by Shannon Popkin | May 20, 2013 | God, Mistakes, Parenting, Sin, Teens
Lindsay is our first child–our parenting ‘experiment’. Only, as a preschooler, she provided an invalid hypothesis: She made parenting seem easy. If we used a stern voice, she would drop her head and comply. If we gave her one warning, and the...
by Shannon Popkin | May 7, 2013 | Communication, Leadership, Media, Mistakes, Parenting, Teens
My middle schooler told me yesterday that he took a nap on the bus en route to his track meet.I said, “A nap? Wasn’t it kind of noisy to take a nap?” I was remembering what my bus was like in middle school–with rowdy kids calling out to each...
by Shannon Popkin | Apr 23, 2013 | Anxiety, Communication, Media, Parenting, Teens
The following is a paraphrased conversation my friend and I had about facebook, and whether to let our teens get their ‘wall’ on. We both wondered if you have anything else to add to the discussion…Friend: My son just turned 13 and is asking for a...
by Shannon Popkin | Jan 17, 2013 | Parenting, Sin, Teens, Wisdom
I think parents of today’s teens are in a unique situation.I’m not saying I’ve discovered something ‘new under the sun’. Our kids struggle with the same sins of pride, fear, lust, and jealousy that the kids 200 years ago did. But there...
by Shannon Popkin | Oct 17, 2012 | Funny, Jesus, Teens
My daughter and her friend—both freshmen in high school–did this mayonnaise prank. They emptied a mayo jar, washed it out, and filled it with a mixture of vanilla pudding and cool whip. They created just the right combination so that it looked like...
by Shannon Popkin | Oct 1, 2012 | Communication, Discipline, Faith, Kids' Perspective, Love, Mistakes, Pain, Parenting, Teens, Wisdom
My friend’s son was a 9th grader when a girl suddenly began inserting herself into his life in a big way. She came to his games, invited herself over, sent him texts (lots of texts). She was everywhere. My friend became concerned by how much her son was enjoying...