The Teen Life
Blog
The Trauma of No School
It’s been 8 weeks. Eight weeks since life felt “normal.” Eight weeks since my kids went to school, since my husband and I have been out for a date, since I worked in the same location as my co-workers. Eight weeks filled with fun memories with my husband and kids....
Not Your Average Teen Drama
Instead of getting together to shake their fists at the sky and dance to angry music, they are forced to stay home in our worldwide time-out while they grieve the loss of what they had hoped.
The Power of Consistency
Working with students is hard because it is unpredictable. What we have learned at Teen Life over the last 11 years is the power of consistency.
5 Assumptions About Teenagers
Teenagers are easy targets to complain about. In fact, we all make assumptions when it comes to teens. Here are five assumptions we know to be true.
Seeking Connection
We are made to be connected, yet so many of us feel disconnected. Not just alone in a crowd, but lonely in a crowd. Too many people lack the connectedness of authentic relationships.
13 Reasons Why: Making Noise or Making Change?
So many people want their ideas, problems, concerns, and injustices heard. That is not a bad thing at all, but there is a difference between making change and just making noise! Here are a few ways that we can encourage teenagers (and ourselves) to make more than just noise.
3 Ways to Help Prevent Suicide
Learn three tangible ways to intervene when you think someone may be contemplating suicide.
Good Enough
Too often we want our children and the students we work with to be the best. To reach the stars. To be the top. But sometimes, in reaching for the stars, we miss the small victories.
Traveling New Roads Together
If the kids are misbehaving, does the fault completely lay on their shoulders? What if we learned alongside our teens instead of just dictating the rules?
5 Ways to Connect with a Teen
In my Teen Life Support Group last semester, I had a student who seemingly did not want to be there. She refused to talk. She crossed her arms. She kept her head down. After the first week, we talked to her and said that she didn’t have to talk but needed to participate as a member of the group. She reluctantly did the activities, but still never spoke a word. A few weeks later, another student asked about my family. I explained that my parents live in Alabama, and I don’t see them very often because of the distance. Immediately, my standoffish student spoke. “Wait, you’re from Alabama? Me too.” In that moment, we had created a connection. Connection. It sounds so easy, right? But how often do we strive to achieve it and come up short?
