A Survival Guide to Parenting Teens

teens who feel left out

“why don't they ever call me?”

Here's the Problem

A parent asks, “How much should I intervene in the social life of my 13-year-old daughter?” Mom reports that seventh grade has been a good year. Her daughter is an A-B student, plays multiple sports, and seems to be liked by her peers. Mom's worry is that though she seems engaged with her friends when she's at structured activities like her games or school plays, when the weekends come, she's “home alone.” She sees the other kids getting together on the weekend, but she's not an “initiator” and instead waits around for friends to text her. When they don't, she feels like ...