My family loves to tell stories. One of my favorites is when my sister was 13. My dad, sister and I were down at Memorial Park in Houston. We had hiked down to Buffalo Bayou. The bayou is brown and murky and God knows what...
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Sometimes the answer is no. It has to be if we are going to protect our daughters. This is not the fun part of being a parent. There she is standing in front of you in her mature grown-up body. She tells you, she can handle it....
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I love the ocean. I enjoy the smell of the ocean, the song of the seagulls and the sound of waves crashing upon the shore. Nothing feeds my soul like the ocean. Last week it was still warm so I went to the beach. I watched one...
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Can your daughter relax at your house? Is your teen comfortable with having friends over? Do you like being in your home? If you answered yes you have a thriving home environment. A thriving home environment is key to having a happy, healthy, and productive home. What is...
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Summer is starting to fade away, and the reality hits us. Another school year is upon us. For many mothers, the first day of school is a happy day. You get your time and space back. You can relax because you know your daughter is back...
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I know there are moms who have been counting the days till their teenage daughter moves out of the house and goes to college. And may even feel giddy with excitement till they can push their daughters out the door. But actually, it is rare that...
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It can drive you nuts. There she is lying on the sofa being a couch potato while you are running around trying to get your work done. Summer, for lots of moms is more work when the kids are at home. We don't want our kids...
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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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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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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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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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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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It's all about the heart. This is what enabled me to see my daughter as an "An Amazing Treasure." 'A Mother's Heart' is not talked about in the parenting books. Most parenting books focus on giving you tools and techniques to get through the teenage...
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