Adam McLane

Tag: adolescence

  • Shifting Your Parenting Goals

    Shifting Your Parenting Goals

    My blogging journey started when we learned Kristen was pregnant with Megan. 21 years ago, using a Gateway laptop, and a now long-out-dated version of Microsoft Word, I wrote daily entries into a documents pouring out my hopes and dreams for my unborn child.

  • How does a teenager become an adult?

    With all the talk about extended adolescence a few researchers are asking the important question: How does a teenager become an adult?

  • The role of father’s in adolescent sexual education

    Existing research preliminarily suggests fathers influence the sexual behavior of their adolescent children; however, more rigorous research examining diverse facets of paternal influence on adolescent sexual behavior is needed. We provide recommendations for primary care providers and public health practitioners to better incorporate fathers into interventions designed to reduce adolescent sexual risk behavior. Link “Our…

  • How do you measure teenage maturity?

    News on teenagers consistently conflicts. We are ecstatic about teenage Olympians. No one puts a teenage qualifier on their accomplishments, an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal, it doesn’t count for half a medal because someone is under 18. Our laws define someone as an adult the moment they hit 18 while providing a completely…

  • Teenagers and the law

    Yesterday’s ruling by the Supreme Court included some important nuances on the legal understanding of teenagers, their standing in our country, and how the courts view their decision-making abilities. Whether you work with teenagers or have one at home– I’ve done my best to synthesize this nuance in both the argument and the opinion of…

  • Is anybody out there?

    Yesterday Walt Mueller posted this video on his blog, it’s a lot to chew on. I hadn’t seen it but I’m glad I have. As youth workers, it’s both heart-breaking and knowledge we share that too many teenagers feel this way. My reflections It looked like a mature town… so lots and lots of churches.…

  • To keep them young

    Jackson is 8 months old. He crawls around on the floor. He pulls himself up on things to stand up. He coos, squeals, grunts, and makes endless raspberries. He’s the perfect size for Megan (10) and Paul (8) to pick up and play with. He loves to cuddle with mom and dad. Eight months is one of…

  • Extended adolescence & you

    Adolescence cannot last from 11 years old to 29 years old. Our society will crumble economically & socially under the pressure.  I think most people understand that intuitively. They reflect on their teenage years and their early twenties as a time of coming of age. But times have changed. Most sociologists believe adolescence stretches from…

  • Behind the Veil of Calling

    I’m not a psychologist. Nor am I a sociologist. But I know my profession pretty well. And I know a ton of people in my profession. Why do we do what we do? It’s an important question. In many ways it is the only question that our students want to know the answer to. My…

  • The Big Picture of Parenting

    Thinking about this– I know I have two huge handicaps. I didn’t grow up under “ideal circumstances” but I still turned out just fine. My own kids are only ten, almost eight, and five months. I’m not a parenting expert by any means. In fact, because I didn’t grow up with a strong relationship with…