Several months ago, I published a Self Care post titled Dealing with Criticism.  This blog was based on an article titled 10 Tips for Coping with Criticism written by Patricia Spadaro.  Since I enjoyed this piece so much, I contacted Patricia Spadaro and asked if I could publish her complete article on this blog.  She [...]

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”- Khalil Gibran When you are the parent of a struggling teen, there is suffering/pain.  Whether it’s your teen that is suffering, your spouse, your other children, yourself, etc. all are impacted in some form or another.   Know that out [...]

“Burdens are the foundation of ease and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure.”  Rumi As parents of struggling teens, the weight on our shoulders sometimes feels overwhelming.  At least, at times it felt like that to me.  So when I heard this quote in today’s podcast by Marianne Williamson‘s on Oprah.com, I was intrigued.  To quote [...]

“Giving thanks for abundance is sweeter than the abundance itself.” – Rumi No matter where your family is this week, I hope you take the time to reflect and give thanks for what it is that you do have.

“Your children are not your children.  They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.  They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” – Kahlil Gibran I read Kahlil Gibran’s book The Prophet many years ago and was touched by the [...]

With a struggling son or daughter, sometimes there is so much going on in our world that the last thing we think of is taking care of ourselves.   One simple practice that doesn’t take a long time but can help tremendously is the practice of gratitude.    You may wonder – why gratitude?   It [...]

“If the only prayer you say your entire life is ‘thank you’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart When your family is struggling, sometimes we forget what we have to be thankful for.  I would like to suggest that it may be even more important to reflect on what we have than what we don’t [...]

As parents of struggling teens, we deal with criticism from multiple sources.  Sometimes these criticisms come from well meaning family members/friends; sometimes these criticisms comes from our children.  How do we step back and see what’s valid and what’s not?  Recently, I read an article by Patricia Spadaro titled How to Deal with Criticism and [...]

“We confuse attachment with love.  Attachment is concerned with my needs, my happiness, while love is an unselfish attitude, concerned with the needs and happiness of others…A relationship free of unrealistic grasping is free of disappointment, conflict, jealousy, and other problems, and is fertile ground for the growth of love and wisdom.”  – Kathleen McDonald, [...]

After taking some time to reflect on the role this blog has in supporting parents of troubled teens, I continue to be concerned that there is too much still unsaid and, as such, I have decided that for now I would continue creating new posts.  With this said, and as before, please note that the [...]