On Youth and Teens Today with Vanessa Van Petten

So, the 50 Best Mom Blog contest went stupendously!  I got great submissions, spread around a lot of traffic and most of all I got a lot of feedback from my regular parent users that it really opened up the world of blogging for them and they now have some new sites in their bookmark folders!

I love encouraging parents to help inform each other and keep strong communities and this is the best way I can think of doing it by spreading the link love!

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This is a guest post from Andrea Brandt, Ph.D., M.F.T and is the Director of LifeWorks and the author of The Anger Zone blog and audio series.

Note: I asked Andrea to post an article about dealing with anger between couples because I think many teens are greatly affected by the anger and fear of poverty in their household or parent’s relationship.

Money & anger
(more than sex!)
can drive couples apart.
Unless they consciously address necessary changes.

Is there tension in your relationship over money? For couples, money conflicts can spring from unaddressed needs, or interests that remain in conflict. Does any of the following sound familiar?

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My post 10 Things Kids Wish Their Parents Do was so popular I had to do a funny follow up, because there are a few things I think many kids want their parents to do, but are too embarrassed to ask. Your fun Sunday read:

1) TIVO our favorite Disney Show, even though “we don’t watch it anymore”

2) Get friends who are not related (or our friend’s parents)

3) Pick-up our laundry, but don’t tell us about it

4) Tell our siblings they were wrong, instead of trying to be all fair about it

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Carole Fogarty of the Healthy Living Lounge asked me this question for her readers: What are the top three fears facing teenagers today?
I have posted about the top 5 things teens worry about, but how about what teens fear? I asked a bunch of my teen friends and groups what they worry about most and summarized them here for you below:

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*You might have noticed I added two columns to my website and a few new buttons.  Previously, I did not have much advertising on my blog and now, I am really trying to make a bit more of a living blogging.  Rough, I know…but I want to be able to at least have an excuse for why I spend all day writing (until hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, I can publish another book).  So, sorry for the advertisements, I hope they do not annoy my readers too much, if you feel so inclined, buy me a cup of coffee through the donate button (it will help me write better) or click around on some of the flashy, shiny banners.

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