The lazy days of summer are finally here. Hopefully you've had a chance to catch your breath and play a little bit. What are you hoping for this summer? I'm sure you and your daughter are expecting different things this summer. How old is your daughter? Now...
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We call it multi-tasking. Women pride themselves on being able to do a million things at once. Here's my question. How's it working for you? My guess is that it's not working that well. Something is going to be compromised. It's not just that we are doing several...
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The fourth of July is a day to celebrate our country's freedom. How about you? Do you need a little freedom? How about a little emotional freedom, especially when it comes to your daughter's drama? Your daughter can be happy, angry, sad, stressed, and hyper in a...
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"How do I get my daughter to listen to me?" This is the big question for moms of teens. It seems so easy, right? You tell your daughter what seems reasonable and you want her to listen to you. But actually, we want more. We want...
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I feel like I had the best dad in the world. I knew he wasn't perfect but he never pretended to be. He gave me so many gifts growing up and was my rock through my turbulent teenage years. The most invaluable gift he gave me...
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Last week Sara came to see me in my private practice. Sara had that spaced out, frazzled look. She said, "I want my life back. It's only the first week of summer and I'm ready for school to start." Sara really didn't want school to start,...
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Teenage girls live in the selfie generation. It's what teen girls do. So what's up with all these selfies? Parents can be baffled by the frequency of their daughter's selfies. When we were teens we also loved getting our pictures taken but it wasn't all the...
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Every mom wants to see her daughter making progress. You hope to witness your teen moving forward and progressing in their academics, creativity, relationships, responsibility and maturity. This yearning is instinctual in moms and feels like it is written in our DNA. Because this feeling is so...
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The last month of school can get crazy. Many of you have been living your lives at 100 miles per hour with the entire end of the year activities. Your daughter thought that summer would never come, and the finals and projects would never stop. She'd...
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How many of you worked on Mother's Day? Probably most of you did. It's great to get the cards, flowers, and be taken to lunch or dinner. It's wonderful to be appreciated for all that you do. But it's not enough. Here's why. I know that many moms are...
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When I was a teen there were no smart phones; we only had landlines. This meant that if I was going to talk to my boyfriend, I had to s t r e t c h the telephone cord as far as I could to...
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There are physiological reasons why exercise decreases drama. I know when I exercise consistently I am more patient and pleasant to be around. The same is true for your teenager. Consistent exercise, especially cardio, decreases stress and therefore will decrease drama. The Problem is current trends...
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What do you remember about your prom? I don't recall the details but I know I had fun. I didn't stress about my hair, makeup, or how much I weighed. There were no Promposals. I went with my boyfriend and two other couples in a car....
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Yes, teen girls can be drama queens, but moms can be drama mamas. "How? Our disrespectful, moody, entitled and defiant daughters can push our buttons. And what happens when they push our buttons? We get angry and frustrated very quickly. We fire words right back at our daughters...
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Defining success is a tricky, especially when it comes to your teenager. Would you say your daughter is successful? Would your daughter say she was successful? These are uncomfortable questions for both you and your daughter. Here's why. This culture defines success in terms of ranking from the...
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It seems so simple. In your head it's super clear. All you need her to do is clean her room. That's not asking too much. It's the least she can do. You are having guests over and you are cleaning the rest of the house, plus...
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I am taking an online defensive driving course. I could say I am taking the course because I wanted to lower my car insurance, which is partially true. But the truth is, I was speeding and got a ticket. There you have it. The secret...
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The sky was deep blue, no humidity, and the temperature was 60 degrees. I decided to take advantage of this beautiful day in Houston. Days like these are rare in Houston and I wasn't going to miss it. The redbuds were out and some of...
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One of our core needs as moms is to feel appreciated. And when we don't get the appreciation from our kids or even our partners day after day after day, it affects us deeply. We can lose our motivation, our energy, our worth, and definitely...
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If your daughter tends to be negative, don't worry; you're not the only one. Cheryl was taking my Power Your Parenting Program. On one of our calls, she said, "Most of the drama happens because my daughter Abby is so negative." I asked her to give...
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