Believe it or not, the answer is not announcing, “A free day off school!” (Although I’m sure that would work too!) The answer is far more subtle—and much more profound. There is so much going on in your child’s head and heart that they find hard to explain, and which is SO easy for us […]

The new school year is in full swing (wait, didn’t we just take those “first day of school” pictures yesterday?) and chances are you’re in full-on schedule management and chauffeur mode. There’s a ton of extra-curricular activities that teens can participate in—marching band, sports, robotics, scouts, clubs, lessons, and more can fill the afternoons and […]

Summer is over and school is back in session! (Although here in the South, we’re still in the high 90’s and feeling nowhere near fall-like!) And our teens, like it or not, are back in the routine of middle or high school. Backpacks have been broken in, lunchboxes/headphones/power cords/permission slips have already been lost (and […]

We recently celebrated our son’s 16th birthday. Trust me, Jeff and I spent more than a few moments wondering where the time had gone. How was it that we now have a daughter in college and a son who is allowed to get a drivers license?! The celebration was simple, involving a dozen of his […]

**This article is part of our August and September 2018 Guest Blog series. During a particular intense ‘sandwich generation’ season (launching my daughter to college and my son to high school, helping my parents move to Atlanta, and tackling a major research deadline), I am taking this opportunity to introduce my readers to the insight […]

Now that the new school year is upon us, I’m reminded of a woman who wrote in to ask for advice on dealing with her oldest son who was having a tough first year of high school. It involved him leaving old friends behind in middle school, trying to make new ones, figuring out what […]

Even after years of being a social researcher and learning what is in the hearts and minds of men and boys, I just wasn’t ready when my pre-teen son began struggling with the same visual temptations as adult males. But why would he not? He is genetically programmed to be male. But just because he […]

The other day at a huge high school sports event, I watched a large, loud dad yelling at a ref. On the sidelines, the coach looked furious. Being abusive to an official not only models terrible behavior; it’s a terrible strategy. I started to wonder: what other parental actions do coaches hate, that might not […]

One of the things that years of research with men and women, boys and girls, has taught me is that the genders are just (gasp!) different. It always stuns me when people push back against this idea – as if acknowledging differences will somehow suck our society through the space-time-continuum, back to the bad old […]

Dads, we know you love your daughter. And you know you love your daughter. But you might be surprised at much she needs to hear it. In the research with teens and preteens for For Parents Only, I found that these four phrases have a lot more impact than you might think. And as you’ll […]

We’re a fan of iDisciple – and we think you will be, too! Check out iDisciple, a platform that provides an engaging on-the-go resource for growing closer to Christ. We hope you enjoy the app! You also can find additional content from Shaunti using iDisciple’s Life Themes, which brings transformational content to your fingertips. We know your […]

As I write this, I am sitting at the pool watching two twelve-year-old boys – my son and a friend – try not to stare at a gaggle of shapely teenage girls in bikinis. Also as I write this, on my to-do list for later is taking my 15-year-old daughter on an errand to pick up back-to-school […]

Dear Shaunti, I love my teenage daughter but how do I get her to stop being such a drama queen? Everything is a big tear-fest. She begged to play volleyball – but now when she doesn’t want to go to practices, she cries about the fact that none of the girls like her. And yesterday, […]