (That is what happened to us.) We proclaimed last year that this newest, super hip social media app was off limits for…
Machu Picchu Peru - Middle School Trip

Middle School Trip to Machu Picchu, Peru

Two years ago, Dex's Spanish teacher presented a plan to take all her kids on a dream trip to Peru. This was someplace I had never thought we could go, but we worked to save the money and luckily the school worked with Educational Tours,…
Tech Tips for Families

Family Tech Tips With AT&T’s Smart Limits

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post by AT&T but all words and opinions are mine. Our son Dex is about to turn 13, so we continue to slowly expand his freedoms on the phone. In the beginning, we had really strict policies about who…

ParkerGames Interview at Super League Gaming in Denver

Do your kids play Minecraft? Of course they do. Every kid on the planet does, right? As a parent, I am super impressed with the game because of the creativity, resourcefulness and collaboration it inspires. Not to say I actually understand how it all works…
Stay Gold, Ponyboy - Outsiders

Stay Gold, Ponyboy.

I was chatting with a friend recently about our teen years and the stories were the same. While I never had outright bullying, there was a lot of ugly teasing and mean girls. I grew up in an area and a time where everyone was supposed to be exactly the same. My friend talked about how, when he turned 14, all of his friends pretended that they didn't know him. These kids who used to walk down the street to pick him up on the way to school all of a sudden, they would just yell rude comments and keep on going. One of my worst memories from high school was when two best friends just didn't pick me up one night, and then pretended they never even knew me after that. Like we had not been friends for the past however many years. Like I hadn't slept over umpteen times. Like, what the hell just happened? So, yeah, as Dex entered middle school - that time when friends traditionally get judgey - I have been a little, let's say... twitchy. I try not to impose my past experiences too much, because not only is Dex an old soul - he is most definitely his own person. He has generally not really cared what anyone thought and has gone his own way. Part of it, I know, is all that diversity we fight for - one benefit seems to be (thus far) kids like to be different. Less pressure to wear exactly the same clothes and do exactly the same things. I am pretty sure we all owe Glee a huge debt of gratitude.

The Process

As Dex grows up, it feels like every day we find a new way to communicate with each other. If you have kids, you will remember those early days when every time you turned around there was another milestone. That is why many of us started blogs, to capture all of that. Entering teenhood is another renaissance - but the milestones are so subtle, you have to squint to see them. Dex has a big project that is due this week, something that could frankly change everything in our lives. He has been a bit lackadaisical about it and we've been teetering on that parental edge where you don't know when to push, when to cajole, or when to let them do what they do - pass or fail. It's a big project. I keep reminding myself he is only 12. The pressure these kids have in middle school is astronomical. But if he wants this, he has to get it done.