Practical guides for parents of 11–17 year olds: what to watch for and what to say, one situation per article
The teacher says your child is doing fine at school, yet at home there's talking back and slammed doors. The same slammed door has at least four possible causes, and each needs a different first step. Includes a 10-second sorting table, 4 lines for the front door, a 16-item self-check, and one question to ask the teacher.
Read article →Take one thing off the week, agree a handoff with the other adult, and find which load is running you down.
Why won't my teen talk to me? Five reasons teenagers go quiet, what to change first, and the openings that get more than a one-word answer.
Find the four or five escalation points in your week, change the opening line, and keep the rules you can hold.
Your teen puts off homework for one of five reasons, and each one has a different first step. How to find the stuck point in one evening.
Sort the morning into four common causes, then take the first step that fits yours.
Six causes to check, how to tell them apart from the report card, and the first step for each one.
Eight causes behind teenager school avoidance, with how to tell each one apart, what parents can check this week, and how the causes pull on each other.
What the conversation does for them, what it replaced, and when to involve an adult.
What hours do and do not tell you, the signs that warrant an evaluation, and what to change tonight.
Is your teen addicted to phone use, or using it to cope? Four causes, the first step for each, and limits that actually hold at home.
Separate the four loops behind short video and social media use, and the first step that fits yours.
What needs a doctor the same day, four patterns behind the distress, and what to say instead of reassurance.
Handle safety first, then read the sequence, find which of five causes fits, and respond without feeding it.
Rule out physical causes with a doctor, sort the pattern into four causes, and take the first step that fits.
Answer the question once, keep one thing on the schedule, and match the first step to the kind of worry.
Act today on any talk of self-harm, get help if two weeks have passed, and match the first step to the pattern.
What to ask, which three rules to hold, and the signs that need you to step in today.
What a teen behavior assessment measures, which kind answers which question, how parents use the result, and why a result is not a diagnosis.
The question to settle first, five things to ask any provider, and the red flags worth walking away from.
The signals that mean today, the two-week rule, which service answers which problem, and what to bring.
An assessment organizes what you can observe; a diagnosis is a clinical judgment. How to tell which one your family needs next, and what to bring.
When parent and teen questionnaire answers disagree, nobody has to be lying. How to read the gap, which side knows what, and what to do with it.
How to find the leading cause, spot amplifying and maintaining factors, and sort the month into four tiers.
