Older Teen/High School (16-18 years)

John's Most Recent Articles

Solution to Teens Leaving Clothes on Floor

Posted on 1/3/2023

Q: Getting my daughters, fifteen and thirteen, to pick up their clothes from the floors of their rooms requires constant nagging from me. I’m at my wit’s end. Please help me out with...

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School Principal Asks About Discipline

Posted on 10/25/2022

Q: I am a principal at a private church-affiliated school. Contrary to my graduate school training and most of my peers’ practice, I believe disciplinary actions should "fit the crime."...

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Don't Enable Entitled Teen

Posted on 4/19/2022

A recent online article concerned a mom who refused to pay her teenage daughter for doing household chores. A poll of readers found that an overwhelming majority of them agreed with the...

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Is Vaping Ok for High School Senior?

Posted on 2/15/2022

Q: Our son, a senior in high school, is vaping. He claims he does it to control his anxiety. I worry about him getting into harder drugs when when he goes to college this coming fall. What’s your...

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The Biggest Problem Teachers Face Is Parents

Posted on 7/13/2021

When I ask a teacher, “What is the biggest problem you face?” the answer – there has never been an exception – is “parents.” That is certainly a recent phenomenon. My parents were...

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Four Steps To Give Argumentative Teenager the Last Word (and Restore Sanity)

Posted on 6/8/2021

Q: My fifteen-year-old daughter is slowly driving me insane! She argues with me about everything and always wants the last word. No matter how well I explain the “why?” of a decision to her, she...

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Micromanaging Child Always Produces Conflicts

Posted on 2/23/2021

A therapist takes a 10-year-old boy into what she calls “therapy.” The young fellow is belligerently defiant toward his parents and throws titanic tantrums when things don’t go his way. At school...

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Beware of 'The Protocol'

Posted on 12/29/2020

Q: Our son is seven years old and in the second grade. His school went virtual this past Spring and we see no end to it, not in the near term at least. When he was going to a brick-and-mortar...

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The Realities of Smartphones and Teenagers

Posted on 9/20/2020

A mother in California seeks her pastor’s opinion on allowing her fifteen-year-old son to have a smartphone. The boy claims that if he can’t use social media, he will have no friends. Mom is...

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Why Small Classrooms Are Overrated

Posted on 5/5/2020

No rational person would argue that the smaller the class size, the better, right?” asked the radio talk show host. “I think I’m a rational person,” I said, “and I can offer proof...

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Recent Questions

How Do I Stop My Daughter From Posting So Many Selfies?!

Posted on 5/2/2023

Hi, my daughter just turned 16 and she likes to post selfies on her social media. They're not immodest or inappropriate or anything like that, it just looks ridiculous and self absorbed and she...

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Conversations with teenagers

Posted on 3/20/2023

Hello, I have a situation and I am not sure how to respond. My son often corrects what I say. So much so, I've began to respond with, "Why don't you give me a list of what I can and can't say so...

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THE VIDEO SERIES AND TEENS

Posted on 3/2/2023

Is it too late to start these 7 principles on teenagers?

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Teenage Dating Expectations

Posted on 2/13/2023

My daughter just started to date for the first time. The guy came to our house to ask our permission. What would you advise on how my husband and I can talk about christian perspective on dating.

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16 YO HAS FIGURED OUT THE SYSTEM

Posted on 2/10/2023

My 16 year old son is sabotaging his school by not turning in/doing homework assignments in all of his classes. He does well on quizzes and tests but tells us lies and excuses why the homework...

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Who’s in Charge Here?

Posted on 1/26/2023

I'm the stepfather to a 16-year-old daughter. She has a strong willed personality. She wants her independence, and her mother and I are giving her more freedom to do what she wants with her...

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Be the Adult in the Room

Posted on 12/20/2022

Here goes the scenario, most of the time this happens while eating dinner, where one of my step kids will correct my "wording" or how I "phrased some words" I used in a sentence. I work all day...

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THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE CRIME.

Posted on 10/19/2022

I am a principal at a Christian School. I believe disciplinary actions should "fit the crime" and do not generally issue standard consequences. I recently had a student to speak ill of another...

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Call me they.

Posted on 9/3/2022

Two of my daughters, one jr. high the other a freshman declared they want to be addressed as they. This has taken me by surprise as I am close to my children. We monitor what they watch or read...

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DIVORCED DAD RUNNING THE USUAL SCAM

Posted on 7/2/2022

My 17 y/o daughter is from my first marriage. divorced when she was 3. Her stepdad and i have been married since she was 5. Long and short? We have done all of the parenting, all the tough...

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Audio

Parenting the Strong Willed Teen

Posted on 3/16/2023

This is an entertaining and informative talk on understanding and managing even the most petulant of today’s teenagers. The talk was recorded live before an audience in San Diego, CA, and is based...

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