What is Up With Teenagers?
One day you have a munchkin who yes, gets up at 6 a.m. and survives on only the outside of chicken nuggets, but who also calls you \u201cMommy\u201d and makes you valentines.\n\xa0The next day you have a grunting giant who sleeps until noon, eats entire loaves of bread at a sitting, and communicates with you exclusively through text messages even when in an adjacent room.\n\xa0Congratulations! You\u2019re the parent of a teenager!\n\xa0In this episode, we discuss just what exactly is up with teenagers, including\n\xa0\n\xa0getting over the weirdness of disciplining someone who is taller than you are\n\xa0* how teens today are physically safer, but psychologically more at risk\n\xa0how when you have a teenager who is a boy you will be literally the last to know anything\n\xa0how to let your teen feel like she\u2019s getting away with something while still keeping her within the bounds of what you consider safe\n\xa0\n\xa0Here\u2019s links to a must-read and some useful teen-handling tools we discuss\n\xa0Dr. Jean Twenge for The Atlantic: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? We also recommend following Dr. Twenge on Twitter if teens and screens concerns you (as they really probably should)\nAmy swears by Sneaker Balls\xa0to make life in a home with two teens bearable for all concerned.\nAmy also recommends using an app like Tiny Cards to bone up on whatever your teen really wants to talk about, whether it\u2019s NBA players, types of Pok\xe9mon, or Star Wars ships. Dazzle your teen with your sudden kaleidoscopic knowledge!\nWe also had the great pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jess Shatkin, author of the new book Born to Be Wild: Why Teens Take Risks, and How We Can Help Keep Them Safe. Dr. Shatkin explained to us how teenagers are hard-wired to take risks, and why \u201cscaring them straight\u201d doesn\u2019t discourage them in the least. But don\u2019t despair\u2013 this book has useful and specific takeaways, and we\u2019re giving away a copy to a lucky listener who is brave enough to share one of her own (perhaps regrettable) teen photos!\nCome visit us on our Facebook page and post one of your teen photos- we\u2019ll be choosing a winner at random to receive a copy of Born to Be Wild.\nHere\u2019s another tip for living with teenagers: label absolutely everything. This week\u2019s sponsor, Label Your Stuff, means you have at least a fighting chance of seeing that $75\xa0hoodie again. Shop their stuff- and support our show- with this special code: https://bit.ly/freshlabel.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices