America’s Lost Boys and Me
By Rob Henderson I suspect I’m the only student at Cambridge University who lived out of garbage bags as a child. Here’s why I didn’t live the life I was meant to. One of the most brilliant concepts I’ve come across in the past few years…
Freedom and Choices: The Land of Instability & Anxiety
When I am in social circles with high school students and other adults it is often the case that the students are asked, “What is your passion?” This is a common question asked by family friends, relatives, counselors, and even teachers. I see the panic on the students’ faces as…
The World At Their Fingertips – Information Overload
Taking a stance on everything – 24/7 – The pressure to comment. With the globe in the palm of their hands, our young adults have access to anything and everything. They can know what’s going on at the border, the streets of New York City, to Palestine…
The Family Collective – What Teenagers Wish Their Parents Knew
Teenagers today are swimming in choices, information, and freedom. Their world is incredibly large. It is vital that parents understand the new landscape. Each generation brings similar challenges to teenagers. Every generation faces new obstacles that can be foreign to their parents. Once upon a time…
Parenting in the Los Angeles “Bubble”
For years, parents have commented, “I don’t want to raise my kids in a bubble.” Every time I hear that—and it is often—I am perplexed. Do they really know what they are saying? There is no bubble in Los Angeles. The fact that your kids live in…
Jim and Susan Knight Speak At The Family Collective
Click to watch Jim and Susan Knight spoke in part two of Calvary Churches Family Collective series. The topic was parenting in difficult times. Jim and Sue focus on helping parents move teens from innocence to independence by giving parents a lens to view the teenage world. Parents are reminded…
The Digital Deep Dive: What Are Its Effects?
Are there two realities? During the last few years, I have gotten a strange feeling every time I walk around campus at Pacifica. It is a new feeling. It feels as if everyone else is in a different world. They are physically present, walking to class, and gathering books. There…
Getting A Job Pays In More Ways Than One
With piano, club soccer, three AP classes, social life, Netflix, and sleep, what teen has time for a job? Sadly, more and more teens have no window for work. Their schedule is prohibitive. The last thing we should do is throw 10 hours a week cooking burgers at In-N…
My Son Won’t Talk To Me. What Do I Do?
Teenagers can disappear. Don’t worry they aren’t gone forever. It may take a while, but they will return. Teenagers can get in their heads. They are processing so many new things it’s as if there isn’t room for Mom or Dad. …
Remote Learning: A Silver Lining?
On June 21, 2020, the Perfect Teen posted an article expressing the problems with remote learning. Today, after five months of COVID-19 we offer another perspective. Zoom. Google Meet. Canvas. Wi-Fi. Introductions. Goals. Story. What is the meaning of life…