Blocking your teen’s social media apps might feel protective, but it often backfires—leading to blowups, sneaking around, and lost trust. Here’s a better way to guide them with connection instead of control.

The first weeks of school can feel like a pressure cooker—not just for your teen, but for you. Grades, new friends, after-school moods… and the one-word answers that make you wonder what’s really going on. Here’s how to stay calm, keep the connection, and turn “fine” into a real conversation.

College move-in didn’t go how I imagined. We walked into my son’s fraternity room to find… no bed. While I was panicking about what this meant, he was completely fine. That moment taught me a powerful lesson about letting go, trusting their growth, and focusing on connection instead of perfection.

Your teen’s first week of high school is a bigger deal than they’ll admit. Here’s how to be the steady place they need to land.

What’s actually in your control (and what isn’t.)

You’re not a bad parent if you don’t like your kid right now. You’re just human, and it can get better.

The words that soften the space between you

You’re not losing your teen. You’re just in a new role and it starts with leading through trust, not control.

It’s not the rule itself that causes the battle. It’s how we hold it.

What teens really need—and how your role shifts as they grow.

“Now he tells me things I never thought I’d hear.”

Looking back... I’d do this differently

A small word swap can end the daily standoffs

They're easy to miss—but they matter more than you know

That ache only moms understand—the longing to feel close again.

How to motivate your teenager.

Here’s how to agree on a plan without the battle.

And here’s what having fun with your teenager looks like.

Let’s shift the voice in your head.

Change starts with you—and it can start today.