Power Your Parenting: Moms With Teens

Moms, as you know social media has created a whole new set of problems for parents of teens.

I know trying to monitor screen time will bring out the beast in most teens. And that’s so draining to deal with that day after day. Today we are going to go deeper and explore the impact of how social media is impacting our teens. Specifically addressing this selfie generation. And how it's not just about posting selfies it's directly correlated with how many likes you get. This is a recipe for compulsive posting, anxiety, and poor self esteem with a dash of narcissism. Our guest today is not only a wealth of information she is offering you a tool to communicate with your teen about the impact of social media and selfies.

Kim Laureen is co founder of Fresh Independence Productions - a writer, speaker and advocate for youth and families at risk. Director of the award winning documentary 'selfless' Kim says being a mom of 8 has prepared her well and lends authenticity, compassion and understanding to the challenges families face today.

In this episode we discuss these questions.

• Why selfless?
• · How the film came to be... (inspirational back story)
• · What are some stats you have learned along the way?
• · What are the realities you are hearing from youth?
• · What did you learn parenting through 3 decades of teens?
• · What is your greatest concern?
• · What advice would you pass along to parents of teens today?

You can go to selflessmovie.com to watch and purchase via iTunes - Apple - Amazon or reach out directly to book a community screening license or workshop.

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In a culture of perfectionism and pressure we need ways to release the stress. I can think of no better way than healthy humor. There is so much fodder for humor while parenting teens and living in these middle years. Today's episode is on the lighter and even fun side. Our guest today helps us take ourselves and our situations lightly.

In this episode I interview Kristen van Ogtrop.

Kristin is the author of Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom. The former longtime editor-in-chief of Real Simple and “The Amateur” columnist for Time, she is a literary agent at InkWell Management. Her writing has appeared in countless publications, and the New York Times bestselling collection, The Bitch in the House. She is a wife and mother of three, but sometimes loves her dogs more than anybody else.

Kristin just released her new book, Did I Say That Out Loud? Midlife Indignities and How to Survive Them. Kristin is a very gifted writer who pays attention to the absurdities we endure and names them.

She does address some of the challenges of those middle years but in a way that is so real, poignant, optimistic, and hilarious all at the same time. There were many times that I literally laughed out loud while reading her book especially reading her chapter, "When Things Fall Apart." I think it's such a gift when someone can help you laugh at yourself and not take your life, your parenting and your future so seriously and revaluate whats the point of it all.

Check out her new book: https://amzn.to/3mpmJp9

Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kvanogtrop/

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How do you safeguard your teens from Sexting? To answer this question I interview two experts.

Heather Boynton who is a mother of four (three who are currently teens) and is a professor of Child Development at Clovis Community College where she teaches a variety of classes including child and adolescent development.

AND Christy Monson who has an M.S. in Counseling Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy from University of Nevada at Las Vegas. She established a successful counseling practice in Las Vegas, Nevada where she works with children and their families.

Recently Christy Monson and Heather Boyton have coauthored Stand Up to Sexting, An Open Conversation Between Parents and Kids..

I have been a family therapist for decades and have seen many girls who have suffered greatly from the aftermath of sexting. There are so many consequences to the girl, the boy, the families, bystanders, law enforcement and school districts. Most of these girls were bullied into sending nude pictures. Often older boys would threaten and pressure these girls. They were promised that they would not share their picture ...only to have their pictures shared to multiple middle schools and high schools in their school district. Moms would bring these girls to see me, their heads hung down in shame. They were utterly humiliated. What I saw over and over again is that these girls weren’t bad girls...they were good girls, they were naïve girls, and they were scared girls. Many just didn’t know what to do and thought the only option was to send the picture.

Christy and Heather wrote Stand up to Sexting so that parents and especially middle schoolers could have honest conversations. For this to happen the teens need to feel safe to share this secret with their parents.

You can find Stand Up to Sexting, An Open Conversation Between Parents and Kids on Amazon.

You can reach Christy at christymonson.com

You can reach Heather at [email protected]

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In this episode we talk about a surprising way to be a leader in your home. My good friend Sue Ludwig and I were talking about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylors quote, "Please take responsibility for the energy you bring into the space," and how this quote changed her business, family and her personal life.

Sue Ludwig is the President and Founder of the National Association of Neonatal Therapists (NANT), an organization full of passionate neonatal therapists who aim to improve developmental outcomes for premature and sick infants in the NICU.

Sue practiced as a neonatal occupational therapist at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for over 20 years.

Sue is a sought after speaker, consultant, writer and educator. She is also a published author and poet. She is driven to improve the culture of healthcare, armed with decades of experience speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. '

Believe it or not preemies and teens have something in common. They both respond to the energy we bring into the room.

We can be the leaders of the energy we bring into the room through intention, pre-deciding, taking a pause, being mindful of transitions, and practicing self awareness. There is a huge cumulative effect on our teens when we practice this and when we don't.

At the end of the day Sue would ask herself this very brave question,

"What's it like to be on the receiving side of you?"

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After observing moms and teens for decades, I see predictable traps moms of juniors and seniors fall into . These traps dial up the drama, leave your relationship strained and you drained. This podcast will help you avoid these common pitfalls so you wont miss these precious years with your teen before they go off to college. With a little information, awareness and strategy you can avoid the traps and experience everything you hope for before your teen leaves home.

This is a hard season. Legally your eighteen year old may be an adult but they are far from it with their undeveloped prefrontal cortex. You are well aware of their emotional immaturity.

Your knee deep in the college application process and your teen doesn’t seem to be taking everything as serious as you. All of this stresses you out. You could relax if you saw your teen was being responsible but you don’t. You feel the pressure to get them ready before they leave home.

You want to see them being mature and responsible. But you don’t see evidence of that. I have heard this statement from parents for decades.

How can my teen be ready for college if they cant even...

• manage their money
• clean their room
• work on their college applications
• get up on time
• do their chores.

And when you see this irresponsibility it can throw you into a panic.

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