Parent Trap • Satisfaction GuaranteedHow do we know if we are in this trap? It's framed in our real lives something like this, "We've taught her/him better than that, this shouldn't be happening." Try this, "We've never done X in our home, how could (s)he get into that."  Or this, "We've gone to church every week, I don't know how this could happen."  If you've heard or said that, it's the snare of thinking that our efforts at being good or doing good as parents are somehow guarantees that our children will be good and do good. As parents we want an outcome (great kids) so bad that we... (continue reading here) 

Parent Trap • Integrity Trip-up - Hypocrisy • And Teens Hate Hypocrites!To sum up, hypocrisy is practiced pretense. At times kids, teens in particular, have a real problem with their parents because of this practiced pretense or hypocrisy. Parents who don't act as they preach fall into this parent trap. The integrity trip-up, hypocrisy. And teens hate hypocrites! It doesn't have to be "major" deviations from professed piousness, minor detours will accomplish parental captivity. For those of religious belief, we automatically set ourselves up. We are preachers of something and when we fail... (continue reading here)

Putting on a Teen Party? • 5 Teen Party Tips
For a teen, putting on a party puts him/her in a vulnerable position. They are setting themselves up for judgement from their peers. That can be stressful, especially if you don't know what to do. Since my son's party turned out to be fun I thought I'd share some of the behind-the-scene party plan so that you and your teen can have confidence in putting on a party of your own. (continue reading here)