The back-to-school season is here, and it's time to help your teens get ready.  I have got your back with some tips to make this transition a breeze. From having real heart-to-heart talks to homework hacks,  I have the  ultimate guide for parent-teen tag team success! 

Open Communication:  Time for some real talk! Sit down with your teen and have a chat about their feelings, dreams, and even those first-day jitters. Creating a space where they can share anything sets the tone for an amazing school year. 🙌

 Back-to-School Shopping:  Shopping spree alert! Take your teen on a shopping adventure for school supplies and clothes. This isn't just shopping – I use this time to build connection with my teen and excitement around meeting new teachers, new friends, and starting new classes.  This all needs new school supplies and awesome outfits! 

 Emphasize Self-Care: Time for some TLC – Teen Love and Care! Teach your teen the art of self-care. Encourage them to rock out to their favorite tunes, sketch away, or just chill with a good book. Remind them that taking care of themselves is like giving their awesomeness a big, warm hug! 

Study Habits:  Help your teen find their study groove by minimizing tech distractions. It's all about power hour study sessions followed by some social media time!

Supporting Extracurricular Activities:  Time to cheer on your teen's passions! Whether it's soccer, art club, or playing the piano, be their biggest fan. 

Celebrate Achievements:  It's time to celebrate! The big and the small wins.  Whether they've aced a test, nailed a presentation, or got ready for school on time, pop the confetti cannons and show them they're the stars of the show!

Back to School/College is fast approaching and I know you and your teens have a ton of thoughts about it!

Most of us may have mixed emotions about the start of the school year. Some days I am ready for school to start and get back into a routine and other days I don't want summer to end!

Our teens have a ton of thoughts and emotions about this school year.

Their thoughts are creating feelings of anxiousness, nervousness, apathy, fear, anger, excitement and so many more.

Our minds are super powerful and it wants us to manage it! One way to manage our mind is to create thoughts that will serve us this school year.

I created a FREE 5-day workbook to help your teen with their Back To School Mindset. This workbook will help teens decide what they want this year, and how to take intentional action towards it!

It all begins with our thoughts!

I have been doing this mindset work for years and let me tell you it works!! I was able to create an awesome career and work with the most amazing people! All by doing the inner work and taking time to discover what I truly want.

This workbook is a powerful tool to help your teen explore and discover what they want and how they want to feel this school year.

It is time for your teen to discover what they want this school year to look like!

Parenting teenagers can be an intricate dance of balancing guidance and independence. One of the challenges that many parents encounter during this stage is helping their teens understand the difference between perfectionism and the pursuit of excellence. In a world that often emphasizes flawless achievement, it's crucial for parents to guide their teens towards a healthier perspective on success. In this blog, we will explore the concepts of perfectionism and excellence, their impact on teens, and offer practical strategies for parents to foster a mindset of excellence in their adolescents.

The Perfectionism Trap:

Perfectionism can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can drive individuals to excel and achieve high standards. On the other hand, it can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and a fear of failure. Parents should be aware of the signs of perfectionism in their teens, such as setting unrealistically high expectations, avoiding challenges for fear of failure, and being overly critical of themselves. It's important to have open conversations with your teen about the pressures they feel and the standards they are holding themselves to.

The Essence of Excellence:

Excellence, unlike perfectionism, is a mindset that promotes growth, learning, and personal development. It involves setting high standards, but also acknowledging that mistakes and setbacks are essential components of the journey. Excellence is about the process, while perfectionism fixates on the outcome. Encouraging your teen to adopt an attitude of excellence can help them build resilience, develop problem-solving skills, and maintain a healthier self-esteem.

All New Parent Pop IN Sessions

I am overjoyed with launching the Parent Pop In!

If you want to build a strong, loving relationship with your teen and need support a long the way. I got YOU!

Do you call your friend and ask her how to handle a certain situation with your teen? Do you google, “What to do when your teen -----?” You are not alone.

Unfortunately, your best friend and Google can’t help you in the way you or your teen needs. You must talk to someone who is objective and isn’t going to just tell you what you want to hear or give you general advice that doesn’t pertain to YOUR child.

You need a PARENT POP IN Session!!

Raising teenagers is a huge responsibility and at times really, really HARD. They are walking hormones fighting for independence while struggling with the reality that they still need guidance from their parents. It is THE most stressful and difficult time for them as developing humans AND the most stressful and difficult time for PARENTS trying to raise good people.

I get this. I have made it my career to learn “teen speak” so I can connect with teens on a level most adults are never blessed to experience. I not only coach teens and their parents, but also am a parent of 3 teens of my own!

WHAT IS A PARENT POP-IN?

If you are a parent of a teenager and struggling with connection, communication, or how best to handle a certain situation or scenario, this is your chance to talk to an objective and knowledgeable expert 1:1.

I will help you navigate the best course of action to help you and your teen effectively and lovingly.

A PARENT POP IN is a 15-30 minute conversation without any pressure or commitment. You are not tied to a number of sessions. No strings attached…just getting the help you need in a short amount of time so you can strengthen your relationship with your teen by understanding how you want to move forward.

Helping your teen is not just about saying the right things…it's about understanding how to be heard by your teen as well as them being seen and heard.

This is your chance to have the floor about YOUR teen…not a generalized talk..a specific discussion about you and your loved one.

We will spend 15-30 minutes working through your thoughts to provide a path forward that strengthens the relationship with your teen AND gives you the perspective and guidance to handle the situation in a way that is authentic to both of you.

All New Parent Pop IN - Coming Soon!!

Did you ever get a hit of inspiration and within 5 seconds your brain kicks in and talks you out of it? Well, it happens to all of us. We create tons of great ideas or hits of inspiration to do something great and most of us ignore that voice and then listen to the negative banter in our heads talking us out of it. When we get that spark of inspiration, like call an old friend, apply for a new job, ask for a raise, write a book, take the vacation…..you get where I am going…right?!?!

The most important thing you can do is act on your hit of inspiration or your intuition tugging at you. As soon as you receive it, take a quick action towards it. That is it…TAKE ACTION!

INSPIRED ACTION IS THE KEY

I had this happen to me on my walk last week. When I was taking my afternoon walk, my creative juices started flowing. I got this idea of a Parent Pop In. A place where parents can pop in via zoom or phone call and chat about what is concerning them about parenting. A space of non-judgement to gain a different perspective and insight. I was so excited about this idea and before my brain could turn on me, I called my sister. Thankfully she answered because if she didn’t I know for sure the negative thoughts would have come swarming in. My energy talking to my sis was light and fun and we brainstormed how this would work. It sounded fabulous until about a few minutes off the phone….the thoughts started to enter.

So here I am today, taking one more step forward. It is a small one but it is forward motion and that is what it takes to bring your inspiration into reality. My step forward was to introduce the concept to you! I have a few more action steps to take prior to making this live but wanted to share an example on how to keep your inspiration alive even in the hectic world we live in.

The end of the school year brings up many mixed emotions for teens and for us parents. 

I have clients that are graduating high school, moving into high school, and even graduating college.  

Even just ending one school year and heading to the next is a transition.  I would even say these are BIG transitions!  

The change of routine that is approaching from seeing school friends every day to being home for the summer can be a huge adjustment.  

Many teens do not even realize the fluctuations of emotions and the many thoughts going through their mind and body.  One minute they are happy and laughing and the next, tears are flowing.  They go from being completely over school to becoming nostalgic and reminiscing over their favorite moments and how much they are going to miss it.  One minute they are excited for the future and the next they are scared of the unknown of the next phase in their life.  

This happens to us as parents as well!  The range of emotions sweep in like a gust of wind.  One moment I am excited about celebrating my son’s graduation and the next I am super stressed about the potential traffic.  Then I am in awe watching my son hang with his friends having fun. Then I find tears streaming from my eyes  because I am immensely grateful for all the amazing hockey parents that helped him along the way. 

So as the school year comes to an end, and new beginnings are on the horizon, how can we best support each of our loved ones and us (for that matter).

Our words are POWERFUL. I was at a hockey game a couple months back and I had the ability to sit above the bench of the team. This gave me the birds eye view of the hockey bench!

The team came out on fire! They were dialed in! They were on a mission to win. You could see it and feel it! The energy was intense in a fun, exhilarating, competitive way! The warm up music was on point and you can tell the team was on fire!

In the book the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, the first agreement is to be impeccable with your word. “Your word is a force, it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in your life.”

The first period was an even hockey game. The energy was high and the play was super competitive. Since I had a birds eye view of the bench and could hear the coaches, I noticed how the tone changed by the end of the first period. The words they chose to use was the game changer of what was happening on the ice.

The coach was focusing on what was not working and kept providing more and more examples of what the players were not doing well, rather than pointing out what was working.

The coach’s perspective focused on the negative portions of the game without providing any advice or guidance to improve. This was the main factor why the game on the ice started to transpire into the opposite of how it started. The players started to believe the words the coaches were saying. They started focusing on what was not working, and what you focus on the reality transpires.

The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human.

The next time you are about to speak, choose your words wisely! Speak blessings and words of encouragement to your teens. See the good they are doing and choose to see that instead of what is not going well. We know it is impossible to live a perfect life, but the pressure we put on our teens to live perfection is overwhelming and not possible to live up to. Practice seeing the goodness and voicing it!

Our teens need to understand that they do not need to prove anything for us to love them.

They need to see that we love them whether they do something extraordinary or not.

Our love is unconditional! Shower your teens with unconditional love.

manifestation 101…..it is not all woo woo

I have been practicing manifestation for years now. In the beginning, I would never mention it to anyone.

It felt so woo woo, that in my corporate job and my very controlled life, it did not fit into the life I was living. I did not fully believe in manifestation but I kept seeing the word everywhere and took it as a sign. I was intrigued, but truly was full of skepticism. I dove into all the books and podcasts and began dabbling into practicing manifestation.

Now I am a full on BELIEVER of manifestation!

Manifestation is super mainstream now. I hear people talking about it more and more. Some people chalk it up to it being so “Out There” but I have a few practical tips I want to share with you. It is worth giving it a try….what do you have to lose!

Purposely manifesting has helped me create the life I have today!

Roxie Malfousi stated it perfectly:

Manifesting is about becoming so empowered and full of self belief that you make things happen. It is taking empowered action towards your dreams.

Manifesting is not just sitting and dreaming of what you want. You have to take aligned action towards it.

I teach my clients Manifestation 101! We have so much fun in this process and learning these tools. It starts with understanding what you want. Most of us do not even know what we want. So how is the universe going to conspire on our behalf if we don’t claim our desires?

A true gift!

Most of us spend the day with our inner thoughts beating ourselves up with thoughts of:

I wish I was….. I should be…..

Our inner critic is mighty but we have to learn to lower the voice of these unhelpful thoughts.

These thoughts spill out into our day and we start to believe they are true.

Leaving us unmotivated and uninspired. Our days start to look the same and the mundane sets in. We forgot why we are here and start to question our purpose and if we are making an impact.

We tend to do the same with our teens. We start to pick apart what they are not doing well and provide unhelpful commentary that continues to de-motivate instead of inspire.

I hear parents say…..I wish my teen would be motivated, I wish my teen would put more effort into math, I wish my teen took school more seriously, I wish my teen would just clean their room, I wish my teen would see I am only trying to help, I wish my teen understood how lucky they are, etc.

Our brains love looking for what is not working. I challenge you to see 3 things that your teen is doing well (each day)! And inspire them to keep at it!

Let us Show versus Tell our teens!

Instead of teaching our teens by telling them what to do, how about mirroring how you want them to show up in this world!

I believe the best way our teens learn is by watching how you live your life.

Ask yourself:

How are you showing up in this world?

Are you taking risks?

Are you playing small?

Do you dislike your career?

What type of friends are you keeping?

What is your relationship like with your partner?

How are you caring for yourself?

Do you make yourself a priority?

Are you an example of what is possible?

Are you a negative nelly?

Are you numbing your emotions with food, alcohol, or social media?

Your teen is watching and I can guarantee they tuned you out after the 30th time you said the same thing you are trying to get across to them.

I am sure you heard: LEAD BY EXAMPLE but how many times do we actually do this.

I encourage you to take steps in ways you never did before.

Allow your teen to see you strive to be the best version of yourself.

Let them see you start something new and fail thousands of times and still keep at it until you reach your goal!