Middle School

At the start of this school year, we kept all three of our children home and did virtual. It was based on my husband’s and my apprehensiveness about COVID risks in schools. Our kids are all at different levels of school. We have a child in high school, one in middle school, and our youngest in elementary. The school system didn’t seem to have it worked out for any of them or exactly what the protocols would be, so we just felt safer home. We soon realized that our babies just weren’t thriving at home, and each of them for a different reason. Our oldest began to show signs of depression from the isolation. He wouldn’t come out of his room...

My best friend Katelyn and I have been discussing Twilight for a couple months now. Twilight was THE teenage romance series, while we were in middle school and high school. It is also a perfect example of emotional abuse, which, by the way, sets a great stage for physical abuse. Wind Goodfriend Ph.D. does a great job of naming a few of the thousands of examples of abuse Edward displays: He stalks Bella He encourages Bella to have as little interaction as possible from anyone outside his family He preys on her low self esteem He damages her vehicle so she can’t get away Before you go on assuming he was doing this to protect Bella, I just want to point...

I am a thirty-something year old “Older Millennial” mom. I have a side part and wear skinny jeans. My youth was (thankfully) not documented across social media. I don’t know the latest Tik Tok dance trend. I was still using my original aol.com email address until a few years ago. Unlike my childhood, my children will grow up surrounded by digital technology. My tween daughter was telling a story at the dinner table a few nights ago. At one point, I looked over at my husband and it was clear that neither of us understood the majority of her slang. The world is a vastly different place today than it was during my childhood. As my daughter gets older, she will...

I’ve always been the type of person that had absolutely no idea what to do or say when a loved one was hurting. I’ve always felt absolutely useless in these situations and as if I needed to step aside and let an adult handle it. Here are some things that stuck with me during a time I needed help: Don’t try to fill the silence. My best friend once said, “There’s not anything you can say to make it better, but there’s a lot you can say to make it worse.” Just let her be sad, hurt, angry, etc. It’s kind of selfish to fill silence just because you’re uncomfortable anyway, right? Buy a houseplant. Even if a mom thinks she has...

Everyone knows that having friends is important and that it makes us happier. It is kind of commonplace and it stands for every period of life. But there are stages when it is more important to make friends and belong to certain circles, and one of the first that comes to our mind is teenagehood. In this period, friendships are more important than ever, as they are giving young people the sensation of acceptance and belonging. Additionally, the ability to connect with peers encourages the development of empathy, compassion, etc., in adolescents. Besides, through these friendships, young people form an identity that is not, in any way, related to their families. However, not all teens manage to make friends easily....