For Parents

As if the last 10 or 12 years hasn’t been challenging enough, now your little buddy or princess is entering a challenging, confusing, and quite possibly the most formative time of their young life: adolescence. There’s no instruction manual and questions regarding identity, faith, ethics, morality, worldview, and difficult decisions come up as regularly as Facebook updates. Sometimes it’s a breeze but all too often parenting teens can feel like stumbling around in the dark in an unfamiliar room hoping to find the light switch.

I’m not a parent of a teenager yet (only 10 more years to go for my little guy) but I’ve been working closely with teenagers and parents for the last 16 years and desire to offer insights gained along the way. Additionally, I’ve had the privilege of working with many parenting experts over the years, including counselors, school teachers and administrators, adolescent psychologists, and pastors. Most of the anecdotal thoughts you’ll find in these posts are from my own experience working with teenagers and families. Much of the research-based information you’ll find comes from my wife, Katie, who earned her Masters in Psychology in 2005 and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2007 (both from Fuller Theological Seminary).

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