Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is: Tame Unreasonable Expectations >>Listen

Joshua just finished the last final exam of his high school career. He has been accepted to a fine college for next year, although not the college that he and his parents had been aiming for for most of his life. But, anyway, he’s pretty excited and relieved that he’s done! Lots to look forward to!  But his Mom says he’s “driving her crazy. And he hasn’t practiced his trombone all week.”

Suzanne has been out of school for summer for 2 weeks, and her Mom is getting really itchy. More on Tame Unreasonable Expectations - 2 Minute Tip for Parenting Teens #110

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is: Think “Both,” not “Either-Or” >>Listen

The end of the school year can mean many things: joy that summer is here, and trepidation about a new schedule. Excitement about the upcoming new activities and sadness about saying goodbye to friends who will be missed. These are familiar feelings, aren’t they? Even though on some level the feelings here are contradictory, it’s not difficult to understand how your teen can feel both those things at the same time.

Parents frequently feel conflicting emotions or responses simultaneously. More on Think "Both," not "Either-Or" 2 Minute Tip for Parenting Teens #109

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is: Teach Your Teen About Feelings >>Listen

Have you ever noticed that feelings trip us up.. a lot? Feelings can get messy. They can pull us downward, and make us wallow in a place that is uncomfortable. And they can take us on a joy ride up to the heavens with a velocity that takes our breath away.  When feelings are too intense we often push them away, concocting complicated excuses and strategies to not feel them. Good feelings, bad feelings… it really doesn’t matter. Intense feelings can be difficult to sit with.

Many people have learned to deny their feelings because they are afraid to feel or express them, or because they feel it is a sign of weakness to be emotionally vulnerable. More on Teach Your Teen About Feelings - 2 Minute Tip for Parenting Teens #108

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is: Don’t Fix a Child Who Isn’t Broken >>Listen

Jane was the keynote speaker at a conference I attended a while back. She is a leader in an organization that provides parent education and support in her large community.  In her keynote she reflected on her parenting journey; at the time her eldest son was in college. She said something I’ll never forget; she said “As I looked back on my son’s high school years I realized I kept trying to fix a child who wasn’t broken.”

This comment has stayed with me for a long time. I find myself wondering how might other parents make a similar mistake? I suspect shades of this happen all the time.

Let’s consider just some of the areas in which teenagers may struggle: More on Don't Fix a Child Who Isn't Broken 2 Minute Tip #106

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is : No Easy Way Out >>Listen

16 year old Michael wasn’t where he said he’d be last Saturday night. He told his parents he’d be staying over at his friend Sean’s house after they watched their team play in the baseball tournament, but his Mom Anna found out that that isn’t what happened. She’s still trying to find out what did happen Saturday night.

Anna and her husband had plans to go away this coming weekend to celebrate their anniversary. They had planned for Michael to stay at his friends house. More on No Easy Way Out - 2 Minute Tip #105 for Parenting Teens

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is : Pop Tarts as Risky Behavior?? >>Listen

Joan was looking for something that required her to sort through the cupboards in her teenage sons’ bathroom. I wish I could have seen her face when she came up with a half-empty box of pop tarts stuffed in the back corner of the cupboard. Joan is a health-food nut and a self-proclaimed “food nazi.” So, needless to say, … she wasn’t happy with her discovery of such contraband.

It made me remember my friend in junior high school, Karen. More on Pop Tarts as Risky Behavior..? 2 Minute Tip #104

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your 2 Minute Tip for Parenting Teens

This week I’m sharing the top parenting tips from your peers >>Listen

I asked my readers of 2 Minute Tips to answer this question: What is the single best piece of advice you can give another parent of a teenager? I received some wonderful responses!  This is the kind of advice you would give your friend if you were speaking together. So this is your chance to hear from parents who are walking a parallel path in similar shoes. Now, as promised, I’m sharing your tips back with you. Here are the top five tips*: More on Ten Best Parenting Tips from your Peers - 2 Min. Tip #103

Hi - Sue Blaney here with your parenting tips from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is Have the confidence to stand firm >>Listen

It’s prom season, it’s graduation season, it’s PARTY season. And parents, the pressure is on.

Has your sophomore been invited to the senior prom? Have you been working your way thru the invitations to the pre-prom parties? The after-prom parties? More on Parents; Have the Confidence to Stand Firm - 2 Minute Tip #102