Taking a teen to their routine check up usually doesn’t involve a screening for mental health issues like depression. With a growing number of teens experiencing mental health disorders like depression and anxiety, as well as a growing number of teens turning to drug and alcohol abuse, primary care physicians are being seen as a…
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Body image is a growing concern for boys between the ages of 15-19. Some boys don’t feel they fit in to the group of male peers around them as a result of the way their body looks. In order to fit in and feel welcomed, boys might turn to attention seeking behaviors or approval seeking…
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A recent survey conducted by the Butterfly Foundation for Eating Disorders found that boys between the ages of 15 and 19 are just as likely as girls to have body image issues. Body image issues are often thought to be a girls-only problem as girls’ body image is more widely discussed. However, the discussion about…
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Parents of adolescents or teens who have been actively addicted to drugs and alcohol identify with three kinds of crying displayed by their children. First, is melodramatic, over the top, often manipulative crying which seems to have no end. Second is frantic, nervous crying. Third is no crying at all, fighting back tears, and suppressing…
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As parents, we receive a lot of advice on how to teach our children what not to do. We learn how to effectively enforce consequences, give our children choices, and set healthy boundaries. Teaching our children how we don’t want them to behave is only as good as far as we teach our children how…
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Children have temper tantrums. Children get frustrated. Teens can be moody, irritable, restless, and discontent. When a beloved child in the family has struggled with addiction and is working through recovery, emotional emergencies can be even more of a challenge. Parents aren’t always in tune with their own emotions. Without their own emotional awareness or…
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Boys who develop an addiction to drugs and alcohol at an early age suffer in their ability to make healthy social connections or operate from a place of emotional regulation. Drugs and alcohol are chemical substances which affect the brain. All of our daily functions, from our thoughts to our movements, are chemical reactions. Introducing…
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One of a parent’s many worst nightmares is their teenager developing a life threatening addiction to drugs and alcohol. A parent likes to think that their teenager is going to be okay, that nothing is threatening their health, their livelihood, or their potential for a full and successful future. Addiction is a life-threatening condition. Teens…
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What if there was a social media app that encourages kids to connect somewhere offline? What if an app intentionally told its users to go do something engaging which didn’t include continuing to stare at a screen? What if social media didn’t include advertisements, manipulative marketing, addictive design, and purposeless news feeds? Introducing IRL (In…
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We think the best of our children. We hope, in the hours they are at school, at practice, at friends’ houses, or alone in their own space, they are making good decisions. Most parents never dream that they will find their child with alcohol at a young age. Children should have no interest in consuming…
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