By Tim Elmore   Most moms with young children are exhausted. At least the ones I meet are. They don’t regret having kids, nor do they resent the parenting journey. They’re just weary. Younger kids can sap the energy right out of you. I recall a humorous story about a mom who was with eight children at the park one day. A

By Andrew McPeak   Today’s blog is an excerpt from the upcoming book, “Ready for Real Life.” Be on the lookout for the upcoming pre-order of “Ready for Real Life” coming soon.    A few years ago, I read a quote in a parenting magazine where a concerned author and parent voiced the fear that many parents have about the emergence of new technologies:   “Here

By Tim Elmore   I recently met with the faculty of a high-performing public high school. In our discussion, teachers mentioned how much parents got involved in their kids’ routines. At first, I assumed this was a positive remark, but later I recognized the type of parental engagement they referred to was not helpful at all. Every school enjoys parents who support

By Tim Elmore   Like most mothers, my wife shared a common objection when our kids were teens. She’d make requests of them, repeatedly, but get no response. To be clear, our daughter and son were not hearing impaired, nor did they have ADHD. It seemed they had selective hearing skills:   They often did not hear the words clean up your room

By: Tim Elmore Anyone who cares about young people should see the data just revealed on Instagram and its parent company Facebook. Millions of teenagers, mostly girls, have spiraled into symptoms of depression and despair after spending time on these platforms. The data seems to indicate the connection between depression and Instagram is not just a coincidence. One teen, Anastasia Vlasova,

By: Tim Elmore This may not surprise you, but since the pandemic started, kids' screen time has doubled. Qustodio, a monitoring device that tracks screen time reports that kids' screen time has increased 100 percent since the COVID-19 outbreak started. One dad noted that his son played video games 40 hours in a single week. That’s a full-time job. Check out

Many parents fret that they’re not having the same conversations with their children that they did with their parents when they were kids. Teachers fret that engaging students in the classroom is tougher today because they compete against YouTube, Netflix, and Tik Tok. Coaches and youth workers fret that keeping a student athlete’s attention is tough because they’re up against Madden NFL

I recently met with a group of teachers and parents to talk about the “Black Lives Matter” protests. Within this group, there were caring adults on both sides of the issue: some that were completely affirming of the protests (even the damage to property) and those who were against the protests, believing they’re not the best way to accomplish the

I just spoke to Sharon, a mom who is now teaching her three kids at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first few days were novel and even fun. The adrenaline that flows from doing something new had kicked in. Now, it’s a different story. Sharon told me recently her biggest struggle is wanting to control everything. I can see

A hundred years ago, we read stories of how families were larger, how kids were to speak only when spoken to, and how parents enjoyed a more influential voice in their teens’ lives. In most cases, the acceptable style was command and control. My research shows that much of that narrative is true. There was a clearer sense of control

Melanie, an 18-year old high school student, told me recently, “I am a planner, but these days I can’t really plan.” Such is the world for high school upperclassmen, especially seniors. As we leave behind the month of May, the time when schools typically host graduation ceremonies, students either experienced a virtual ceremony or they are having to wait until August.

Do you know parents or teachers who are so tired of bickering with their teens that they: Make a separate dinner for their children because they are a picky eater? Offer the answers to the test because it’s easier than insisting they study? Allow them to play video games all day, even when it becomes addictive? While moms and dads have