Latest from Todd Kestin
5 Ways Summer Camp Helps Your Child Prepare for Adulthood
When I think back on my own camp experience, I recall standing on a wooden tower about 10, maybe 15, feet off the ground. Several people I had recently met stood below. They were yelling at me to fall. I’d just met these people; why on earth would I trust...
Teens, Character and the Myth That Keeps Them Apart
The moral character of our teens is deteriorating at a terrifying pace. We see proof in every corner of our lives, from bullying at school to laziness at work to self-absorption at home. If the children are our future, tomorrow will most certainly be...
5 Tips to Transform Teen School Indifference to Engagement
Is your teen struggling in school? Does he seem apathetic? Have you lectured, grounded and threatened until you have no idea what else to do? Here are some tips for helping your teen feel better and function better — while improving your relationship with...
How Saying Yes Changes Everything
After all my years working with teens and their families, I’m convinced that raising healthy, happy kids depends on two words: Yes and No. The secret is knowing when to say which. Kids need boundaries. They yearn for structure and limits. Few will admit...
Parenting an All-Star: Perspective From Mike Trout and His Mom
In my practice working with families and teens, I’m on a continual quest to find out what values best prepare teens to become healthy, well-adjusted adults. Last week, I had an incredible opportunity to talk with Mike Trout and his mom, Debbie, to learn a...
Guiding Teens from Good to Great
Jim Collins took the business world by storm with Good to Great, the bestselling book that showed organizations how to reach beyond average levels of success and instead strive for greatness. I believe it's time we took the same approach with our kids. We...
The Passion Myth: Why Teens Struggle to Find Their Purpose in Life
It seems you can't look, listen, or feel for sixty seconds without seeing, hearing, or bumping into the word. It's always and it's everywhere, popping onto the covers of countless magazines, serving as the subject of countless books, and springing from the...
5 Traits That Build Meaning and Stability Into Your Teen’s Life
Teens need meaning in their lives. They search for purpose, value, and fulfillment. Existing day-to-day and week-to-week isn't enough; they hunger for more than daily routines and obligations. When they find nothing to fill those voids, they're sometimes...
How to Help Your Teen Who Won’t Talk to You
This world is a busy, distracting, pressure-filled, and sometimes cruel place. While it’s true that each generation has its difficulties, kids today face bigger and scarier life challenges than ever: “fitting in” means being perfect, having sex, use of...
What’s Needed to Prepare Your Child for the Future?
Since Junior’s birth, you’ve been socking away savings from every paycheck to ensure he has money for college. After all, that’s what responsible parents do, right? Making sure he has the education to prepare him for the workforce, to care for himself and...
Free Parenting Guide
After years spent helping teens successfully transition to becoming happy, healthy, responsible adults, I’ve discovered 7 qualities that make the difference, qualities that are present in every teen that thrives…and missing from every teen that struggles to make his or her way in the world.
