Your teens feel the same way about their numbers -- grades, GPA and SATs -- as you do about your numbers -- income, weight, and savings account.  So here's how to and why you should proceed with caution when talking to your teen or others about your teen's numbers.  

If you are a divorced parent of teenagers or young adults, here are some things to consider before you throw yourself, and your teenagers, headlong into your single-parent dating lifestyle.   

Concerned about your teen's self confidence?  The  irony about confidence is that it comes from serving a higher purpose, not the ego.  Teach your teen to get outside themselves and work for the greater good of their school team, church, friendships, and most importantly, their families.  

The purpose of building rapport and trust with your teenager is not to benefit YOUR need to have an in-house best friend or therapist, but to benefit your child's need for the consistent support of a mature parent who will help him or her navigate their way through adolescence.  

Step One:  Respect the Life Stage of Adolescence

Step Two:  Remember What it's Like to be a Teenager

Step Three:  Accept that Your Teen is Becoming an Adult

The same rules that apply when talking about your teen’s numbers apply when talking about your teen’s learning disabilities and learning challenges:  do not talk about your teen’s disability in front of other people or without your teen’s permission.

With the election season upon us, here are some dos and don’ts to talking politics with your teenagers that will not only strengthen their confidence and knowledge, but contribute to creating a move civilized society in which ideas are freely exchanged in a respectful and open-minded manner.

Now, I am not suggesting that you encourage your child to have sex.  What I am suggesting is that if you want to have an easy rapport with your teen and you want your teen to trust you, you need to completely accept that your teen is a sexual being, even if your teen is not sexually active.  Why is this necessary?  Because when you ignore this reality, you will overtly or unconsciously communicate a message to your teen that you do not accept his or her maturation, that you still see your teen as a child.  And this message will cause your teen to resent you because your denial about your teen’s maturation leads him or her to feel guilt and shame about what is a basic biological reality:  all people are sexual beings.  Click below to read more about how to communicate your values about sex to your teen.

When parenting a teen, don't be the boss, friend or therapist.  Instead, be the mentor and you will be well on your way to building amazing rapport and heartfelt trust with your teen.  

What should you do if your teen “comes out” to you as gay or you suspect that your teen might be attracted to the same sex or experimenting with sexual orientation?  If you want to build rapport and trust with your teen, which is the foundation to having a successful relationship with your child far into his adulthood, then you will approach conversation with your teen about sexual orientation the same way you would approach any other conversation – using the three essential steps to building rapport and trust with your teen:  respect the life stage called adolescence; remember what it was like to be a teen; and accept that your child is becoming an adult.