Yshai's new book, Staying Connected With Your Teen, is out now!
The best time to start a new routine is during natural beginnings. The start of a week or month for example. For kids it might be the start of school or the return after spring break. Of course, there may be no better time for a new routine than the start of a year. There’s…
This pandemic has changed our kids. It’ll be a while before we learn the long-term impact the pandemic has had on Gen Z, but some things are easy to observe already. Many teens and tweens, particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and with fewer resources, fell behind academically in major ways. The pandemic acted…
Our kids are growing up in a culture that lacks empathy. It’s not that people don’t care, I think most do. But caring is passive. It’s a starting point, but not an end. Empathy is different. Empathy takes effort and desire, and it often compels action. A lot of the rage and hopelessness that many…
I wrote this to give you some language as you think about how to approach your teen when it comes to marijuana. I shared this at a recent webinar on teens and weed and many parents asked for a copy of it. The tone we need to have with our teens is one that’s clear…
The transition back to school is here. My own kids are excited, mostly to see their friends again and to not have to deal with their parents homeschooling them anymore. A lot of the teens I work with tell me that they’re looking forward to seeing friends and teachers and having a routine. Just as…
I’ve been thinking about transitions recently. This is partly because spring has arrived and because we seem to be moving through a transition in this pandemic which is of course affecting our kids in major ways. Getting on their phone, getting off their phone. Starting a game, getting off their game. Starting homework, getting…
Well, after more than a year of this pandemic, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. We have a little ways to go but it’s important to stay optimistic. Sometimes, for some of us (me), that’s daunting and my positivity gives way to worry and anxiety. I was thinking about the in…
We’re all taking another step into unknown territory this Fall and every family is going to look a bit different. No matter what happens, the one certainty is uncertainty. So, it’s imperative that we manage our own anxiety about not fully knowing what to expect from our school, our kids, and even ourselves. A guiding…
Now more than ever, we need to be able to have hard conversations with our teens about essential topics that impact their lives. We need to be able to talk about things like porn, suicide, drugs and of course, race and racial justice. We do them a major disservice by ignoring these things. When they…
I hope you enjoy my latest interview on AM Northwest where I offer 5 tips to help you strengthen your kiddo’s emotional intelligence. I’ll be sharing more about each of these in future posts coming soon. Those tips are: 1. Expand Your Toolbox. 2. Praise The Traits Beneath Their Behavior. 3. Strengthen Their Resilience By…
