teens

Does the Senate health care bill suck? Yes. But because I hate to wallow in bad news, here’s something in the world of health and bodies that is a positive development: teens are more apt to use contraception now than in the past.

There's a popular saying that "Raising teens is like trying to nail jello to a wall" — and this is a perfect metaphor for parenting teenagers.

I told my kids if they are going to pick a substance, pick pot. Don’t buy booze. Don’t drink cough syrup. Do get high. Why? Because pot doesn’t kill people. Pot doesn’t wreck your liver. Pot makes you want to eat cookies and listen to Pink Floyd on reproduction vinyl you bought at Urban Outfitters.

It was Nancy's thin privilege that obscured her ability to see what Barb saw in the Popular Kids, to make the social leap that Barb couldn't, and that led her to ultimately symbolically (and actually) leave behind their friendship when a more normative offer presented itself.

Prescribe, refer, repeat — that was the drill for several years. It wasn’t until I started to explore the impact of childhood adversity that I saw the big picture, and it began to make sense.

The further I get into this series, the harder time I am having remembering what the eff has happened so far. You see, I am an Old Lady.

Most of my friends have kids who are much younger than mine. We often share our parenting woes and victories, and I am always talking about the light at the end of the all-consuming-toddler-stage tunnel. There are things that were challenging, daunting, or slightly dreaded in my mind when my kids were toddlers. Now, these are wonderful cherished times with my teens:

You're 15 years old now. You're not a little girl anymore—even though you wish you were, just a little bit.