What Your High School Senior Really Wants for the Holidays

Our children never outgrow wanting “stuff” for the holidays. Look at your teen’s gift list and you will see the usual items that sound like a foreign language, possibly with footnotes about their emotional dependency for each item. Go ahead, read it: I really need to have the-most-advanced-tech-thingy-that-you-don’t-know-how-to-use-or-pronounce, or everyone is wearing this piece-of-cloth-that’s-way-too-expensive-but-I’ll-die-without-it! As parents, we have been there, done that, and negotiated for years, right? However, if you have a high school senior, maybe you won’t read such a list this particular season. For most seniors, something extraordinary happens with their wish lists for the holidays. The concept ...

College Apps? Holiday Stress? How to Avoid the Crash

This post was written by Sonja Montiel and her daughter, Bella, a high school senior. Mom: “Twenty-pound turkey?” Bella: “Check.” Mom: “Vegan alternative for Aunt Claudine?” Bella: “Check. We’re making mushroom lentil loaf … Pinterest.” Mom: “Chair rental confirmed for the what-seems-like-100-people-coming-over?” Bella: “Check, mom. Just relax.” Mom: “Time carved out to finish college applications because we didn’t do them over the summer like your counselor told us?” Bella: “What?” Mom: “Yeah, don’t you have four applications to complete? And don’t they each have three essays that you haven’t started yet? Oh, and what about those required recommendation letters, resumes ...