The Huffington Post

So how, parents ask me all the time, do I know if my teen is doing well? Surprisingly, the question is not necessarily easily answered by simply reviewing your kids’ grades. While good grades certainly show that your teen may be studying, able to concentrate and has good priorities they…

Read Post 

Dear Parents,

It is inevitable that you will, over the course of your teen’s adolescence, dislike at least one of their friends if not more. These feelings may at first present as a nagging gut feeling like a pit in your stomach at one extreme or an active dislike at…

Individuals of all ages and at all stages of life visit my consultation room. Most of them have the best of intentions often coupled with confusion regarding how to interact most effectively with significant others in their lives. I talk to children and teens, parents and grandparents. I hear stories…

When I refer to Jewish mothers I need to clarify that a Jewish mother is not simply a woman who is of a Semitic background and is raising her kids in a very emotional and involved manner. A Jewish mother can also be a Puerto Rican father, a Black mother…

Read Post

Just when you think your teens are happy with you they start rolling their eyes and serving up a dose of unexpected anger. We can all relate to this, right? Well, as a clinical psychologist who has been working with teens for over two decades, as a mother of a…

Teens, like the rest of us need to LOVE, to PLAY and to feel NECESSARY. As parents we all try as hard as we can to make our kids feel loved even though they don’t always seem to receive our well-intentioned feelings that way, right? And, yes we love to…

The word friend means many different things to different people. We have some friends who are in our inner circle and perhaps several or a few in our outer circles. We call some friends when we need to laugh and others when we want to cry. Some friends give us…

As a child I was always attracted to vibrant colors, glitzy jewelry and anything that seemed fancy. In fact, as an adult this attraction continues. What can I say? Some people are ruled by their emotions and I, perhaps, am ruled by my senses. I recently had a flashback about…

Hi Dr. G., My beautiful 16-year-old daughter’s boyfriend of one year broke up with her 2 1/2 weeks ago. She’s having a very hard time with unanswered questions, seeing him at school, adapting to life without him and so forth. They’re both juniors. He is a terrific kid, making it…

So, you are in the midst of holiday plans or maybe even the post-holiday blues and you have these teens who just don’t seem to want to talk to you. And you have just gone through the trouble of trying to make this time of year so special for your…

Lots of good things happen during the teen years. Adolescents no longer believe that that they will get a nasty case of cooties from the opposite sex, right? And, most teens feel comfortable talking to their opposite sex peers; right? Nope. Not always. Often they feel awkward, shy and just plain…

We can all agree that it is easier to to discipline little kids than it is to discipline teens, right? I think that I can hear a collective yes in the background. With little kids we can always turn to our favorite default go-to discipline method which are time-outs where…

Since many of your kids are in the thick of this, we need to have a good conversation about it sooner rather than later. I’m talking about one of the most stressful aspects of going back to or starting high school. So let’s all say it out loud once and…

I was deeply moved this week. I am frequently moved when I meet with families in the privacy of my therapy office but this week I was particularly touched. I watched closely as a 15 year old teenage boy told his father that he’d like him to be more involved…

It’s August and many of your teens are heading off to college in a few weeks. You and the college-bound kids are anxious, excited and admit it, shopping like it’s nobody’s business. I see you and your teens loading up shopping carts with sheets, comforters, toiletries and various other…

You and your kids are currently in the midst of the summer wherever you may be and your kids are probably complaining about boredom every now and then. I know about this all too well. The teens and tweens tell me about this. Parents complain about not knowing…

Dear Parents,

If you have a teen or teens then I am quite confident that you are more than just a little consumed by worry and anxiety. This is an inevitable part of being parents to children who are at the age where they test limits and as a result…

Dear Parents of Teenage Daughters,

I have been meaning to write this letter to you for some time. I am sorry that I have been horribly negligent. I have been working with teen girls for over three decades and I want to make sure that you are aware of the…

Dear “Cool” Parents,

I assume you know who you are. We all know who the parents are who are trying to be cool. Sometimes you dress like your daughters or use teen lingo. I’m sorry to say that despite your good intentions, you are nonetheless on the wrong track. You…

Dear Conversation Stealers,

I knew that I would need to write this letter at some point in time but have been putting it off for some time. I guess in my role as a clinical psychologist I am inclined to give others the benefit of the doubt. And yes, after…