Family Relationships

As teenagers grow to young adulthood, who are their role models? Who do they emulate? Why? The most popular article at Roots of Action this past year has been What is a Role Model? Five Qualities that Matter to Teens. Collected from research on highly successfully, civically-engaged young people, it describes their positive role models […]

Experts say that the strongest influencers of children are their parents. I can tell you from personal experience that while they’re in their teen years, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Between the rolling eyes, hunched shoulders and muttered sighs, teens are experts at clearly communicating the message that Parents Don’t Matter. Don’t let them […]

Let’s face it, teenagers can be very sleek at concealing what they are doing. Parents have a difficult task of keeping up with their teen’s activities, grades, friends and whereabouts — and today we have the added challenge of technology. I am a firm believer that a parent’s gut can be a good trigger if […]

Mother of two young kids, Molly Skyar interviews her mother, Dr. Susan Rutherford, a Clinical Psychologist, about how to establish an open line of communication with your teen and how your parenting decisions today may affect your child as an adult. Molly: Many parents have a hard time communicating with their kids when they become teenagers. […]

While my “day job” consists of writing about skiing and outdoor family adventures, my “24/7 job” consists of raising two amazing, teenage boys and shepherding them, with the help of my husband, their father, into adulthood. In addition to being a mom and a writer, I’m also a worrier (maybe that just goes with the […]

Trust is an essential part of any relationship. However, trusting your teen can be difficult when he or she breaks the rules by abusing drugs, alcohol, or medicines. So what can you do to regain trust in your teen while feeling confident that he or she won’t repeat the same behavior? Here are some tips […]