As parents and educators, we seek to put our teen’s behaviors, emotions and difficulties into mutually exclusive categories that we can readily understand and, by extension, start the processing of fixing. This assuages our own anxieties about being ineffective in our children’s lives and, replaces that inner parental angst with controllable variables in the form of actionable items and measurable gains. If your teen comes home expressing that nothing in math class is making sense, parents may act in the straightforward response of contacting the teacher or enlisting the help of a tutor, should one not already exist. This is an “easy one” as parenting goes, in that the direction is clear and there is a reasonable expectation that this intervention will fix or at least mitigate the problem.

There are so many things to look forward to at the start of fall – pumpkin spice-everything, sweatshirts, candy corn (if you’re into that), apple cider doughnuts, apple picking and so much more. But one thing no one looks forward to is sneezing, coughing, sore throats and fevers. That's right – the start of fall is also the unfortunate start of flu season. 

Ohhhhhh school mornings are crazy. You've got to get them up, dressed, fed and out the door all before you've likely had your first cup of coffee. And, if that isn't enough, you also need to remember their backpack, snack, school project and your car keys. Are we missing anything? Shoes?

To help you navigate the tough mornings ahead and streamline your process, check out our biggest tips below:

Let’s be honest, high school can be a stressful place. With tests, quizzes and homework every week, it can be difficult to manage your stress, along with the high academic workload. And most of us have extracurricular activities outside the normal school day ⸺ like clubs, sports or jobs ⸺ that it’s hard to balance our responsibilities without feeling some level of anxiety. As a senior, my stress level surrounding my college decision and the thought of “the next step” has been on high a number of times this year. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of support along the way.