Decisions Teens Make

The modern adolescent experience

Stephen Gray Wallace

Horseshoes

Can modified programming, in-person or online, drive the same organized camp outcomes that are the hallmark of experiential education?

Crisscross: Our Youth

May is Mental Health Month in America, and it comes not a moment too soon.

In the Light of Day

The reality is that the advent of spring is not easy on everyone.

A Call for Kindness

Parents, teachers, and all youth influencers can lead by example, promoting compassion, empathy, gratitude, and service, each linked to kindness along the way.

The Case for Kindness

A ubiquitous reminder appearing on everything from T-shirts to social media states, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

A Lesson From Winnie the Pooh

Legend has it that mental health may plummet during the holiday season and suicides may soar. Is this fact or fiction?

Maybe I’m Amazed

As summer winds down and planning for 2020 takes hold, it’s a good time to revisit children's and teens' personal and educational growth.

The Shallows: The Tragedy of Youth Suicide

The conundrum of suicide requires the commitment of all who care for young people.

Hold on Loosely

July slowly inches toward August, a month that will mark the beginning of college for many thousands of young people.

The Main Thing

Forging strong, meaningful connections with young people requires taking positive risks, sharing oneself, and remaining open and receptive.

Eli Waldman directing a support group

Let's Be Friends

Among the benefits of informal, peer-to-peer mentoring is a higher sense of self that tends to spawn positive identity formation and growing independence.

Let the Kids Sleep, Part III

Bottom line: teens need more sleep (think exhausting brain recalibration) and different schedules (more nocturnal than diurnal).

When I'm With You: Addressing Youth Suicide

September marks National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, an important time to re-educate ourselves as to how best we can keep our loved ones safe.

Good News, Bad News

When it comes to the topic of risky youth behavior, recent data (and events) present both good news and bad news.

Warm Fuzzies

Camp Kindness Day highlights fundamental elements of experiential learning at camp: kindness, gratitude, empathy and emotional support.

Unplugged

Today almost half of 13- to 17-year-olds say they are online on a “near-constant basis." And a lot of that time is on social media.

Love Is Louder

A mere recitation of scary statistics related to mood disorders, substance use disorders and suicides may divert much needed attention from remedies rather than reactions.

Pay the Price

A haunting new short film describes in detail – and with no shortage of graphic footage – the real-life implications of the misuse of prescription drugs by young people.

Hop, Skip and Jump

Stress is real and its origins and consequences not insignificant. April is Stress Awareness Month, which is designed to promote healthy strategies for coping.

The Content of Their Character

Idleness and passive drift is different from what we saw on display in the streets and parks just days ago in Washington and around the world.

A User’s Guide to the First Year of College

Much attention has been paid of late to the trials and tribulations faced by many young people managing the transition from high school to college. And with good reason.

No Doubt

How big of a problem are we facing? SAMHSA points to the pitfalls of underage alcohol use: "Alcohol is the most widely misused substance among America’s youth ..."

Failing Forward

One of the great things about sports is the imparting of important life lessons. And many of those lessons relate directly to one’s character.

Big Little Lies

Despite uniformity among children, teens, and adults about the importance of honesty, it often seems in short supply.

Misdirection

Many young people thrive in college environments: new relationships, challenges and independence. Others find the shift to college a mixed blessing or even a downright disaster.

Waitin’ on a Sunny Day

For many, sunny days may seem a distant memory regardless of season … or sun.

Inflection Points

“Growing up doesn’t have to be so much a straight line as a series of advances and retreats.” That sentiment mirrors the unsteady footing of personal development.

Camp, Interrupted

Indeed, my season at camp had been interrupted halfway to the finish line. I was aggrieved.

Thick and Thin

It seems, in the end, the character trait most in question is, well, character.

Hidden Faces

It seems counterintuitive: sadness in the spring as flowers bloom and temperatures rise.

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